could you make your own backgrounds to put on the back of fish tanks or is it better to buy the ones already made for them?

you can make your own by just putting wraping paper on the back of the tank..

I painted my own backgrounds on butcher paper and then covered front and back in clear contact paper. (I have a tendency to spill water) The backgrounds that I made have lasted almost two years.

Here is a picture of my 90 gallon tank with spot my 12 inch common.

That's a good idea to cover homemade backgrounds with splash proof something. They also tend to buckle with water drips so need care in sealing.

2 commons- I love that Alaska quote in your siggy, funny! And your common is a beauty- huge!

You can make your own backgrounds or go for the store bought kind. Whatever fits your personal taste. I think someone on here had a piece of cloth from an old diner booth as their background. It was red and sparkly if memory serves me correct...

A lot of people like to use solid black for a background, too. It makes the gold of the fish really pop, but if you have black/dark colored fish they don't show up very well at all.

I have seen a few DIY plans for backgrounds that use some sort of styrofoam which you can shape and mould. This is then waterproof and silcon on the inside of the tank.

Generally i would stick with the backing you can get from the LFS. Another option i have seen is ppl actually painting the outside of the glass.

That's what I just did with my tank. I absolutely LOVE it.

Lisa

Oh that sounds like a good idea. What type of paint do you have to use for glass and what colour(s) did you choose Lisa?

I used a gloss black acrylic paint, MrB. I think it looks really nice - very even and smooth with no wrinkles, buckles or water spots that you can get with regular paper backgrounds..

I prefer the black because it seems to help my gf 'pop' better than a traditional nature scene background would and it matches my room decor, but I'm sure any color a person prefers would look great. Green, blue, purple..the choices are endless!

Oh, I also did put a regular background sheet over the painted surface to protect the paint from being scratched by my HOB filters and such.

Lisa

I got a Dali poster at a local store for my 45 gal.

A box cutter had gotten a little crazy and sliced the front of it, in the shipping crate. They gave it to me for free.

The fish looked very sureal floating in front of of an unatural landcape.

This was the painting:

http://cord.rutgers.edu/stemcellcourse/200...-dali-clock.jpg

Nice. Have you got a pic? I'll like to see what it looks like.

Now I am assuming if you paint the back you are stuck with it. I change my mind often! What happend then?

Love the actual painting.....very talented! AND the use of the poster....smart & interesting! Let's see pics of these ON the tanks!!

I'm guessing you're right about being stuck with painted glass. May be with a particular paint you could be able to peel or scrape it off?

Thanks y'all!

Actually I wish I had pics. This was years ago when I was in high school, I have since graduated to a 70 gal, much too big for a poster, I use black contractor bags now.

I did love that poster, before that when I had my ten and twenty gallon tank I used to make collages out of magazine pictures. Art and travel mags mostly, I did one where the goldfish were swimming through a light up Tokyo and added a Godzilla. Never bothered to water proof them, I changed them regularly. I loved the surreal look on my smaller tanks, but now with the larger tanks I prefer a more natural look.

I can't wait to get my tank set up again. We just moved into a new house, (hence the slow response time) and we had to treat for bugs and do some foundation work on our pier and beam before installing my tank. So my goldies are staying with my friend, (BEST friend to help me with this LOL) while we settle in. Once we get some remodeling out of the way I intend to do a lot of work on their tank. Living in apartments you can't really do too much, now I plan to make a built in for their tank. Stay tuned to DIY this fall, I plan on posting lots of pics.

BTW An acrylic paint would work really well, It will peel right off glass. If you have an acrylic tank it may bond permanently to the surface though. Most latex paint should be pretty easy to scrape off with a razor blade, remnants can be scrubbed with soap and water and a firm brush. It should work well on a glass tank, be careful with acrylic tanks as it scratches easily. I would not really recommend oil based paints for their messiness, unless you want to do a faux finish. (It takes a long time to dry) However, if you use oil it can easily be removed with paint thinner, but it is VERY toxic I wouldn't recommend.

I like to change my background, I use a board cut to the same size of the tank. I can wrap what ever I want around it. I have used material and some bits and pieces of holographic paper. This Christmas I am going to do something with lights.