DT Backing

Lonestar

Lonestar

Member
Just curious what most of you do to hide plumbing, cords, cables, etc on that are revealed on the backside of the tank when viewing the dispay from the front. My better half prefers a mirror type idea, but the 92 gal corner tank we purchased did not have the reflective glass. I'm not entirely sold on the blue aquarium background like we have on the tank we are breaking down (over zealous splashing in cleanup made water spots between the tank glass and backing product) I've heard painting is an option, but not sure how the finished product would look. So......what do you guys do? Keep in mind this is a corner tank....to be set up in a corner.
 
DBrinson

DBrinson

Member
Does the corner tank have an inside or outside overflow?

I personally prefer a black background, it's the most neutral color and you want people to view the contents of the tank, not the backdrop.

My latest tank has two outside "built-in" overflows, the plumbing inside them cannot be obscured from view from someone peering through the tank. I plan to cover them up using careful aquascaping.
 
Eric

Eric

Google Warrior
PREMIUM
I have used black cloth and also just painted the back of the tank both worked well :D
 
Lonestar

Lonestar

Member
Home Depot sells a black chalkboard paint in spray cans. I wonder if that would achieve a desireable look.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
I painted the back of my 90g with Krylon Fusion and it worked GREAT! Details and pics are in my 90g Chronicle. Just keep in mind that anything that's "adhered" to the glass diminished the reflectivity of light back into the tank from your lights. This is a MOOT point if you don't keep the back glass clean and scraped anyway.
 
Eric

Eric

Google Warrior
PREMIUM
I like the valaspar paint from lowes better than the krylon it's a thinker paint and covers much better than the krylon, that what I learned though trial and error :D krylon works to just takes a steady hand or several coats.
 
Val

Val

Member
DBrinson said:
Does the corner tank have an inside or outside overflow?

I personally prefer a black background, it's the most neutral color and you want people to view the contents of the tank, not the backdrop.

My latest tank has two outside "built-in" overflows, the plumbing inside them cannot be obscured from view from someone peering through the tank. I plan to cover them up using careful aquascaping.
Click to expand...



I've been pricing the external overflows on the custom tank I'll have built. One company said there would even be a place to run cords to hide them. I was assuming the plumbing in the overflows wouldn't be visible. We all know what happens when we assume, so I guess I'll ask more q's before placing an order. I don't see the sense in external overflows if all the plumbing/cords etc are viewable from the front of the tank.

back on topic, I used Valaspar paint also on my last tank. One coat and it covered well.
 
Uslanja

Uslanja

Active Member
We have used the mylar stuff that is purchased on a roll. Getting it to adhere to the glass over time is the problem that we experienced. Looked nice at first but then the tape that we fastened it with lost its "stick" after a while and then just looked ugly. The second tank we painted with several coats of Krylon over a few days and that looks much better. But we are concerned about scratching through the Krylon with overzealous scrubbing when using a magnet brush so we clean the back wall very carefully. So far no problem. We used the black colour with the mylar because I do not like blue, but we thought the tank looked dark. The Krylon we used blue and we feel that the corals and rock just stand out better. But I hate the colour blue! But to sum our thought up, we would recommend painting it. At least based on our experience so far. We're interested in what you decide and how you do it, so lots of photos and your thoughts would be great. Good Luck!
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
One coat? Yea the Krylon took 3 but 2 would have done it but I went with a 3rd for good measure. It's been on there for 3 years now with no bubbling or peeling at all. No complaints here :)
 
DBrinson

DBrinson

Member
Val said:
I've been pricing the external overflows on the custom tank I'll have built. One company said there would even be a place to run cords to hide them. I was assuming the plumbing in the overflows wouldn't be visible. We all know what happens when we assume, so I guess I'll ask more q's before placing an order. I don't see the sense in external overflows if all the plumbing/cords etc are viewable from the front of the tank.
Click to expand...

It isn't "all" of the overflows, cords, etc. It's just the standpipe inside the overflow that is visible. It's an intrinsic problem with outside overflows unless the back of the tank is pigmented (not painted).

Here's a simplified diagram of my setup from the "top" to better show the issue:

Painted_Overflows.png


Notice the pink "dividers" in the diagram above are "clear" because they are part of the walls of the display tank itself. (Sure, you can paint them, but in 6 months time it will look worse than if you had just left them "clear".) Anyone looking from the front of the tank can see the PVC standpipe through the back pane if there is no rockwork obstructing their view.

With an "inside" overflow, pigmented "dark" acrylic is used to build the overflow box itself, hiding the standpipe from view.


P.S. Anyone wondering "why use a standpipe" hasn't ever made a phone call from your living room that the person on the other line assumed you were making from the bathroom.

"We're all praying you will find the time you need to fix that toilet" - Your Friendly Neighborhood Gossip Coordinator
 
DBrinson

DBrinson

Member
Lonestar said:
There are several choices in the black spray paint, anything from flat to gloss to exotic. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I like Eric's idea best for your case. Hang a black cloth, a piece of felt works great.

Cloth will be less likely than paint to reflect light back into the tank, and will provide some sound absorption. It will also be impermanent, should you decide to scoot the tank out of the corner.
 
map95003

map95003

Member
I've done the paint thing, cloth, vinyl, plastic., infact I used paint on my recent pico vase project. However I wouldn't recommend paint on tanks where you could get behind the tank like if you have a fish-room, it makes it harder for you to work on the tank....I've learned this from experience. In your case, it's a corner tank and you probably would never have to get at the back of the tank so Paint would work OK and you don't have to worry about water getting between. The only problem with paint, it's hard to change if you change your mind.

If you decide to go with paint, I would recommend flat black or dark blue for a natural look.
 
Val

Val

Member
DBrinson said:
It isn't "all" of the overflows, cords, etc. It's just the standpipe inside the overflow that is visible. It's an intrinsic problem with outside overflows unless the back of the tank is pigmented (not painted).

Here's a simplified diagram of my setup from the "top" to better show the issue:

Painted_Overflows.png


Notice the pink "dividers" in the diagram above are "clear" because they are part of the walls of the display tank itself. (Sure, you can paint them, but in 6 months time it will look worse than if you had just left them "clear".) Anyone looking from the front of the tank can see the PVC standpipe through the back pane if there is no rockwork obstructing their view.

With an "inside" overflow, pigmented "dark" acrylic is used to build the overflow box itself, hiding the standpipe from view.


P.S. Anyone wondering "why use a standpipe" hasn't ever made a phone call from your living room that the person on the other line assumed you were making from the bathroom.

"We're all praying you will find the time you need to fix that toilet" - Your Friendly Neighborhood Gossip Coordinator
Click to expand...

Would it be feasible to silicone the dark acrylic inside the overflows? Carry it through on the back of the tank to help hide the plumbing?
 
Val

Val

Member
DBrinson said:
Thanks Val! Excellent idea!!

And this, fellow reefers, is why we have forums.
Click to expand...

Welcome! :) I guess that old saying is true, "even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then". lol

I'm glad you brought this up before I placed my order. I know to ask about this and see if they can do that if they don't have a better solution.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top