Painted Backgrounds on Tanks

thor32766 · 03/20/2006, 07:20 PM

Hello,
I am in the stages of setting up my 220 gallon tank. As far as backgrounds, I dont want the old type where you tape in on the back. Does anybody have pics of their tanks with painted backgrounds to see what they look like. Or any advice is also welcome.

thanks for your time
brian

patharm · 03/20/2006, 09:17 PM

Get the Royal Blue acrylic paint they sell in Ace Hardware. Don't make the mistake I made and purchased the Royal Blue outdoor paint they sell at Home Depot unless you are looking for a light blue appearance. Check out my gallery if you want to see look of my painted background. Oh, and it's a 220 Perfecto as well.

Patrick

ThunderousTalon · 03/21/2006, 04:18 PM

i'd go with krylon fusion, go with black as well. Blue absorbs entirely too much color and is distracting imo.... colors pop a whole lot more w/ black.

robb_brennan · 03/21/2006, 05:01 PM

The 75 you bought was painted with lack acrylic from ACE. I used the store brand on that one. Just make sure you put a few light coats on whichever tank you spray! Thats why if you look at teh tank when its sitting in front of a light you can see through a few spots, I ran out of Paint!

thor32766 · 03/21/2006, 05:16 PM

well what a choice i have to make. thanks again for the tank rob.

DaveG99 · 03/21/2006, 07:10 PM

Just leave it clear and eventually it will be purple with coraline algae anyway.

rdmpe · 03/21/2006, 07:21 PM

IMO roll on latex is the way to go. With some latex and a cheap roller, you will be done painting that thing in about 2 minutes with no masking, no overspray. It will go on nice and even and thick. I have spraypainted tanks before and IME it is WAY more of a PITA than rolling latex paint on. You can go to home depot and get any color you want. Dark purple would probably look good, I used black and am happy with it. I'd offer to take a picture of it, but believe me, it doesn't come out looking like anything in a picture. Just looks black

If you want to try to see it, here are some pics... http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...98#post6988998

Opiy · 03/21/2006, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ThunderousTalon
i'd go with krylon fusion, go with black as well. Blue absorbs entirely too much color and is distracting imo.... colors pop a whole lot more w/ black.

Even though im not from Fl. I thought I might post a comment to help you decide... I agree with ThunderousTalon, I have used the Kyrlon Fusion on 2 different tanks now and I LOVE it. Its easy to apply and it doesn't come off easy either. It is also cheap, I think $3 a can or so. I just used newspaper to wrap up all the places I didn't want overspray to go and taped up the edges so only the glass would get the spray. If you do choose to use the spray make sure you wipe the back of the tank off good and make sure its clean then take your time and make sure you get a good even coating. HTH Good luck.

Cprowler · 03/21/2006, 10:58 PM

I used black Tremclad and rolled it on. I used blue on some fresh water tanks a few years ago and I like the black way better, and as Dave mentioned it will be covered in coraline in a few months anyway.

When I first did it.

3 months later

cschweitzer · 03/22/2006, 11:12 AM

Black is always nice...Like everyone said, doesn't really matter after a year

03/20/2006, 07:20 PM	#1
thor32766 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chuluota, FL Posts: 6,047	Painted Backgrounds on Tanks Hello, I am in the stages of setting up my 220 gallon tank. As far as backgrounds, I dont want the old type where you tape in on the back. Does anybody have pics of their tanks with painted backgrounds to see what they look like. Or any advice is also welcome. thanks for your time brian

03/21/2006, 05:16 PM	#5
thor32766 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chuluota, FL Posts: 6,047	well what a choice i have to make. thanks again for the tank rob. __________________ "Live your life so no one has to lie about who you were at your funeral" click on my red house to see my tang compound! Current Tank Info: 29 gallon in Wall!

03/22/2006, 11:12 AM	#10
cschweitzer Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UCF area, Orlando, Fl Posts: 3,162	Black is always nice...Like everyone said, doesn't really matter after a year __________________ Two fish are sitting in a tank...one looks over to the other and says, "I hope you know how to drive this thing!" Current Tank Info: 180G, mandarin dragonette, a leather, an acan, and a micromussa

03/20/2006, 09:17 PM	#2
patharm Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 419	Get the Royal Blue acrylic paint they sell in Ace Hardware. Don't make the mistake I made and purchased the Royal Blue outdoor paint they sell at Home Depot unless you are looking for a light blue appearance. Check out my gallery if you want to see look of my painted background. Oh, and it's a 220 Perfecto as well. Patrick

03/21/2006, 04:18 PM	#3
ThunderousTalon Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Altamonte Springs Posts: 751	i'd go with krylon fusion, go with black as well. Blue absorbs entirely too much color and is distracting imo.... colors pop a whole lot more w/ black.

03/21/2006, 05:01 PM	#4
robb_brennan Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 36	The 75 you bought was painted with lack acrylic from ACE. I used the store brand on that one. Just make sure you put a few light coats on whichever tank you spray! Thats why if you look at teh tank when its sitting in front of a light you can see through a few spots, I ran out of Paint!

03/21/2006, 07:10 PM	#6
DaveG99 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Dallas Texas Posts: 1,605	Just leave it clear and eventually it will be purple with coraline algae anyway.

03/21/2006, 07:21 PM	#7
rdmpe Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 3,800	IMO roll on latex is the way to go. With some latex and a cheap roller, you will be done painting that thing in about 2 minutes with no masking, no overspray. It will go on nice and even and thick. I have spraypainted tanks before and IME it is WAY more of a PITA than rolling latex paint on. You can go to home depot and get any color you want. Dark purple would probably look good, I used black and am happy with it. I'd offer to take a picture of it, but believe me, it doesn't come out looking like anything in a picture. Just looks black If you want to try to see it, here are some pics... http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...98#post6988998

03/21/2006, 10:58 PM	#9
Cprowler Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,763	I used black Tremclad and rolled it on. I used blue on some fresh water tanks a few years ago and I like the black way better, and as Dave mentioned it will be covered in coraline in a few months anyway. When I first did it. 3 months later