Black Background Bodacious

[mudplayerx]

I have been meaning to post this, but keep forgetting everytime I log on.
I bought a background for my 55 gallon and to my dismay it was black, not blue. Having limited funds I decided to apply it to the back of my tank anyhow.
I was pleasantly surprised. I think it looks better than the blue background because it doesn't detract from any of the colors in the tank. The purple and scarlet coraline algae stands out really well, as do my corals and anemones.
One other thing to take into consideration when shopping for a background is that most aquarium equipment is black. With a black background, you don't notice my powerheads, filters, or skimmer much at all.
Black background bodacious indeed.

 

[buzzword]

hey mudplayerx, what kind of background is it? I was going to paint the back of mine but am now rethinking this. Thanks.

 

[mudplayerx]

I'm not sure of the name brand anymore, but I went to the local Walmart and bought the background for a 55 gallon tank. It had pictures of freshwater plants on one side, and the black background on the other side. I think it cost me around $5. The local fish stores would have cost me around $9.
It was made of some sort of plastic and came rolled up like a poster, sealed in plastic.
ps- make sure you use duct-tape to secure the entire top of the background to the top of the tank. If you miss any of the top portion of the background with the duct tape, water from the tank may eventually drip between the background and the back of the tank.....and we all know how saltwater looks when it dries on glass.

 

[buzzword]

Ok I know what you are talking about. Thanks .

 

[techshredd]

i have a 55 gallon with blue on 1 side and black on the other we had blue up at first but black with white sand looks coo

 

[snipe]

Getting water behind them is a pain but it dont dry like the reg water dose you wont have saltcreep on the back of your tank.
Im against painting cause if you ever get tired of that background you cant change it.

 

[jeffro63]

another idea
what i do is go to the local fabric store (or wal*mart ) and get a piece of fabric in any color or design you like and get some really good 2 sided tape ( i use the 3M type for hanging pictures on the wall ) and put the tape around the outside edges of the tank and stick the fabric to it. then you can change it when ever you want and have a new look at any time

 

[mudplayerx]

Originally posted by jeffro63
another idea
what i do is go to the local fabric store (or wal*mart ) and get a piece of fabric in any color or design you like and get some really good 2 sided tape ( i use the 3M type for hanging pictures on the wall ) and put the tape around the outside edges of the tank and stick the fabric to it. then you can change it when ever you want and have a new look at any time
You could do that, but if you ever got saltwater on the fabric, it would look ugly when it dried (salt crystals). If you get saltwater on the back side of the background, it will just roll off and not show through.