View Full Version : Whats on your back?
well, actually, what does everyone have for a background on their tanks?
I have a mirror covering the whole length of the back of my tank, I love the effect that it creates by making the tank look much much deeper. Althought with some new fish that I put in the tank it seems to confuse them for a few days...
Molino
08-11-2003, 9:42 PM
Plain black in all of my tanks. I find it draws your attention to what's in the tank (fish, plants, etc) instead of the background.
I like your idea of a mirrored background, sounds cool.
its easy to do also...
I just bought a piece of mirrored plexiglass from Home Depot. Alot easier to work with than regular glass but acheives the same affect...
I really didn't like the backgrounds offered at the fish store, so I scanned in a grayscale image of large Jellyfish, colored it with a pleasing blue tint and taped it to the back of my tank. I am planning on changing it quite frequently, maybe give the fish some art history education. Some Monet's, some Picassos... Photoshop is so fun.
OrionGirl
08-13-2003, 1:31 PM
The tank at work has a sheet of white paper--legal size, to be exact--to block the light from a nearby window. All my other tanks do not have any backing on them. Most are against a white wall, and for the 2 newest setups, they are set so I can see them from two sides.
Tim Bo
08-13-2003, 1:31 PM
I just recently got a background poster made. It shows the head of a white shark with a gaping mouth and big white teeth coming up from the depths. Looks like it's about to crash through the back aquarium glass. No reactions from the fish so far but I love it.
Andy16
08-13-2003, 3:40 PM
Mines just blue. It was black but my fish was getting mean to the otehr fish so i changed it. Then they were both scared to come out of there caves so it worked pretty well.
Originally posted by Tim Bo
I just recently got a background poster made. It shows the head of a white shark with a gaping mouth and big white teeth coming up from the depths. Looks like it's about to crash through the back aquarium glass. No reactions from the fish so far but I love it.
that sounds pretty cool...
125gJoe
08-13-2003, 6:59 PM
Solid black fish store bought background. I used 'cooking spray' (Pam) to make it stick to the back of the tank.
goldfish freak
08-13-2003, 7:23 PM
The back of one of my tanks is painted blue and the other painted black.
Hebdizzle
08-13-2003, 8:29 PM
both of mine are black... but if I had saltwater I would choose blue.
Aaron
Slappy*McFish
08-13-2003, 9:28 PM
Black paint here, as well.
Black construction paper, taped to back of tank. $1.50, 10 minutes. Looks great!
NJ Devils Fan
08-16-2003, 12:10 PM
Black construction paper taped to the back for me.
famman
08-16-2003, 12:37 PM
No background light wall, like oriongirl. I like the effect of my tank sort of hanging out in the room. I set my 55 gal tank so you can view it from 3 angles plus put your head behind it to see it from the back. I put a lot of effort into hiding the plumbing and heaters and in and out tubes to enhance the effect.
good luck
:)
dethjam316
08-16-2003, 8:50 PM
there isn't a backround on any of my tanks. i've been meaning to put a black background on all of them, and that seems to be a trend here, since darker backgrounds would logically help bring out more/better colors. i just never seem to get around to it.
Tetratastic
08-17-2003, 5:01 AM
I don't have any backgrounds on any of my tanks either. The only thing 'unsightly' on the back of my tank are the intake tube and heater, all of which aren't covered by a background, so I don't bother. The tank is up against a plain white wall, so that works for me!
Rometiklan
08-17-2003, 6:52 AM
Most of my tanks don't have a background. However, my 80 gallon display tank has a black plastic garbage bag taped to the back. The tank is heavily planted so I don't even get to see the back glass very much.
Mystroe_TheMyst
08-17-2003, 7:03 AM
I think that backgrounds take focus away from whats actually inside. So I don't use any on my smaller tanks. On my 35gal I've got just the back of a background where it is all grey so it reflects light well and mkes the tank much brighter and more pleasing.
Originally posted by Mystroe_TheMyst
I think that backgrounds take focus away from whats actually inside. So I don't use any on my smaller tanks. On my 35gal I've got just the back of a background where it is all grey so it reflects light well and mkes the tank much brighter and more pleasing. Actually, that is why we with black backgrounds have them, the black background makes you focus on what's in the tank, not whats behind the tank.
I bought a cheap green plastic table cloth from a dollar store and cut it into pieces for the tanks. Works well and is cheap.
I like your mirror idea, maybe I'll try that when I get a bigger tank. For now though, I have pictures of the only thing I enjoy looking at more than my stingrays, titties.
I use a background from the LFS that is doublesided dark blue mirror and grey smoke mirror. Creates a nice canvas for the living picture inside. Plus I can flip it for a different look. I can't stand seeing cords and tubes and to me, a white wall washes out the vibrancy of the fish environment.
:D (Is vibrancy a word?) :p
yashinfan
08-17-2003, 5:53 PM
On my 30 gallon I have a background of those really old British Columbian trees, but it's close up on their roots... weird but it came with the tank? Anyway, I want to buy that Greek Ruins background from Aquarium Services because I have greek ruin ornaments, I'm wondering if it'll be too tacky tho....... ?? Most of my tanks are against the walls so they have a yellow background, but the one in my room has the background because otherwise you'd see posters that are on my wall (ie- anime, hockey, USSR flag..) and it would not look good in a tank :>