I'm wanting to change my backgrounds to black, but moving the tanks away from the wall to do it really isn't an option.

Anyone got a cheap way to black out the back of your tank? Someone suggested using black felt. I thought of black construction paper but wasn't sure if i'd be able to find big enough bits. My tanks are 4-foot and 5-foot long.

using felt or paper is never gonna look as good as if you painted it, as you will see both the glass and the black stuff. imo.

Don't paint it! I hate scraping paint off second hand tanks :nilly:

I used black vinyl fabric stuff from Spotlight for behind my tank, looked just as good as painted IMO.

vinyl would be a good idea. sam's full of good ideas, you will come to learn

as long as you can get the black stuff to stick firmly to the back of the tank, it should be okay.

what about duraseal?

I hate scraping paint off second hand tanks

So stop buying tanks with painted background/ use the tank with a painted background. :facepalm:

You can get a blue/black reversable background paper in most pet/fish shops. I found that if I put a tank with it on by a window that it was rather light, so I stuck a bit of poly to it and it made it work much better.

I've never put a background on a tank. I figure if you're noticing the background then the foreground is too boring. :slfg:

Butynol works well.

So stop buying tanks with painted background/ use the tank with a painted background. :facepalm:

The auction was poorly described and the photo didn't show a painted background :roll:

Sam -- that's a good idea. I'll have a look in spotlight.

Duraseal isn't a bad idea but that would be pretty hard to do with the tank against the wall. :dunno:

I've seen those black backgrounds in petshops but I can't really justify paying $20 per tank for a black bit of paper -- I was hoping I could get something cheaper. Plus I don't like how they are shiny.

The idea of a black sheet just occurred to me. They sell black flat sheets for beds for like $10-$15 from the warehouse. I could cut one of those to fit and it would easily do both tanks. Still securing it to the tank would be the hard part...

Be careful with material if it get wet and does not dry you may end up with mould

Don't paint it! I hate scraping paint off second hand tanks :nilly:

I used black vinyl fabric stuff from Spotlight for behind my tank, looked just as good as painted IMO.

Ooo really? No reflection or anything? I'm about to paint my big tank but will avoid it if I can. I've painted one of my small ones and it does look fantastic. The glass is so thick on big tanks I've found paper backgrounds look useless. I'm going for blue also which makes it even harder :lol:

EDIT:

Be careful with material if it get wet and does not dry you may end up with mould

Good point - hadn't thought of that. My fish splash like mad so that'd be no good.

I used satin black wallpaper, works great and looks even better. It would be difficult to put on in such a tight space though.

or, do what i do and put a cool poster on the wall behind the tank... see my dp!

I've never had a problem with reflection on any of my backgrounds, maybe I apply them really well?? :dunno:

I used a black rubbish bag, made it look kinda 3D. Was cool for a bit but got sick of it really quickly because of the shine

Im bringing back a roll of black/blue tank vinyl....

My backgrounds are painted on with waterbased acrylic paint and peel off quite easily.

I have a sheet of pellet liner (goes between the pellet and bags/boxes etc). It's made of recycled plastic and is mottled in colour, comes in 1200x1000 I think.

Looks darker in real life, excuse the uncleaned back wall :sick:

blueether that stuff looks pretty good.

Im in the same boat at the moment with my 600l bowlfront... im thinking of painting black

I paint all of my tanks. Since the paint is directly on the glass, I think it looks better than anything else as you notice backgrounds when there are uneven spots.

It shouldn't be that hard to remove with a decent scraper.

However, seeing Amelia's nice tanks yesterday, I can see why she wouldn't want to paint them. Would be a lot of effort to move.

One of my tanks with painted black background. It pretty much hides the massive filter in the corner and gives it heaps of depth. The colours of the plants and fish pop too.

Agreed about the black BG -- it draws the eye to the foreground rather than the background, kinda makes the tank look less boxy.

P.S I see cories in that photo. :nfs:

Although it wont help in your situation of not being able to move your tank, black vinyl from a sign writer or similar is the best IMO.

Stuck to the glass you get a even, flat look with no glare, wont fall off and the ease of just pulling it off in the future. Can get any colour under the sun too! Did my tank for about $20 (applied myself).