What kind of tank background do you use?
- Thread starter hondaman
- Start date
I have a piece of white paper on the 2.5 for now. I have a piece of blue cloth with kind of a lightblue tiedye effect draped over cardboard on my 20. I'm thinking about painting my next one; sponging on a bit of white, then a light blue,then a medium blue, and finally a dark blue.
All my tanks are solid in background except for my 6g betta tank, which has a Siamese Buddha theme:
I found the background on the web, enlarged it and printed it on two sheets of paper (too big for one), taped it together and laminated it with my machine.
Roan
I found the background on the web, enlarged it and printed it on two sheets of paper (too big for one), taped it together and laminated it with my machine.
Roan
My tanks have a solid blue or no background at all. My LFS has a tank that they used the "Make It Stone" spraypaint on by Krylon and let me tell you it makes an awesome background! It just looks like granite. Very cool. If I didn't have to empty my 75 gallon to move it away from the wall I would do that in a heartbeat!!!
Roan....I love the Buddha tank. It looks like a peaceful place to visit. Who are the occumpants?
Roan....I love the Buddha tank. It looks like a peaceful place to visit. Who are the occumpants?
Jakers, my betta, lives in there. My first planted tankmykidsmylife said:
Buddha doesn't instill peace in him, however, he harrasses every tankmate I put in with him.He had two ottos, but they didn't look happy and I took them out and put them in with the others.
The best tankmates I've found for him are plecos. He doesn't mess with those guys cause they won't hesitate to put him in his place. Nothing more funny than seeing a bully betta getting slapped across the head with a pleco's tail. Heh.
Right now his only mates are pond snails. Candy, the candy striped pleco, is working his butt off in my Boesemani tank cleaning up all the algae I managed to grow in there
He's doing a great job, too. Once it's cleaned up, and he's half done, I'll put him back in with Jakers.Roan
NOT Baby Oil!!!
You can use cooking oil, but do not use Baby Oil, it will make the plastic bubble, permanently, really ugly.
vjm1639 said:Not everyone prefers the solid colors....
You can use cooking oil, but do not use Baby Oil, it will make the plastic bubble, permanently, really ugly.
Yesterday I painted four of my tanks with black acrylic paint. Worked WAY better than anything else I've tried, even the OceanVisions. I just can't get that stuff on right.
Years ago I did a lot of glass window painting at Christmas time and this isn't any different than that so I have a couple of tips/hints. Note that I use either craft acrylic or artist's acrylic paints. I tried several types while doing this and IME the Createx Medium Body Acrylic paint works best.
1) if you are worried about taking it off later, mix in some dish soap with the paint and it will wash off easier
2) this type of acrylic paint is also used for painting fabrics. You can "cure" it with a hairdryer set on high, but don't hold it too close to the tank back. It won't become "one" with the glass as it would if it were applyed to a porous material, but curing it causes it to become "plastic" and form together. It is easier to put a second coat on smoother and faster when it's cured
3) A foam brush or roller works better for overall coverage than a brush
4) To remove it and you've not added dish soap or cured it with heat, use a hairdryer on the entire back to cure it. Then apply the hairdryer on the edge, heat it up and it should peel it off
5) If want to remove it and it's been cured with heat, apply the hairdryer to an edge and peel it off
Roan
Years ago I did a lot of glass window painting at Christmas time and this isn't any different than that so I have a couple of tips/hints. Note that I use either craft acrylic or artist's acrylic paints. I tried several types while doing this and IME the Createx Medium Body Acrylic paint works best.
1) if you are worried about taking it off later, mix in some dish soap with the paint and it will wash off easier
2) this type of acrylic paint is also used for painting fabrics. You can "cure" it with a hairdryer set on high, but don't hold it too close to the tank back. It won't become "one" with the glass as it would if it were applyed to a porous material, but curing it causes it to become "plastic" and form together. It is easier to put a second coat on smoother and faster when it's cured
3) A foam brush or roller works better for overall coverage than a brush
4) To remove it and you've not added dish soap or cured it with heat, use a hairdryer on the entire back to cure it. Then apply the hairdryer on the edge, heat it up and it should peel it off
5) If want to remove it and it's been cured with heat, apply the hairdryer to an edge and peel it off
Roan
This is the best background idea I've seen yet and will probably use it or a variation of it when I set up my 55 gal.hurricanejedi said:
right now I have a solid blue ocean visions background on my 29 gal.
