Tank backgrounds

[GuppyLover23]

Hey everyone,

I have a 29 gal. tank and I was just wondering what other people have done for a background on their tanks. I would love to hear some suggestions or some creative, unique ideas. I know that a lot of lfs have those static cling backgrounds, but I think they aren't very exciting. Well hope to hear some neat ideas!

 

[wetwetwet]

Sorry not to be exciting but I use cling background. Dark blue at bottom getting lighter towards the top...

But with being quite heavily planted and lots of bogwood I feel the background isn't that important

If I was starting again I think I'd probably try and be more creative in building some structures up against the back glass btu still use some kind of backing film.





btw HiYa and welcome GL23

 

[GuppyLover23]

Thanks for the welcome =) I'm still working on the plants end of the tank.......I've been thinking of using a large sheet of some kind of colored paper, but not sure yet. I had an old tank once that was given to me that had this really neat plastic sheet that had a texture on it that when the tank was lit, it would reflect the light and look like "waves" I have no idea what it was used for aside from decorating the tank and I have yet to find anything like it again. Anyways...thanks again for the info and the hi =)

 

[William]

On one of my tanks I've got it in the center of the room on a table, it has no backing and its great to go around the back and look at it, the filter looks a little ugly though but I still like it

 

[Amadaca]

Some of the planted underwater plastic sheets are pretty good, but for mine...

Go with a rockwall background. They fit on the inside of the aquarium with suckers against the inside-back glass & lays uneven, thus giving a real 3-D effect, & the appearance of a large rockwall in an aquarium your size would be quite stunning.

An alternative is using aquarium silicone sealant to glue gravel to the back of the inside glass, thereby creating a type of standout rockwall. This does not look as good as the artificial rockwall itself, but still can look quite marvelous.

 

[semper fi]

you can also use styrofoam for the background. if you go to the craft store and get blocks of styrofoam and cut it into rocks and ledges and glue them to a larger sheet of styrofoam. you can then paint the whole thing to look like rocks and what not. if you use aerosol paints they will melt the styrofoam. when you get the look that you want then coat the whole thing with resin or silicone and let cure for a week. wash with hot water and place in the aquarium. you can drill small holes and silicone suction cups to hold it to the back of the tank or silicone it to the glass. if you silicone it, it becomes permanent. you can also silicone small rocks and pebbles to a sheet of styrofoam that has been coated with resin or silicone and also use that as a backing. both can be as unique as your imagination.

maggie

 

[Calusa]

where could one obtain a rockwall bacground?

 

[Paul]

I bought my 66gal at a yardsale, I stumbled across. So I had no plans for an additional tank at the time. SO I had to scrounge for equipment to set it up. Well I had everything except the backer. I was taking out the garbage later on that night and it hit me. Now my 66gal has a 33 gal black garbage bag as a backer. My wife calls it the getto tank.

 

[semper fi]

that's cute. the ghetto tank.

if you are in the us you can get one of them at petsmart. i think they may even have some of them shown online. or try big al's online.

the commercial make ones will add weight to your tank. make sure that you check out the level of the tank. trust me, you don't want your tank to break cause it is twisted and stressed from the weight in the tank. you can add styrofoam to the bottom of your tank to act like a shock absorber to compensate for a tank that could become unlevel.

maggie

 

[Calusa]

I don't know what you mean by check the level... my tank is in my basement, because it's 75 gallons... as far as I know, the floor is level, making the tank level, and so on....

 

[Amadaca]

where could one obtain a rockwall bacground?

They arent particularly common where I am, but can be found without exceptionally extensive searching either. The major drawback is that they cost a fair bit, around $200 for a three footer.

Its not cheap, but IMO, no other type of background can match its display. Im not sure of a place online that offers them but Im sure a quick search in Google or Yahoo would provide some answers to that Q.

 

[Calusa]

what does one look like??

If I'm imagining correctly {haaaaa don't bet on it..}, I could probably build one using plexiglass, some slate rock, and silicone, or other glue...

 

[semper fi]

you want to check the level of the tank from one corner across the tank to the opposite corner. don't assume that the tank is level cause the floor is. i assumed that also and ending up twisting a 120 and having all of that water drain from the first floor to the second floor. $7000.00 later and a new hardwood floor, you would never know the difference! a gallon of water weighs 7-8 lbs. so even a 10 gallon will weigh 70 just filled. lot of weight for the stand.

maggie

 

[Calusa]

good call- I'll get my dad's level out later and double check... the floor is the basement, so no worries about the wood flooring... and I'd hope the basement is level, but who knows! thanks!