Color for back of Tank

[Richy]

I used to have one of those shiny printed photos on the back of my aquarium. To me it looked cheesy. What do most people do? Any color better for coroline algae growth? etc. Let me know please.

Thanks

Richy.......

[sphelps]

Some people paint the outside back of the tank with an acrylic paint.

I usually line the backs of tanks with either acrylic sheet or corrugated plastic. Both are available in many colors but blue and black are the most common. I prefer blue but black always seems to be more popular :icon_conf

I place the acrylic or plastic inside tank, when it's outside it's hard to get it to sit right against the glass and doesn't have the same affect.

Coraline should grow on any color, don't think the color of material has much to do with it. Beware though, if you incourage coraline you'll have to clean it of the front glass which sucks!

[Richy]

Tanks again.

I love my Hammerhead magnet. 1 min per day and voila......front always clean.

Richy.........

[stinga]

i paint mine with spray bomb ,Black.HTH

[Richy]

Sorry...HTH ? Still learning the Acronyms used ..Old guy you see.....


Richy.....

[dustin]

HTH= Hope this Helps

From what I've read, most people paint it with Krylon Fusion spraypaint.

Dustin

[Richy]

Thanks Dustin,
Hope I can remember that now...

Richy.......

[briansmyth]

Another option is to put a mirror on the back of your tank - this can really add some depth to the look of your tank - it can also make it easier for you to spot what's going on in some of the nooks and crannies in your tank. It has not been my experience that a mirror confuses the fish.

[Jon123]

Problem with mirrors and salt tank is, if people are as messy as me, that mirror will be covered in rust in no time. Just an FYI.

Jon

[sphelps]

acrylic mirror will not rust, however I find the glass back can have a similar effect if kept clean.

[jody]

would the mirror not make the tank confusign to look at? or no?
may i should try this for my 33 gal

[Richy]

Nope..Just gives you a 66.:)

[Quinster]

I used to have one of those printed backs years ago...because of my tank being set up I couldn't get behind to paint it, so I took a dark colored garbage bag, sliced the sides so it was 6' long then crumpled it up in a tight ball to give it some odd shapes. It looks like textured dark rock wall in the distance.

[Salty Reefer]

I used two coats of the blue Krylon Fusion spray paint from Canadian Tire. Some people prefer black for a deeper look. This paint looks fine and is very durable. Some words of caution though...make sure that you spray paint outdoors or use extremely good ventilation when using it indoors. This paint gets EVERYWHERE. The Krylon Fusion paint is available in an array of colors, but if you are going to let it overgrow with coralline algae the color should not matter. HTH

[Rukus]

I recently built a stand for my 20g and its in kinda a shape of a C. I have all my plumbing running up the back of the "c". I painted just the wood paneling behind the tank blue. A mirror is a neat idea, but over time my back glass has been covered with bits of algae and corrallene, and its a pain to have to clean. Id say a darker background would work the best. in my opinion.

Andrew

[MartinShaver]

Paint it white as it reflects light better than black.

[cary Henderson]

leave it clear and put a mirror behind it....
confuses the fish a bit but what the hey!!!
:D