Lets discuss backdrops

[ibryson]

I have a 6ft (180 gallon) aquarum I am setting up and am looking for ideas on backdrops. I want a clean solid color that helps make the colors in the tank pop. Right now I am experimenting with matte black poster board (same color as the overflows). I love the color but am having a difficult time getting it to stick cleanly to the back glass and you can see the seam where the poster boards overlap. Mostly, I'm just curious what you all did for your aquariums!

[ryeguyy84]

I painted the back (outside) black with Rust-Oleum oil based black. Smells terrible but works great, I used a cheap mini roller and did 2 or 3 coats.

If you ever want to remove you just take a razor blade to it



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[ibryson]

Originally Posted by ryeguyy84

I painted the back (outside) black with Rust-Oleum oil based black. Smells terrible but works great, I used a cheap mini roller and did 2 or 3 coats.

If you ever want to remove you just take a razor blade to it



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I may take this route, I just cant decide 100% on a color and once its set up I wont be able to get access to the back to repaint it. Have you by chance seen how matte black paint finishes on glass? If it looks good then I'd definitely consider painting it

[ryeguyy84]

No but go to home Depot and get a piece of glass or acrlyic and try it out. I think anything you put is going to be glossy since it's smooth on the glass.

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[nycman]

Rather than black, why not go with a mixture of pink and purple so that it appears you have a head start on coralline growth ;-)

[Misled]

[Anemone]

Originally Posted by Misled

That looks great when it's clean. How's it look covered in algae and coralline?

Kevin

[Misled]

It will be kept clean.

[lpsouth1978]

I just used black Rustoleum spray paint. Any paint that you use will have a glossy appearance because of the glass. Another option that I have used before is to use a sheet of black ABS plastic inside the tank. This will give it a matte finish, however it makes cleaning the back wall very difficult.

[lpsouth1978]

Here is a shot of mine in the early days. As I said, I used matte black Rustoleum spray paint.

FTS July 22, 2018 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

[billdogg]

I've used Dark Blue, a lighter Blue, and Black. I used whatever enamel in a can that was on sale. +1000 for the disposable foam roller. It will take a couple coats regardless of the color.

Although the tank that misled posted looks great now, I'm with Anemone, wondering how it will look covered in coralline. And it will be a PIA to keep clean unless you have easy access back there.

[Misled]

Originally Posted by billdogg

And it will be a PIA to keep clean unless you have easy access back there.

I do. Even if I didn't, would it look worse than a tank painted blue?

[ibryson]

I have an "ocean" looking backdrop on my 40 gallon now. Looks nice, but I feel like it takes away from some of the colors in the tank. I was thinking a matte black backdrop would make the colors pop the most. I could be wrong though!

[ibryson]

Originally Posted by lpsouth1978

Here is a shot of mine in the early days. As I said, I used matte black Rustoleum spray paint.

FTS July 22, 2018 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

For spray paint that looks really good! I might go with that option

[reefinmike]

I've had aquariums 15 years, more than half of my life and every new tank gets a nice thick coat of black paint on the back. Deep blue looks ok if you are dedicated to keeping the back clean but you will never go wrong with black. Paper backers will warp and show salt creep/drips over time and look bad. Plastic backgrounds will also inevitably get salt drips/creep behind them. And don't get me started on the printed "reef" backgrounds... you might as well have a bubble treasure chest and a fake skull in the tank.


Before you start painting the back, clean the glass very well with alcohol. Paint doesn't like to stick to fingerprints and smudges. I prefer to start with a thin layer of spray paint and finish with several layers of black rustoleum paint rolled on. the spray paint serves as a tack coat to allow the rest of the paint to stick. Starting with a roller can be frustrating because the paint wont want to stick to the glass very well and it may take 7+ coats. Of course you can spray the whole thing but I'd be sure to allow plenty of time between coats. Sheen of the paint doesn't matter much, it will all have the same "wet black" look once on the glass.

[Dugthefish]

Originally Posted by reefinmike

I've had aquariums 15 years, more than half of my life and every new tank gets a nice thick coat of black paint on the back. Deep blue looks ok if you are dedicated to keeping the back clean but you will never go wrong with black. Paper backers will warp and show salt creep/drips over time and look bad. Plastic backgrounds will also inevitably get salt drips/creep behind them. And don't get me started on the printed "reef" backgrounds... you might as well have a bubble treasure chest and a fake skull in the tank.


Before you start painting the back, clean the glass very well with alcohol. Paint doesn't like to stick to fingerprints and smudges. I prefer to start with a thin layer of spray paint and finish with several layers of black rustoleum paint rolled on. the spray paint serves as a tack coat to allow the rest of the paint to stick. Starting with a roller can be frustrating because the paint wont want to stick to the glass very well and it may take 7+ coats. Of course you can spray the whole thing but I'd be sure to allow plenty of time between coats. Sheen of the paint doesn't matter much, it will all have the same "wet black" look once on the glass.

You just sold me. I was holding out hope that someday I might be able to make it a peninsula......

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[reefinmike]

Assuming your tank is glass, you can always razor blade the paint off. if its thick latex paint, you can sometimes peel it all off in one sheet. If you might use it as a peninsula tank be sure to tape off the trim and sides of the tank before painting. I never bother and just slather that paint on.. never gonna see the back trim.

[ryeguyy84]

The best thing I ever did was spray mirror paint onto the outside of my fuge glass then painted black over that. The inside is a mirror and the outside is completely black so the light is contained. Just wish I went with black acrlyic for the divider.

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[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by Misled

Probably the coolest background I've seen since that tank with the infinity back. Wish I could find that post that showed how to do it...

[Misled]

Mine was done like wallpaper. Pasted fully and smoothed with a wallpaper knife.

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by Misled

Mine was done like wallpaper. Pasted fully and smoothed with a wallpaper knife.

Found an example of what I was talking about... not the exact one I remember but close enough... It's called a shadowbox background.





Basically the back board is airbrushed to look like blurry rock/coral structures. Foreground is rock models made out of cork on a transparent blue acrylic. Then the T5 lights... blue plus on back and white on front of back pane causes an illusion of infinite depth. From what I gather pics do no justice.


Another example


Check out this one...

[homer1475]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Found an example of what I was talking about... not the exact one I remember but close enough... It's called a shadowbox background.





Basically the back board is airbrushed to look like blurry rock/coral structures. Foreground is rock models made out of cork on a transparent blue acrylic. Then the T5 lights... blue plus on back and white on front of back pane causes an illusion of infinite depth. From what I gather pics do no justice.


Another example


Check out this one...

This to me looks alright, but it looks as though there is another aquarium behind the one your looking into. Like someone stacked 2 tanks back to back. It's cool, just not for me.


All my aquariums have a black background, included my FW tank.

[jrill]

Black paint. Everything else looks cheap

[Wonton Soup]

Don't paint your tank. Just go get a piece of black vinyl from a vinyl car wrap place, clean the glass really well and patiently put it over the glass. Looks better than paint, you can get any tone of black (or any color) that you want, is relatively cheap, and best of all isn't permanent.

A year from now, you don't like black and want to try blue? No problem. Peel it off (tougher than you might think) and lay some blue on. Selling your tank and the next guy prefers clear glass? No problem.

[Michael Hoaster]

It's a tough question, for sure. I love the idea of depicting the ocean behind, but I hate the idea of cleaning the back glass. For me, the lazy option always wins.

I ended up coving my back wall with a fake wall, made with pond foam. There are lots of great threads on a variety of fake wall styles, so you may want to look at those. It's a more complicated project but after considering all the options, I chose this as the most realistic option that didn't require cleaning.

I like black paint too, but I have seen them combined with over-blue lighting that looks like a dark, haunted disco. This doesn't look anything like the sun-drenched waters we are attempting to depict.