Post by mralgae on Feb 14, 2008 0:23:03 GMT -1
A few questions have popped up about back-grounds for your tanks. So I hope this helps a little bit.
As with so many things in our great hobby of fish/plant keeping there are so many different ways and types of equipment be it tanks, filters, heaters or what ever this also applies to the back ground of our tanks.
It could be a picture of plants or fish or rocks or…………..the list goes on & on. There are some things we just can not fully hide in the tank likes of internal filters or heaters but try to hide them the best we can. When it comes to external pipe work running down the back of the tank then it is quite easy to hide them by adding a back ground.
ON A ROLL BACKGROUNDS:
These are simply a plastic vinyl of different designs in varying sizes that are cut to your needs and either taped or inserted into the gap of the tank surround, from rocks, fish, plants and various other designs. Very easy to install and remove.
PAINTED BACK GROUNDS:
This is quite simply as it says, the back of the glass on the OUTSIDE is painted in a color of your choice.
The easiest paint to use is acrylic craft paint as if you don’t like the finished result it is easy to remove and start again.
CARDBOARD BACKGROUNDS:
This is my favourite type. I use coloured card from an artist type shop. You can get nearly every color of the spectrum in this type of card and is again easy to install and remove and I find a lot cheaper than the on the roll vinyl from lfs.
Colours and effects:
BLACK.
This is probably the most common of all colours used as it tends to centre your attention into the tank and not at the rear. Black also highlights the green of the plants and all colours of your fish are greatly enhanced using dark colours.
LIGHT BLUES & GREENS:
These colours tend to increase the tanks brightness and adds a calming effect, but tend to lose the plants and some fish as the colours clash against each other.
Some fish like black angels and darker coloured fish tend to be more apparent with these back grounds.
DARK BLUES:
Tends to work better with marine set ups and rocky aquascapes. If the surface water has a good ripple and reflects on to the back ground this can give a deep sea effect.
BROWNS ETC:
These are very rare in use and best suited if creating a muddy, sandy or river bank effect. They could also work well with rocky scapes and Mbuna tanks.
There are at the end of the day so many colours to choose from. Don’t be afraid to experiment with colours and change as many times as you want until you are happy with your back ground colour.
As with so many things in our great hobby of fish/plant keeping there are so many different ways and types of equipment be it tanks, filters, heaters or what ever this also applies to the back ground of our tanks.
It could be a picture of plants or fish or rocks or…………..the list goes on & on. There are some things we just can not fully hide in the tank likes of internal filters or heaters but try to hide them the best we can. When it comes to external pipe work running down the back of the tank then it is quite easy to hide them by adding a back ground.
ON A ROLL BACKGROUNDS:
These are simply a plastic vinyl of different designs in varying sizes that are cut to your needs and either taped or inserted into the gap of the tank surround, from rocks, fish, plants and various other designs. Very easy to install and remove.
PAINTED BACK GROUNDS:
This is quite simply as it says, the back of the glass on the OUTSIDE is painted in a color of your choice.
The easiest paint to use is acrylic craft paint as if you don’t like the finished result it is easy to remove and start again.
CARDBOARD BACKGROUNDS:
This is my favourite type. I use coloured card from an artist type shop. You can get nearly every color of the spectrum in this type of card and is again easy to install and remove and I find a lot cheaper than the on the roll vinyl from lfs.
Colours and effects:
BLACK.
This is probably the most common of all colours used as it tends to centre your attention into the tank and not at the rear. Black also highlights the green of the plants and all colours of your fish are greatly enhanced using dark colours.
LIGHT BLUES & GREENS:
These colours tend to increase the tanks brightness and adds a calming effect, but tend to lose the plants and some fish as the colours clash against each other.
Some fish like black angels and darker coloured fish tend to be more apparent with these back grounds.
DARK BLUES:
Tends to work better with marine set ups and rocky aquascapes. If the surface water has a good ripple and reflects on to the back ground this can give a deep sea effect.
BROWNS ETC:
These are very rare in use and best suited if creating a muddy, sandy or river bank effect. They could also work well with rocky scapes and Mbuna tanks.
There are at the end of the day so many colours to choose from. Don’t be afraid to experiment with colours and change as many times as you want until you are happy with your back ground colour.
