Paint for the back of the tank?

[Chaloupa]

I know that this has been answered before...but ... what kind of paint do you use to paint the back of a glass tank? We are going for a blue...what brand and how to apply are my questions..THANKS!!!!

[cprowler]

I use Tremclad and rolled it on, works very well covers in 2 coats. I've seen some use Krylon spray but it takes a few coats and you have to tape off the rest of the tank and have a place to spray it. I wiped down the glass with thinners and let it dry before painting so it would stick well to the glass.

I used blue on my old tanks and used black this time and love it.

Here is a pic from 6 or 7 months ago.

[Chaloupa]

Hey Bill! Thanks so much...I love your tank. Have checked it out before and it is really nice. Still not sure if we are going with black or blue....

[Kryten]

Here's a comparison shot of my tank with blue background. Don't know what kind of paint was used though, as it was like that when I bought it.

[OCDP]

Blue is nice because (especially if you have halides) you can really see the shimmer on the back glass, which gives it a nice effect. I've never used black, but have seen it, and it just seems to dull... too dark basically haha. The blue adds a lot of energy, and in a way it just gives off more of an ocean feel with the blue backround. All my opinion of course.

[TheReefGeek]

Bill, do you not get any coralline growth on the back wall? Or do you scrape it off?

I would think blue would be easier to maintain because coralline would blend in better, but the black look if maintained, is awesome.

[Kryten]

I actually keep the back of mine clean too. I figured no point having a painted tank if you let the back get covered up by coralline.

The other thing you could do is just get some of that plastic aquarium background stuff the stores sell. I've seen it with both a solid blue and also a graduated blue from darker to lighter at the top.

[cprowler]

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

Bill, do you not get any coralline growth on the back wall? Or do you scrape it off?

I was going to say unless you are going to keep it clean it wont matter what color you paint it.

Yes I have the back and side covered in coraline and since i have the plastic internal megaflows scraping the glass would look funny. I just painted it so it looked ok for the first few months or however long it took to grow coraline, I had no idea. I did just add a urchin today so maybe it will all be black again in a few months. .

My next tank I will have a custom external overflow and have some sort of backround like weatherson on RC, but that will be a while.

[Chaloupa]

well first coat on...and its dark blue...kind of a compromise between what I wanted and what the husband wanted! Will post pics once it is done...looks like a couple of coats for sure! Thanks to everyone for their input! I appreciate it.