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how do you paint the back of a fish tank?

Discussion in 'Aquarium Equipment & Decor' started by California Cowgirl, Jul 7, 2009.

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  1. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    i use regular paint and a roller and tried to make it look as smooth as possible. it worked find held my dats and arowanas for a while and i sold them scraped of the paint with the paint scraper thing and painted it with a different color and works find.


    also dawns allergic to saltwater 0.o. that does suck sorry to hear that.......i didnt like my salt water tank either.....
     
    stevenrox, Jul 8, 2009
    #21
  2. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    ok and i've got nothing but time to wait because my parents are making me wait to setup the tank until after i get my room painted, the construction down on the house which is 2 months worth, and new carpet put in the house after the construction is done. So i've got nothing but to time wait until the tank is all dry and ready for other coats. Which i'm very impatient so all this waiting is going to be like torture for me
     
    California Cowgirl, Jul 8, 2009
    #22
  3. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    i've heard of people even using limo window tint, the kind that lets like zero light thru. i thought about trying it on my 55gal, seing how it set up and i have no other tanks to put the fish in.
     
    buzz4520, Jul 9, 2009
    #23
  4. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    Ya, me too...but that stuff is pricy!
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 9, 2009
    #24
  5. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    i priced it @ napa on line for a 2ft X 10ft for approx $20 -$25 and i think it only allowed 3 or 5% light. it's been a short while ago thou.
     
    buzz4520, Jul 9, 2009
    #25
  6. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    that's not too bad...I know my folks bought it YEARS back and remember it being really pricy. But then again, once things hit the shelf for a while the price usually drops.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 9, 2009
    #26
  7. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    i would've like to painted when we got it,but where we had it set up at our old place you could view the tank from 2 different rooms so we decided not to paint it. now it just sit against a wall. we tried a few other types of backgrounds and always got water down the back side and the water spots really showed.
     
    buzz4520, Jul 9, 2009
    #27
  8. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    <--I've been lucky with the waterspots...but then again I always use packaging tape to completely cover all seams (top, bottom, left side & right side)>>instant waterproofing. Can also use waterproof tape (bought that before too)
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 9, 2009
    #28
  9. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    if we decide to go with a regular background, was thinking of trying dual sided tape and see how that dose.
     
    buzz4520, Jul 9, 2009
    #29
  10. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    doesn't work well, Tried that before (gets condensation between).
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 9, 2009
    #30
  11. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    ya need to tape over the background and wrap up onto the frame of the tank. Duck Brand packaging tape is usually a buck a roll in dollar stores and easy to remove if you want change.

    The water proof tape is UNremovable (well it is, but you have to scrape the living heck out of it..then you get that sticky residue and need to get the goo gone).
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 9, 2009
    #31
  12. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    i'll have to give that a try (box tape). we just have to quit being so messy when we clean the tank. haha
     
    buzz4520, Jul 9, 2009
    #32
  13. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    Lol, I use the :
    *Python No Spill Clean 'N Fill (will never go back to the back breaking again) for my partials

    *Mag - Float Magnetic Aquarium Glass Cleaner for the front glass

    *Tom Aquatic Gardener tool to plant & prune the plants

    *Tom Magical Cleaning Rod for cleaning the back and sides and "straightening" the substrate

    * and lets not forget the 10pk of toothbrushes from the dollar tree that I use to clean the filter (great for intake tubes).
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 9, 2009
    #33
  14. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    Another trick with the regular backgrounds is put a THIN coat of vegetable oil on the glass... apply the background to the oil and press out the bubbles... I did that once and it worked quite well... it eventually seals nice to the tank... this method you dont need to tape down the background

    A credit card or license does well to squeegee out the bubbles.
     
    LemonDiscus, Jul 9, 2009
    #34
  15. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    That sounds messy. :)
     
    Anthony, Jul 9, 2009
    #35
  16. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    sounds like the ones that you use 2-3 drops of dishsoap and add it to a 4oz spray bottle....(OceanVisions)
    You spray the back of the tank liberally and place the background over it and use something such as a credit card to squeeze out the liquid and remove any bubbles. Let it sit for about 90min until completey dry/adhesed and you have yourself an airtight background that also can be removed if you decide to change it down the road.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jul 9, 2009
    #36
  17. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    Yup... I have done both ways the oil and the soapy water... (you apply window tint and vinyl graphics to for example automobiles with the soapy water)

    Both ways are pretty good... you can do the soapy water too with ANY background... the oil was not that messy... I poured it on a papertowel and wiped it on that way... it does not take much.
     
    LemonDiscus, Jul 10, 2009
    #37
  18. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    I tried the veggie oil and didn't like that much. Oil gets rancid after awhile and turns kinda brown. I also used vasoline with better results.

    Really, the only time this stuff is needed is if you have a printed background and want the print to show up better. It's really not needed with just plain black or blue backgrounds.
     
    Anonymous, Jul 10, 2009
    #38
  19. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    ohh! so today my dad mentioned to try the black tint thing *forget the name* of what people put on their car so people can't see inside. So i think i will be doing that for the tank
     
    California Cowgirl, Jul 10, 2009
    #39
  20. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Re: Painting The Back Of A Fish Tank

    keep us updated on how it turns out for you and some pics. i'm thinking about doing one of my tanks with window tint as well.
     
    buzz4520, Jul 12, 2009
    #40
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