What to use for background?
 

Im looking for something black for the background on my new tank any ideas?

black paint :mrgreen:

I use Mac tac vinyl in a matte black finish :cool: . Takes about 5 minutes to put
it on and you can peel it off any time you want if you want to change background colour.

Costs about $5/yd at Stanley's Sign and Screen: 456 - 42 Ave. S.E.

If you think you might go with this, let me know and I will give you some helpful hints on how to best apply it.

or you can use the metallic blue or electric blue or . . .
they have quite a selection of color :biggrin:
for a 24" width, it is about $2~$5/yard depend on the quality
also buy a vinyl applicator/squeeze, it's about $3
the applicator is a lot better than using a credit card to apply.

Alan -AJ_77- put a blue background on the wall behind the tank.
i like that idea :smile:

Tak

Dido the post with the paint. I just 'rolled' the back of my predator tank with really dark, dark navy almost black. It Took three coats, nomal latex paint.
Dave,

But with paint what if i ever want to take it off plus my sump is right below the back and dont really want to risk getting paint into it. Any one seen the plastic stuff looks like cardboard.

That's what I have on the wall behind my tank. Rona - 17 or so bucks for a 4x8 sheet? Easy to work with, cheap, can be moved on a whim.

I'd be interested myself so if you can post your hints here, that'd be great!! I'm wondering how nicely the background comes off. I would like to change the bgks on my tank without evidence of it when I upgrade and sell the tank. Does it come off cleanly?

AJ-77 do you know what the stuff is called or what sectio of rona it would be in?

I think it's called "Tenplast" - although Tim had another brand name for it as well... It's with the plastic lattice, finished panels, that sort of stuff. They had about 5 colours, but the royal blue is the only one that did it for me. (was there black??) :confused:

Roplast.

Alans' works great because you can still view his tank from the other side and have him sitting at the computer as a background.

:lol: :mrgreen:

Vertex,

When you apply the Mactac you simply start at one edge and begin to peel back the backing paper. Once you have it started, tack the edge down along the edge of the back glass then use a spray bottle to wet down the sticky side as you continue peeling and placing it accross the back of the tank. The water allows you to move the mack tac around a bit and makes it easier to squeegee out any air bubbles you will get (I used a credit card but as Tak suggested the applicator may work better).

The biggest help to this process (off a thread on RC) was adding a couple of drops of dish soap to the water. It made adjusting the backing and moving the air bubbles out a much much easier. The soap may create a slight milky film but this dissapears when the water dries up.

As for removing the backing once it is on, I would say it should take about 10 seconds :biggrin: Once you get a corner peeled back just pull.

Or you could go with insulation foam. That stuff is awesome.

that stuff is almost like dw40, you can use it for anything!

i nicely clean cut piece works well as a dry squeegy

All those suggestions besides paint work if you can access the back glass for cleaning. My tanks are as close to a wall as possible, the plumping keeps it a bit off. So if water spills down the back some how and went between the glass and non painted backing I could never clean it without draining the tank.

Coroplast is the other name for the cardboard like plastic. I believe Stanley’s sells it as well.

Dave

I used auto window tint film for my 50 FOWLR tank. I used the Limo tint, the darkest grade, and it looks great. You could see through it slightly prior to filling, but once the tank is filled, it is totally black.

That's what I meant, didn't think it sounded quite right.

You can go to the LFS and buy some of their background. I use the one that is blue on one side and black on the other. You buy it by the foot. :mrgreen:

I would have just bought the stuff from the fish store but i havent seen it in 30" plus i need 9.5 feet :mrgreen: