Painting back of tank. Good or bad? Alternative suggestions?

[KillerKadoogan]

I have a 20x20x20 cube with HOB and it looks cluttered and distracting. Is painting the back of the tank ok? I've read that it's bad for par readings, but I'm not sure if it's that bad. I have a kessil a160we. If not painting any other suggestions?

 

[nothing_fancy]

Its not bad to have the back of your tank blacked out. Rather than paint it I would look into 3M Vinyl sheets. You would simply cut it to the dimension and use a hair dryer or heat gun to fix it to the outside of the rear of the tank. This will look much better than paint. Many AIO tank companies use vinyl on their tanks to black out the rear overflow chambers.

 

[stoney7713]

I painted mine black, which is great in the fact it hides the mess. But, it makes the tank look darker, I wish I went with blue.

Coralline is growing really well on it, I don't scrape the back. I also have some corals I am placing on the back, so once it fills in, it won't matter.

 

[KillerKadoogan]

I painted mine black, which is great in the fact it hides the mess. But, it makes the tank look darker, I wish I went with blue.

Coralline is growing really well on it, I don't scrape the back. I also have some corals I am placing on the back, so once it fills in, it won't matter.

Yeah I got a tidal 110 on this tank and it looks huge lol. Is it too much? Either way I want to do this to hide everything

 

[stoney7713]

Yeah I got a tidal 110 on this tank and it looks huge lol. Is it too much? Either way I want to do this to hide everything

Never too much...lol

As long as it isn't causing the inhabitants problems, it's fine.

I thought about using vinyl, but I had paint on hand, so I used it. I have been keeping fish for decades, mostly freshwater, but I will always cover the back of the tank. It just looks better IMO.

 

[KillerKadoogan]

Never too much...lol

As long as it isn't causing the inhabitants problems, it's fine.

I thought about using vinyl, but I had paint on hand, so I used it. I have been keeping fish for decades, mostly freshwater, but I will always cover the back of the tank. It just looks better IMO.

I do also but saw stuff on videos how it decreases light absorption so I was worried about coral growth/health. I'm new to saltwater so I don't want to kill anything

 

[Cell]

Plastidip ftw

 

[stoney7713]

I do also but saw stuff on videos how it decreases light absorption so I was worried about coral growth/health. I'm new to saltwater so I don't want to kill anything

It absolutely does affect light reflection, BRS did a video on it. But we are also talking about reflection, how much does it really affect things.

Other things like screen tops, glass tops, white sand vs black vs bare bottom, and if you let the back get overgrown with coralline do also.

In the end it's also about what you like, your corals will be fine either way. People have been painting the back of their tanks for years and have beautiful set ups.

Go blue, or even a light blue, either one of those would absorb less then black. Or go black if that's what you want.

It will be fine.

 

[KillerKadoogan]

It absolutely does affect light reflection, BRS did a video on it. But we are also talking about reflection, how much does it really affect things.

Other things like screen tops, glass tops, white sand vs black vs bare bottom, and if you let the back get overgrown with coralline do also.

In the end it's also about what you like, your corals will be fine either way. People have been painting the back of their tanks for years and have beautiful set ups.

Go blue, or even a light blue, either one of those would absorb less then black. Or go black if that's what you want.

It will be fine.

Thanks for the information!

 

[mfinn]

I've painted the back of a tank a few dozen times.
Not going to hurt a thing.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

2 out of my 3 current tanks have the backs painted blue. I use krylon fusion paint or something similar. In my years of aquarium keeping, I've painted most of the backs of my tanks, I find it cleaner and neater. Personally I feel the fish like it too since nothing can surprise them from that side. I've always used blue never black.

I don't believe there is any downside, its just a personal preference.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Having anytjing to darken a side of the tank, even if its white, it will reduce reflection from your lighting, with black its been demonstrated to be fairly significant on the bottom portion of the tank, but I assume for most people this is not an issue, but due to this I personally keep mine un painted/covered.

We have 2 fresh tanks with backing, one painted black and another with a background, it made a substantial difference in plant growth, but we use cheap loghts on our fresh tanks, like cheap cheap. If we used something decent, it probably would have bo noticeable difference.

 

[k2-]

A background to hide the chords for sure , black paint may be not.

If you like the look I am trying out travertine or marble tiles for the background

 

[Tcook]

I painted the back of my 55 blue.

 

[Mhamilton0911]

I used 5% auto window tinting. Easy to apply if you've done it before. Appears totally black from the front, but you can still see through it if you need to with a flashlight behind it. I've done 3 tanks this way. Only one did I paint, and it will scrape off if you're not careful.

 

[X-37B]

I have painted black no problem.
My 20g was black and after 5 months their is not much black to be seen. Same on my non painted 80. The coralline covers it. Trying to keep the back wall clean is a pain so I just let it go natural.
My 30g Nem tank has 3 sides black and is now purple.
20g nano cube

30g Nem system.

 

[themcnertney]

Here's an idea that I did on mine. Granted it was 220 gallon but you might be able to use the same concept.
I ran a 4" strip of acrylic top and bottom the whole entire length of the tank. These were double sided tape to the upper and lower aquarium strips that wrapped the tank. Then an acrylic panel was cut to size for the back of the tank. The panel slide behind the 4" strips and could be removed easily. The acrylic was black. I had a local shop cut to size. I think I have a diagram somewhere, Ill see if I can find it.

 

[X-37B]

Here's an idea that I did on mine. Granted it was 220 gallon but you might be able to use the same concept.
I ran a 4" strip of acrylic top and bottom the whole entire length of the tank. These were double sided tape to the upper and lower aquarium strips that wrapped the tank. Then an acrylic panel was cut to size for the back of the tank. The panel slide behind the 4" strips and could be removed easily. The acrylic was black. I had a local shop cut to size. I think I have a diagram somewhere, Ill see if I can find it.

Great idea! I have black pvc strips on my 30g to hide the water line and the 3" sandbed.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I painted the back of my 55 blue.

I like the blue you did

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a 20x20x20 cube with HOB and it looks cluttered and distracting. Is painting the back of the tank ok? I've read that it's bad for par readings, but I'm not sure if it's that bad. I have a kessil a160we. If not painting any other suggestions?

I always place black construction paper from walmart on the back which is water resistant and 30" x 30" for $1.28 and place newspaper over it once on the tank to absorb salt creep and any moisture. Its easy to remove if you want to change color and mainly for resale as buyer may want a different color backing