Have you ever painted the back of your aquarium black or blue? Chances are, if you have been in the marine aquarium hobby since 1988 like I have, then you’ve probably painted at least one tank. There’s nothing wrong with painting a tank but there are some disadvantages if you plan to go that route. I have done this a few times and the results are not all that bad but eventually the paint can flake off, bubble up, scrape or chip off from general wear and tear and exposure to salt water and other factors over time. You may have a different opinion, as with everything in this hobby there is no one single way to do much of anything, but when it comes to keeping a marine aquarium I wont go back to painting an aquarium.
Aquarium backgrounds are easy to apply and there is no mess, waiting for the 2nd or third coat to dry, no taping or paint fumes to worry about, no paint, rollers or brushes to buy and you literally can’t tell if the tank is painted or if the glass or acrylic is black or blue.
Two years ago, we setup a 60 gallon clownfish/anemone tank and the result was, and still is, beautiful. For us, the better choice, background vs. painting, will always be the aquarium background. If there is a problem, you can remove it easily. To remove, all you need to do is simply wedging a blade or a fingernail under one corner of the material and pull. The background comes right off in one piece. The backgrounds are also very useful for covering up overflows boxes on the outside glass. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed reading our Tip of the Day.
Blue Life produced this helpful how to video a few years ago:
