has anyone done this

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
I see the pictures of your beautiful tanks and they are all lovely.
I have a question and wanted advise and input. Has anyone ever painted the back of their tanks?
My tank is in my living room and my walls are a light colour. I'm thinking that I want to paint the back of my tank  to enhance lighting and sea scape.
I don't know what colour or type of paint to use, any suggestions.
thanks
Heath
 

EricTMah

Aquariums by Design
Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Location
Kitchener, Ontario
Website
www.aquariumsbydesign.ca
I painted the back of my previous tank.  Worked well and held up for well over 12 years and still looks good.

Black is usually the best color to use to make all your colors pop.  I used a standard oil base pain for my last tank.
 

pulpfiction1

Reef Scavenger
Joined
Nov 16, 2010
Location
42.418807, -82.174073
people do it all the time,mine is covered in black construction paper,in my case,you dont see much of the back anyhow and whats exposed will be covered in coriline soon enough
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
Thanks for the replies. I was thinking either black or a very bright blue.
Did you have to do anything to the glass first other than a good cleaning?
Heath
 

EricTMah

Aquariums by Design
Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Location
Kitchener, Ontario
Website
www.aquariumsbydesign.ca
I had my old tank as light blue and my new one is black.  I definitely like the black way more.

I just cleaned the glass really well before painting with vinegar.  The first few coats will look like crap,  but after a few more it will even out and get full coverage.  Just take your time and let the paint dry in between coats.  And make sure you're doing it somewhere warm, not your garage.
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
Thanks for all the advise. I'm new to this and totally hooked. I now have 2 tanks, 90 gal fish only and 35 gal that's going to be corals only. work in progress  ;)
I think with the painted back it give it a much cleaner look, hate seeing the equipment and wires hanging there.
Thanks everyone :)
Heath
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
Thanks for all of the advise, its something that I've wanted to do for a long time.
I wasn't sure of the colour so, I put black construction paper on the big tank and dark blue on the small tank.
Black its going to be, added it to my to do list when the weather gets warm.
again thanks for the input.
Heath
 

Jewel

Guest
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Location
Wingham Ontario
What I did was hang a black mat on the back with Velcro mostly because I hate paint on the back glass. When the back is covered in Coralline it will be removed.
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
I don't have coralline on the tank, am I doing something wrong, its a fish only tank that's been running for a couple of years now.
Heath
 

Jewel

Guest
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Location
Wingham Ontario
No You're not doing anything wrong LOL, I dose calcium and Alk. for growth in my Corals, The one nice thing is you get an excess of Calcium which creates Coraline Algae.

Some people think its a nuisance, But I like it and if you can keep it on the back glass and the rocks. It looks nice.
 

DerekL

Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2013
Location
Windsor, Ontario
I used black vinyl sticker. I bought it from one of those places that make the vinyl stickers for cars and what not. It only cost me $8 for piece big enough to cover the back of my 90 gallon. It went on fairly easy I was told to use a bit of soapy water then squeegy out the bubbles.  This route will not be as bad if you decide that you want to take it off someday.
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
Hi Jewel;  should I be dosing my 35 gal tank, it has a few frags in it now, they are all doing good, the polys are open and I have 2 mushrooms that have doubled in size in less than a week, right now there is only 1 fish in the tank, waiting for a pair of clowns.
I'm thinking this is always going to be a " work in progress"
thanks
Heath
 

Jewel

Guest
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Location
Wingham Ontario
I've got 35 Corals in my tank and a Clam, some of my Corals are bigger than your fist and my Calcium is only 380, My Kh is 9 So I dose, If your Calcium is close to 400 I wouldn't bother right now. Plus my Coralline is doing great. Test your perameters if you think your levels are low then dose but i'm not sure only having a few Corals in the tank.  But theres no rush. You'll get there.
 
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