Painting my tank...

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
How would I go about painting my tank, since it is full of water and livestock? Do I just use a roller? Is it even safe to do this?
 
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smartorl

Guest
I used a sponge because of where my tank was and how hard to get to it. In the middle, I was literally using barb-b-q tongs. I ended up using blue and black and laying the black first, then the dark blue and with the sponging, it turned out to be awesome!
 

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
that sounds cool. I cant decide between black and blue. lol. well thanks, i was just making sure it was ok to do this.
 
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smartorl

Guest
I couldn't either so I bought both to test, which wasn't enough to do the entire tank. The sponging gave it a 3-D depth effect.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by smartorl
http:///forum/post/3298369
I couldn't either so I bought both to test, which wasn't enough to do the entire tank. The sponging gave it a 3-D depth effect.


What brand of paint and how long did it take to dry? Sounds really beautiful, I want to copy you.
 
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smartorl

Guest
I just used basic acrylic paints because of the "one coat" thickness and availability. There are pictures on here somewhere of it, I was ectatic with the results.
If you have ever been diving, it gave it that same "off in the distance" dimension that has always been amazing to me. Instead of two dimensional flat back, it gave it instant depth. It looked so much like looking over a ridge with open ocean behind it.
As far at the drying, I clipped on a fan from my sump pointing behind the tank and for the most part it was dry within the day. The paint is thick so it doesn't run or anything, plus it was behind the tank so it wasn't bothering anything.
I used a darker blue with the black. The lighter blue looked odd, the darker was perfect.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by smartorl
http:///forum/post/3298411
I just used basic acrylic paints because of the "one coat" thickness and availability. There are pictures on here somewhere of it, I was ectatic with the results.
If you have ever been diving, it gave it that same "off in the distance" dimension that has always been amazing to me. Instead of two dimensional flat back, it gave it instant depth. It looked so much like looking over a ridge with open ocean behind it.
As far at the drying, I clipped on a fan from my sump pointing behind the tank and for the most part it was dry within the day. The paint is thick so it doesn't run or anything, plus it was behind the tank so it wasn't bothering anything.
I used a darker blue with the black. The lighter blue looked odd, the darker was perfect.

Oh that sounds so much nicer than the plastic sheet thing I am using right now...can you post another picture?
 
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smartorl

Guest
Actually, I can do you one better, this week, I am going to do the back of the 29 gallon!
 

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
I just finished painting my tank, I couldnt decide between blue and black, so i just painted it black. I figure if I want, I can just scrape off the black and re-do it in the future if I change my mind. Will post pics once I am done doing a wc.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by JAXFishGirl
http:///forum/post/3298652
I just finished painting my tank, I couldnt decide between blue and black, so i just painted it black. I figure if I want, I can just scrape off the black and re-do it in the future if I change my mind. Will post pics once I am done doing a wc.

You didn't want to wait and see what smartorl was talking about? I want to paint my tank too, and I'm on vacation this week, so hurry up and do that WC and post your pic...

 

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Lol, I am very IMPATIENT when it comes to waiting on someone. lol, no offense smartorl. hehe. I am waiting for everything to settle then I will post a pic. You will have to excuse the diatoms =( I got some new rock from a fellow reefer who had it in a huge bin with a PH and so I put it straight into my tank and it started an outbreak. And I just kinda threw the rocks in there knowing I have a whole week of vacation this week so I am rearranging one day this week. Whew, that was a lot of rambling....
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by JAXFishGirl
http:///forum/post/3298668
Lol, I am very IMPATIENT when it comes to waiting on someone. lol, no offense smartorl. hehe. I am waiting for everything to settle then I will post a pic. You will have to excuse the diatoms =( I got some new rock from a fellow reefer who had it in a huge bin with a PH and so I put it straight into my tank and it started an outbreak. And I just kinda threw the rocks in there knowing I have a whole week of vacation this week so I am rearranging one day this week. Whew, that was a lot of rambling....

LOL...I hear you on the impatient thing for sure. I am ready to go out the door for some paint, a sponge, because I wasn't waiting on either of you..LOL and some new tubing to set up this bothersome skimmer again. I'm on vacation this week as well. I don't have the money to really do anything however...so I will play with the fish tank.
 

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Yeah I am also just hanging out this week d/t expenses. I scoured his threads looking for a pic, I couldn't find one. It sounds pretty though.
found one online though

same tank with some stuff in it
 

flower

Well-Known Member

So it is dark black on the bottom and dark blue on the top, two tone. I thought she was saying it was all mixed around, a blotch here and there like texture painting...I wonder how it looks with coraline blotches all over it like mine.
 

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
oh, hmmmm maybe he did say that. LOL. Couldn't find a pic of that.
Here is mine, like I said excuse the mess

believe it or not, those rocks are stable up at the top.
 

flower

Well-Known Member

So you painted it all black...very dramatic, I bet when the diatoms go away the brighter colors in the rock will really stand out, the purple already does. I like it. Do you have a before picture to compare to the new look?
 
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