Painting Back of Tank

[GGG]

I know there are discussions going on right now about the affects of painting the back of your tank but I'm interested in a poll strictly about aesthetics.
What looks the best as a background for a reef tank?

Black
Blue
White
No Paint

What do you think?

 

[BigAl07]

I voted BLACK because it makes some of your corals really STAND OUT but I also like the Deep Sea Blue as a background. This one seems to make it more "realistic" in my eyes but my personal preference for "Showcasing" coral is Black.

 

[Basile]

I had a biocube with a black bacground. In my new tank i'm going clear.*For now the tank is cycling and not much in it. Its againts a white wall and the shimmering effect on the wall makes my rockwork stand out. I built mine, and knda branchs like features, through it the shimmering effect look like a cave is behind the rockwork with a light comming from above. The effect i find is more alive and the fish will swim in it as if going into back caves. The pipe work is at a minimum and it doen't really matter for me. My opinion may chage as its progress but for now i like it this way.:hallo:

 

[seafansar]

I like black for the same reason as Allen. It really makes your corals and fish stand out and hides any cords behind the tank. But unless you are really good with upkeep, any background will be covered with coralline algae and then it doesn't matter!

 

[zy112]

I think painting it black looks the best, just a lot more contrast.

 

[Blurp]

I prefer letting pink algae grow, more realistic, less work

 

[Clownfish518]

Painting the back of the tank causes a significant decrease in the amount of light in the tank. It is bad for corals - if you ever look at rock, the side near the paint is often white and that is a direct result of the paint. It adds more contrast, it looks better, but is not good for keeping photosynthetic critters

There have been studies on this, and after painting tanks for 15 years I no longer do. Its clearly not good

 

[Basile]

Painting the back of the tank causes a significant decrease in the amount of light in the tank. It is bad for corals - if you ever look at rock, the side near the paint is often white and that is a direct result of the paint. It adds more contrast, it looks better, but is not good for keeping photosynthetic critters

There have been studies on this, and after painting tanks for 15 years I no longer do. Its clearly not good

Hey thats good info thanks. I never had the intention , i was letting it fill with coraline , but now i got a good reason too, other that esthetics.

 

[BigAl07]

Painting the back of the tank causes a significant decrease in the amount of light in the tank. It is bad for corals - if you ever look at rock, the side near the paint is often white and that is a direct result of the paint. It adds more contrast, it looks better, but is not good for keeping photosynthetic critters

There have been studies on this, and after painting tanks for 15 years I no longer do. Its clearly not good

I'm with you 100% No more painting for this ole boy

 

[WVUReefer]

Never paint back..Even coralline on back glass can cause same negative efects as paint.

 

[jcgardner]

I didn't paint mine. I had a black background on it, but took it off sunday when I did the wc. This way I can see it from the kitchen as well. However if I leave it without a background I may have to replumb it because I don't like seeing the pvc.

 

[Steven Pro]

I have seen some blue painted backgrounds I really liked and some that were truly awful. The wrong hue of blue can make a big difference.

 

[Frankie]

Painting the back of the tank causes a significant decrease in the amount of light in the tank. It is bad for corals - if you ever look at rock, the side near the paint is often white and that is a direct result of the paint. It adds more contrast, it looks better, but is not good for keeping photosynthetic critters

There have been studies on this, and after painting tanks for 15 years I no longer do. Its clearly not good

I completely agree. After reading about painted glass I to removed it from my tank and saw a huge improvement.