Good self-adhesive plain black background?

HotCoral · Jun 5, 2020

Hey guys,

I need to vinyl wrap my tank and I was wondering what brand some of you use? I would like it to be self-adhesive for easy application, but I'm also open to finding a good glue with a reliable standard vinyl. I've never done a background on any of my tanks (previously freshwater), but I've seen the way it makes the corals and fish pop so i want that too. Thanks for the input!

andrewey · Jun 5, 2020

Hey there! Congratulations on your first post!

Are you positive you don't want to paint the back? Maybe someone with more experience with vinyl will chime in, but on the few occasions I've had a tank with a vinyl background, invariable over a number of years I start to notice air bubbles or salt creep between the vinyl and the glass.

JasonK84 · Jun 5, 2020

+1 for painting.

HotCoral · Jun 6, 2020

andrewey said:
Hey there! Congratulations on your first post!

Are you positive you don't want to paint the back? Maybe someone with more experience with vinyl will chime in, but on the few occasions I've had a tank with a vinyl background, invariable over a number of years I start to notice air bubbles or salt creep between the vinyl and the glass.

Thanks for the response! Can I still paint it while I have inhabitants? I sadly didnt think it through and do it before set up.

Idoc · Jun 6, 2020

Definitely paint the back...way easier in the long run. I think you can do it while the tank is up and running...cover the tank so nothing can splash into it and be careful with the roller to keep splatter from going everywhere...and have good ventilation since you will obviously be doing this indoors.

andrewey · Jun 6, 2020

No worries there! I've painted two with inhabitants still in them. You have to take precautions and I'd obviously avoid spray paints and the such, but I did one with acrlyic paint and one with a low VOC oil paint without any issues. I'd probably run some extra carbon, open all the windows, and ensure the paint doesn't get anywhere near the water (or ideally cover the top of the tank temporarily to avoid any accidents).