aquarium background

[cross]

this maybe a dum question, but i have been seeing alot of threads about them. painting, window tinting and the kind sold at the store you tape on. what are the pros and cons and why does everyone put them on? i dont have anything on mine but have been realy thinking i need to. whats the real deal with them? all the threads i have seen just talk about puting them on not why they do. can anyone tell me? thanks

 

[menace78]

It's nice not to see the wall or the cords ect. hanging down behind the tank.
Some people use lighter colors like blue and such to reflect more light and brighten up the tank as well.

Only real reason to add one is for a clean uncluttered look in my opinion.

P.S. I prefer painted backs or the stick on film if you'r good enough to add it without bubbling the film. tape on looks getto just my 2 cents.

 

[sandswhitson]

I agree it is just to help hide the wires. I read an article or post on here that one of the lighting gurus' said that a black background actually impedes light penetration as it soaks up the light instead of reflecting it. I don't know how much truth there is to that statement but all my tanks have black backgrounds and I really like them.

 

[cross]

thats it huh? yah i like the look of the black background but i also like the blue to. but right now its green with algae and that dont look to good.

 

[menace78]

thats it huh? yah i like the look of the black background but i also like the blue to. but right now its green with algae and that dont look to good.

I never liked the blue background till I bought a used acrylic tank with one built in, and have found that I like the way it brightens up the tank more than the black.

on a side note. I found with my last tank that a black background makes the algae not so bad looking.. lol
and I have to add that If you have any natural light coming from behind you'r tank (like it's in front of a window or something) adding a background can help with algae problems as well.
Hope this helps.

Edit:
My favorite background is still mirror (like my avatar)
One big light reflector and makes the tank look so much bigger

 

[returnofsid]

Soon, the back will be covered in Coralline algae, and it'll look amazing!! With our newest tank, I purchased a couple pieces of art foam core board and spray painted them. I used 3 tones of blue and faded it from darker at the bottom, to lighter at the top. I really like the look, though you can't really see the fading, through the tank.

 

[cross]

yes it does, thanks

 

[cross]

sid, how did you get the foam coar board to stay tight to the tank?

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

I usually paint all my tanks black, i only have one with blue background and i actually kind of like it.

 

[jetaero]

I bought big sheets of black/dark gray card stock from QFC and taped them to the back of my tank. It seems to work pretty good.

 

[returnofsid]

Cross, a few delicately placed pieces of scotch tape...lol.

 

[cross]

[/QUOTE]Edit:
My favorite background is still mirror (like my avatar)
One big light reflector and makes the tank look so much bigger [/QUOTE]

that would look cool, i wounder if it would it help reflect light to?

 

[mfinn]

I used the same blue acrylic that my overflow boxes were made from. I actually siliconed them on the inside of the tank, between the overflow boxes.
I've used different taped on back grounds in the past and on a couple occasions, salt creap would get between the back ground and the glass and would be visable.
I also have green star polyp growing across the back wall now, and that looks pretty cool.

 

[cross]

I used the same blue acrylic that my overflow boxes were made from. I actually siliconed them on the inside of the tank, between the overflow boxes.
I've used different taped on back grounds in the past and on a couple occasions, salt creap would get between the back ground and the glass and would be visable.
I also have green star polyp growing across the back wall now, and that looks pretty cool.

how did you get the green star polyp to stick to the glass, glue? i have also heard of xenia on the glass to.

 

[mfinn]

I bought some pieces of the gsp and peeled them off the rock/frag plugs thet were on and super glued them to the back wall of my tank.

 

[MrSculpin]

Tank Backs

I had wished at first that I had painted the back of my 75 gallon tank. But now its covered with algae. I got some
Anthelia (sp?) to grow on the back in one spot. It was a bit hard to get the piece to stick. I tried several "frags" of it that were glued to flat shell peices. One stuck. Part of that was the glue, it was runny older super glue. Gel might have worked better.

 

[cookie]

Is it ok to leave the background with nothing on it. Thats how I have mine and I just scrapped the back side once a week. Am I supposed to just let algea grow all over the back or can I continue to scrape it off?

 

[cross]

I bought some pieces of the gsp and peeled them off the rock/frag plugs thet were on and super glued them to the back wall of my tank.

the super glue people use, is it just regular old gel super glue from the store? or is there super glue that i have to get from the lfs?

 

[mfinn]

the super glue people use, is it just regular old gel super glue from the store? or is there super glue that i have to get from the lfs?

I happen to like the Ic-Gel brand of super glue gel.
But any super glue will work, but I'd suggest the GEL type.


http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1028

 

[mfinn]

Is it ok to leave the background with nothing on it. Thats how I have mine and I just scrapped the back side once a week. Am I supposed to just let algea grow all over the back or can I continue to scrape it off?

If your happy with it, nobody has the right to say any different.