I didn't want to paint so I tried a couple of other things. Thought I'd share my experiences.
Contact Paper=FAIL.
I'd bought a big roll, since the stuff only comes in a big roll, and tried it twice. Second attempt was worse than the first ... Any touching of the sticky side of the paper (which is actually a ridiculously stretchy vinyl) leaves fingerprints that are easily seen through the aquarium. Bubbles are nearly impossible to smooth out, even when pricked with a straight pin. And the glue dries to a hard residue in any areas that don't adhere perfectly, so peeling the stuff off to try again required a fair amount of clean-up. I tried vinegar, orange-oil goo remover and razor blades before finally using an ammonia-based window cleaner.
Foamcore Board=WIN
FYI, foamcore is basically two sheets of thin posterboard sandwiching a styrofoam middle. It's almost exactly as thick as a tank frame, so it fits right into the space on a traditional tank.
I measured the glass between the top and bottom frame pieces, walked into an art supply store and asked for a piece of black foamcore cut to size. My plan would have been perfect, if I'd used my trusty fold-out carpenter's ruler instead of my stretched out tape measure for the height measurement. After taking five minutes to trim the bottom edge a bit, I put the board in place, taped the top and bottom edges, and voilá! A perfectly smooth black background.
Contact Paper=FAIL.
I'd bought a big roll, since the stuff only comes in a big roll, and tried it twice. Second attempt was worse than the first ... Any touching of the sticky side of the paper (which is actually a ridiculously stretchy vinyl) leaves fingerprints that are easily seen through the aquarium. Bubbles are nearly impossible to smooth out, even when pricked with a straight pin. And the glue dries to a hard residue in any areas that don't adhere perfectly, so peeling the stuff off to try again required a fair amount of clean-up. I tried vinegar, orange-oil goo remover and razor blades before finally using an ammonia-based window cleaner.
Foamcore Board=WIN
FYI, foamcore is basically two sheets of thin posterboard sandwiching a styrofoam middle. It's almost exactly as thick as a tank frame, so it fits right into the space on a traditional tank.
I measured the glass between the top and bottom frame pieces, walked into an art supply store and asked for a piece of black foamcore cut to size. My plan would have been perfect, if I'd used my trusty fold-out carpenter's ruler instead of my stretched out tape measure for the height measurement. After taking five minutes to trim the bottom edge a bit, I put the board in place, taped the top and bottom edges, and voilá! A perfectly smooth black background.
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