painting back of tank question

[cateyes]

i think, i've decided to paint the back of my tank.. what have most of you done????

it's drilled and the bulkheads will be in place so i'll be taping them off.. any other painting or taping tips will be appreciated....

what kind of paint should i use??

thanks,,lisa

[Codeman00]

I used Sherwin Williams industrial enamel paint (the same stuff that I painted my boat trailer with) mainly because I had it sitting around and it's actually a good saltwater resistant paint.. I know there's several other types of paint you can use, but I'll let someone else chime in there.

I painted my background blue, but I would probably do black if I had it to do over again. Amazing how bright the dark blue is when aquarium lighting hits it.

One tip is to put a light /lamp of some sort inside the tank while you paint. This will let you see the thin spots and you will be amazed about how many there will be. You will have to do at least 2 coats because even more thin spots will show up after the first coat dries a bit. Good luck!

[cateyes]

is that a spray paint?? is spray what i need to use???

i'm leaning toward blue, my 75 has a blue background (stuff you get from fish store with blue on one side and black on the other) and my QT and display fuge have black.. i prefer the blue, probably will use a dark blue....

thanks Cody

[Codeman00]

Nope, its brush on paint. I would brush it on because you need it to be thick so it doesn't show the light spots.

[cateyes]

if i can get it taped off good enough, i think i'll do better with spraying it on. i'm afraid of brush marks...

thanks,,,lisa

[Codeman00]

You'll only see brush marks from the back..it'll look smooth as can be on the inside of the tank (it has to, because the glass is smooth). But definitely do what's best for you. Either spraying or brushing will get the job done.

[cateyes]

hmmm,, no brush marks, huh... maybe brushing it on would be easier...

thanks,,lisa

[cateyes]

well, i went with the spray, i was able to remove the bulkheads so they weren't in the way. i used Krylon Fusion Navy and went over it back and forth, up and down and diaginally and it looks quite thin to me, not solid, like those plastic backgrounds you can get at the pet store....
right now it's kind of opaque, it's blue but i can see shapes on the other side of it...
from what i've read most people get the job done with 5-6 coats, maybe i'm not applying it slow enough, but i'm trying to avoid overspray and runs..
i'll spray some more this afternoon...

[Rendos]

Lisa, I like the Krylon Fusion, but it does take quite a few coats to be opaque. You could also paint Black on top of the blue to make it opaque...it will darken the blue a little, but not much.

[Below Sea Level]

I have used both blue and black and with metal halides the black is better in my opinion. With a lower intensity light like vho or pc's they both look good. I find with the black everything seems to show up a bit better until you get covered in coralline and then it makes no difference anyway.

I personally use a paint roller instead of a brush. faster and thicker coats that way.

Olympic is also my paint of choice no matter what since ther is almost zero odor.

Dave

[Codeman00]

I totally agree with the brush or roller mainly because you can put it on thick. Painting glass seems to thin any kind of paint out because it little texture for the paint to stick too. I should have used black though...lol

[cateyes]

thanks everyone, i appreciate all the input!!

i sprayed it some more this afternoon and it is getting darker but i think it still needs more coverage...

i'm going to use up the can i have and if it needs more i'll either use black Krylon, as Richard suggested, or roll something on over the spray....

i'm still not sure why it's taking so many coats, i am doing this outside, so maybe the slight wind is carrying some of it away (glad i put my truck in the garage:)).

i hope i don't regret the blue, i don't think i will. i really like the blue background on my 75, it's more of a caribbean blue, i went a little darker with the navy on the 29.....

thanks again,,,lisa

"on my NEXT tank" i'll try the brush or roller....:)

[Reefdiver77]

I used dark blue and rolled it on the back of my 35 gal. Since my tank is not drilled, it hides my fuge, skimmer, etc. I ended up using several coats and used masking tape to make sure the paint went where I wanted it to.

[mojosreef]

I agree that with the bright lights, black is much better. I have had both blue and black and black brings out the colors of the corals and fish better. I used an oil based black and brushed it on. One coat did the trick.