Background colors for tanks

[vlangel]

Beautiful mural, love how it looks with the tank.

Thank you! I used to keep seahorses so its my remembrance of that season of my aquaria, although seadragons are a bit more exotic than regular seahorses, LOL.

 

[vlangel]

That is gorgeous

Thank you!

 

[Michael Hughes]

My goal with any background is to increase the illusion of depth, so black is my go-to for freshwater tanks (mainly because I prefer blackwater tanks, and that color background makes it seem like the tank goes on forever).

Our 125 g reef tank is about 4" away from the wall, so I went with no background, instead opting to paint the wall behind a natural looking light tan / off white color. As long as the back glass is clean, it gives the illusion of a deeper tank than it actually is. Now I just need to paint the bottom ends of the light mounts so they disappear.

 

[saltwaterfish.com Verified Sponsor]

My goal with any background is to increase the illusion of depth, so black is my go-to for freshwater tanks (mainly because I prefer blackwater tanks, and that color background makes it seem like the tank goes on forever).

Our 125 g reef tank is about 4" away from the wall, so I went with no background, instead opting to paint the wall behind a natural looking light tan / off white color. As long as the back glass is clean, it gives the illusion of a deeper tank than it actually is. Now I just need to paint the bottom ends of the light mounts so they disappear.

Nice tank I love the botanicals, and smart move on the wall color as well.

 

[afboundguy]

My goal with any background is to increase the illusion of depth, so black is my go-to for freshwater tanks (mainly because I prefer blackwater tanks, and that color background makes it seem like the tank goes on forever).

Our 125 g reef tank is about 4" away from the wall, so I went with no background, instead opting to paint the wall behind a natural looking light tan / off white color. As long as the back glass is clean, it gives the illusion of a deeper tank than it actually is. Now I just need to paint the bottom ends of the light mounts so they disappear.

What color did you use for the back wall?

 

[Michael Hughes]

What color did you use for the back wall?

The color was called Beach House.

I wanna say it was by Behr but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

I used black light-blocking window film. Why? I had some in the closet.

 

[EricR]

Black seems to be most common and I'll probably do that next time but...
My first 37G tank kit from PetSmart came with a vinyl ocean background that I thought looked cool.

For my current tank (40G) I had my son paint a blue gradient on the back to kind of simulate that.
I like it and the way my tank is setup, back panel doesn't get full lighting so you can kinda still see it (5 years later).

This is a bad angle picture of day 1:

This is today (at 5 years):

*I'm color blind but, to me, the coralline growth just sort of blends in with it

 

[Ef4life]

I enjoy the blue on my one tank. Black tends to showcase the corals better, but I prefer the blue.

Clear frosted film is cool too if you can back
Light it with an led

 

[jonelder68]

I did a shadow box. Can ramp lighting etc just like main tank. Takes a lot of work to keep back glass clean though. During lights ramping up and down especially creates a cool illusion of depth. Can’t ever get a quality picture of it.

 

[Michael Hughes]

I enjoy the blue on my one tank. Black tends to showcase the corals better, but I prefer the blue.

Clear frosted film is cool too if you can back
Light it with an led

Lighting with an LED is a great move!

I have a light bar mounted to my stand behind the tank that gives some cool effects (this was when the tank was brand new).

 

[Firefish89]

Current USA's serene aquarium is a fun way to go. I agree that black tends to make coral corals pop, while blue creates the illusion of depth. But only if you clean the back wall.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

I've done black and a dark navy blue, honestly I like the blue better! Though it's such a dark color you can barely tell its blue haha. That tank is so full of chaeto right now that you could tell me it was a neon pink background and I'd believe it.

 

[X-37B]

I had a 30g with the back and side panels black acrylic. They just turned purple with time.