do all aquarium backdrops look tacky?

[i_eat_kangaroos]

you know, those ones with plants and stuff, do they ever look good?

 

[jeffrey]

I use the "back" of mine, its a blue that gets a bit darker as it goes down.

 

[kaz petts]

I use one of these particular back drops.
The plants on it however are very similar to the actual plants i have in there.
I think it looks ok. Depends how it has been fixed onto the tank as well. I used double sided sticky tape so it sits on the tank properly and was fitted tight.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I have plants ones in my 320l and 160l and the others have block colour. The planty ones look ok in my tanks (better in the 160l) because they actually have plants. I think if there's no plants in the tank but on the background, then it can look weird.

 

[Tropjunky]

yes they do i don't like the glossy papper but if i could i would get some glass paint and make my own.

 

[ddm18]

I can never make up my mind. I've got a backdrop which is a kind of 'rock wall'. It's effectively lots of very dark greys, kind of slate coloured I suppose.

Anyway, they say (and I think it's correct) that a plain(ish) backdrop draws your attention to the fish, rather than the backdrop, and a dark colour enhances the colours of the fish, because there's a stark contrast.

As kaz petts says, the backdrop does need to be attached well, because otherwise you can get gaps between them, and that causes a weird effect, often mistaken for water trapped back there.

Of course though, any backdrop, or decor of any sort is a matter of opinion, so there's not right or wrong answer.

 

[kitty falol]

Well, I think ours looks pretty good

We did buy one that was much taller than our tank though so it's mostly blue with some plants coming up from the bottom. We have also got real plants in as well which certainly adds to the effect.

 

[JamesTasker]

You could use cork to create a more natural background, perhaps resembling a bank

 

[plecoperson]

i like mine it makes the tank look like its deeper, like it goes farther back. I have a planty one. But then I have plants in there too. Anything was preferable to the green/blue wall, part of my cork noticeboard and a corner off my exam timetable which is what you see without the background I like them but some can look tacky. I suppose it depends on the interior of the tank.

 

[kaz petts]

Here is a pic of my tank with the plant backdrop.
Make your own minds up wheather this looks tacky or not. I like it though.

 

[Teelie]

Some look great, almost real and a very few can look real but you also get the tacky ones and the obviously fake looking ones. I have one on my 10 gallon though I'm using the black back so that it looks better.

 

[cutechic]

I agree with the majority here, backgrounds of plants look best in a planted tank. I use black or blue background on my larger tanks, and paint the backgrounds of my smaller tanks (usually black or brown paint).

 

[Cossack1977]

i tiried to re-create a river bank with my backdrop.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v258/Cossack1977/2tank.jpg[/IMG

[img]http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v258/Cossack1977/3tank.jpg

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

i dont particularly like them. i would never have one. the background of my tank is just some darkish purple book covering stuff which i stuck to the wall behind my tank. it makes an interesting contrast to the bright green of my plants

btw Cossack1977 i love your tank!

 

[astroboy]

If you have a small tank a mirror looks nice as a background.

I personally like solid colors like black. I used vegetable oil to secure it on (you can also use vasoline). Just gotta get the air bubles out and it looks awesome.