Painting back

[TonyO]

Those of you that have tanks with painted backs, do you prefer blue or black? If it's blue, which shade of blue? What type of paint works the best?

[seminoleranch]

I cant tell you want kind of paint as that mine where all ready painted. I can say though I had both colors and ended up scraping the blue and putting up a black background. To me it just seems to make my fish "pop" more.

[Gene D]

I would suggest blue or even other light pastel colors. I have seen fish loose their vivid colors against dark backgrounds.

[black_knight]

Background color choice may depend on your type of tank and more importantly your fish. Eg. many blue discus tend to turn dark with a black background or pepper up in the case of pigeon blood colors (something about the appearance of the void may frighten them), some tropheus like Moliro reds may not show their brightest color with a black background (unless you've got some nice white gravel). However blue can be quite blaring (this is subjective), esp. on a tank without much front to back space and lighting towards the rear instead of at the front (works better on bigger tanks). Some of the lighter colored fish such as platinum angelfish or small tetras seem to get drowned out. Now black works well with cardinal tetras, platinum/silver colored fish (bala sharks, platinum angelfish), electric blue haps. I've found lighter blue works well with discus, black colored fish like mollies and black angelfish. I'd suggest buying some diffrent colored boards and taping them to the back of the tank to get an idea. Alternatively I've used an pastel green, it looks awsome (very natural looking if you've got a deep and tank from front to back). As for paint, I've used Krylon and Rustoleum, they last. Currently, since all my tanks are nanos now (prior the smallest thing I had was a 50 gallon sump for my smallest tank 250gal- so it pays to planout backgrounds) I buy either colored foam sheets/paper (at Micheals), or a roll of rubber kitchen drawer linner (comes in black,beige, and white at Lowes) to clip or tape onto the back of my tanks. When you do paint your tank, esp. if it's a large one, having a flashlight or small lamp may be handy, to check for areas where the paint may not be thick enough. Spray on thin coats at a time. Take frequent breaks and wear a mask, this stuff is MUCHO TOXIC!

[TonyO]

I was thinking about it last night, and was curious how a light green would work, so I'm glad that you mentioned it! I'll have to see what the rocks look like.

Really, it looks like I'm going to have all different varieties, but I am considering getting another tank with Tropheus. . .

[fshfrk]

Tony I have some light green laminate floor pad called floor muffler. You can have all you want. It's a light weight foam and water proof.
just blue tape it on. You can spray paint it with krylon. Do 1 blk, 1 blue and leave 1 green. Try all 3.

[jarrodaden]

In my opinion, another major consideration is what you have in your tank in the way of heaters, pump intakes, etc. There is nothing worse than a black intake in front of a lighter background color.

Fshfrk has a great idea that I never would have thought of.

Sometimes, the oddest colors come out super great. There is a thread on here somewhere called watermelon discus (I think). When he started that tank, I thought he was crazy. When he finished it was one of the coolest tanks I have ever seen.

[TonyO]

Yeah, I just did a search for that tank, and while I wouldn't have the foresight to choose that color myself, once I saw it on the tank (even before the pics with light), I thought it would look cool! It was absolutely awesome!

I may look at some form of green.

[TonyO]

What I really should do, is relax!

I'll wait until I pick up the rockwork and then see what would look good with that and the fish. . .

[sountfc]

Color aside, I use Krylon Fusion spray paint. I've had very good luck with it, and I painted three tanks with it this past weekend, as a matter of fact.

[TonyO]

How many cans did it take, and on what size tank required that many cans?

[cichlid1409]

2-3 cans on a 125g

To make sure I got good enough coverage I shined a flashlight out from the inside and if i saw light I added more paint.

[black_knight]

With light colors, usually more cans. On a 10x2x2 ft tank 5-6 cans will probably do.

[wago]

We have the sticker background in dark blue and black. Paint is good, but it can be uneven at points and fades easily. You can check out the sticker background at our store. We are in the process of replacing all the tanks with it. It goes on like window tint.

[TonyO]

We have the sticker background in dark blue and black. Paint is good, but it can be uneven at points and fades easily. You can check out the sticker background at our store. We are in the process of replacing all the tanks with it. It goes on like window tint.

You know, I'm still learning the lay of the land, and I drive Beechnut everyday. . . I bet I passed your store three times on Saturday alone, and never even realized it.