i know you can get internal textured black tank backgrounds, but is it possible to get a flat black background that could be attached to the outside of the glass?

also does having a black background hide/disguise any algae growth on the glass the blackground is attached to?

thanks

jamoko

I have a black plain background attached to my tank. Just go into your pet store and ask to see the reverse of the backgrounds and usually there is the plain black.
It does hide the algae but ive got a plec to keep mine under control.

You can always get black bristle board cut to size and laminate it

or construction paper

.... wrapping paper from the birthday/card isle....

thanks everyone! will see what i can get my hands on!

jamoko

yes but watch for the algae. i used a whole load of unused foam mousemats from my old company, stuck em together so it adds as a padding against the wall too. I had a frightening shock one day though when i took them away to discover the algae...least I know how to look out for it now.

The goldies need the algae in the diet so dont be too quick to get rid of it.

You can always get a hillstream loach or two to eat it for you.

have just bought a black background for my tank off ebay, what's the best thing to use to attatch it to the back of the tank?

jamoko

I've heard of people using this spray on glue stuff (pref water based), then attach your backing. I'm looking to get some black backing as well, when i can find it cheap enough. I'm a little worried about sticking glue to the back of my tank though, i know its water based and should come off with water, but still. And then somehow i have to get it under the canister tubings (x4) and not get bubbles n what not.... hrmm

hey guys,you could just paint the tank black with spray paint if tank is empty,but if not and you have a back ground use some vaseline,smear it on the back ground first then put it on tank use a id card to smooth out air bubbles sticks like that for a long time,then if you want to change back grounds it pulls right off

I was given the vaseline tip too from Jen and it worked for me. And you can wash, change and reuse backgrounds this way too!

vaseline it is then thanks everyone

svendenhowser, i got my black background for £1.10/foot off ebay!

jamoko

i have a black background on one of my aquariums...its just some black cardboard i brought and taped to the back

vaseline hey.. but its oil based, how do you get it all off the back of the tank?

The cheapest i've seen it here is like $4.50 for a measly 30cm. Sif i'm paying that much . Ebay only has like 2 sellers, and no black backgrounds.

svendenhowser, i'm in the uk so presumably your searching on the us ebay site? try www.ebay.co.uk and see if you can find any sellers that will post internationally as a lot of them do. even if you can't find one offering international postage, you could email them and ask if they'd be willing to post some to you and ask them to let you know the postage rate in advance.

this is the link for who i bought mine off and they post internationally
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AQUARIUM-FISH-TANK-P...oQQcmdZViewItem

www.xe.com will help with currency conversion

jamoko

I'm in australia. Once you pay for international shipping you'd be paying waaaaay over the amount i'd be paying locally. I mean 1.1 pounds (we dont have pound signs on aussie keyboards ) is still $3.3, nearly just as much as i can buy it for here.

I think i'll just go to crazy clarks or kmart or something and get a roll of wrapping paper

as far as getting it off i used rubbing alchol took it right off tank was empty but im sure it would work as long as your careful put alchol on a rag first then wipe tank down keep it out of the water you should be fine

Remove vaseline from back of tank - Vinegar! or rubbing alcohol - whichever you can stand more! Vaseline trick works great and it is water proof! I bought a plain black background at an aquarium store online: http://aquariumguys.com/aquarium-backgrounds.html Hides algae to some degree but there's always that angle in the light... like the opposite of the blind spot!

i've just tried to put up my black tank background using the vaseline method and it was no good!
yes it stuck well, but it looked terrible, it was streaky (even though i used very little vaseline) and i could not get rid of the air bubbles even after running over it with a bank card to smooth it out.

so i've taken it off and cleaned off the vaseline and now the house reaks of vinegar

any other suggestions for attatching the background would be greatly appreciated!

jamoko

I have no suggestions on how to attach the background. I am experiencing my own difficulties....

Are you talking about attaching the background to the OUTSIDE of the tank; not the inside? I am curious as to what the consensus is on this....

Currently, my background is INSIDE the tank. I didn't do a very good job when I initially "installed" it. I used scotch tape, then I used industrial velcro (which doesn't stick anymore when it's wet). So I am having troubles w/the water....

I have always put them outside the tank, if you get them on the glass well enough they look just as good.

If it were me Id just use a thin piece of doublestick tape. Id probably cut the strip in half lengthwise so its really thin and you wont see it so much. If you do end up seeing it in the corners you can just stick plants there. I have never heard of putting backgrounds INSIDE a tank before.

I tried the construction paper....ew. On tanks 10 gallons or less maybe...but on my 55 gallon I had to tape several sheets together and just could not hid the seems well enough! It looks tacky. Next time I will try to find some silver, black, or blue wrapping paper.

A lot of the second hand tanks you can buy have just had the backs painted black or aqua.

actually I was just gonna say that lol. I think Im going to put up a black background and see if I like it enough to paint it.

You can buy this stuff...i forget what its called, but you spray it on glass first so that the paint will stick. Otherwise I dont think paint will stick to glass very well....I could be wrong...I never tried it lol.

I hate it when you can see the tape though. So I probably will paint it.

Black, blue or maybe a metalic silver...depending on the color fish in the tank. I cant put black on my moor tank lol! Id never see them!

i've been trying to attatch to the outside of the tank. the only thing i know of that you can use inside the tank is aquarium silicone, and you have to let it dry properly before adding water to your tank as far as i know!


jamoko

Jamoko, first, I just wanted to say that your tank is gorgeous!

This was just a thought that came in my head, i am a total tank newboe, and have never tried this, but what if you spray painted aluminum foil black? It might get wrinkled, but that might look kind of cool? Not sure if the paint would stick to the foil though. I was just thinking about it sticking to the back of the tank well.

Another thought was black vinyl from the fabric store? I use that on my window to block out all the light, it is thick, easy to clean and very black. Not sure if that would work either...but relatively inexpensive.

thanks jen626! i quite like the fabric idea, that might work quite well. only problem is that i stupidly put my corner tank to close to one wall and i cant really reach down the side of it which makes attatching backgrounds very difficult. I'll definitely keep the fabric idea in mind but i think for the time being i'm just going to go without a background!

jamoko

Hi Jomoko - I have been away for a while but I just wanted to add that with the Vaseline method - the streaks go away after a day! Maybe you want to try again? I just took a background off, no problems removing the vaseline with a little plain white vinegar, and then decided I wanted it back on... put it back on and then decided to put a black background back on my tropi tank, too! I found that using a wallpaper smoother (which I got for less thana buck at the hardware store) helps a lot - for some reason it works better than a bank card... And I spend a good minutes really smoothing it out! Until I only see the vaseline streaks. By morning, when the vaseline has heated up a bit ans settled, there are no streaks left! Just be careful to not put too much Vaseline - there should not be any squeezing out between the background and the tank when smoothing it.

Also, they make self-adhesive backgrounds. THe ones I use are actually self-adhesive - like a giant sticker! Peel off the clear backing and stick it to the tank! But, I find these too hard and just vaseline the whole darn to the back of the tank!

All my tanks have black - I really like the way it enhances the color of the fish!
Hope you find a way that works for you! (and pix when you get it on)!

jamoko
I love that tank! its gorgeous! is it yours, what size is it?