Background Inside Or Outside The Tank?

[greengoddess]

Hi folks

Just got my brand new Jewel 240 litre delivered today and can't wait to get it set up. It came with a free waterproof background sheet. Apparently these can be attached inside the tank if you wish. Do you have any advice on which is best? Inside or outside? What do you use to stick it on inside the tank? Any advantages or disadvantages?

 

[fatheadminnow]

Stick it to the outside of the tank. I just use tape to secure it to the outside of the tank.

-FHM

 

[greengoddess]

Stick it to the outside of the tank. I just use tape to secure it to the outside of the tank.

-FHM

Thank you. I just thought that the background would be brighter and more vivid if I were to put it inside the tank. However, I am concerned about it getting covered in algae and being a pain to keep clean.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Just make sure the glass is cleaned off really good, and the background will look nice! Plus, the glass gives it a little more of a shine!

-FHM

 

[Theplayboy]

Stick it to the outside of the tank. I just use tape to secure it to the outside of the tank.

-FHM

Thank you. I just thought that the background would be brighter and more vivid if I were to put it inside the tank. However, I am concerned about it getting covered in algae and being a pain to keep clean.

I have used this (Click) to stick my background to the outside of my tanks in the past and found that it really makes the background bright. Just make sure to get all the bubbles out as they really stand out if you dont.

 

[sgtfish]

Hi folks

Just got my brand new Jewel 240 litre delivered today and can't wait to get it set up. It came with a free waterproof background sheet. Apparently these can be attached inside the tank if you wish. Do you have any advice on which is best? Inside or outside? What do you use to stick it on inside the tank? Any advantages or disadvantages?

measure and cut the background to fit the back of your tank exactly, then take an old rag and wipe the background with cooking oil or baby oil and place it on the back off your tank. Then use a credit card to smooth out any air bubbles and you will be amazed at how great it looks. I recently set up a 55 and the local owner of the pet store told me about this method and I was sceptical, but it works great and really makes the colors vibrant. If you are a little sceptical like my wife and I, try just a corner first and you will see how much more vibrant the clors are.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Sounds like a brilliant idea!

-FHM

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, a number of members have reported good success with baby/cooking oil in the past and nobody spoke up with any complaints about it. The suggestion above it of the clear product may be really good to combine in with the method too as I suspect baby/cooking oil would eventually yellow (probably not for a long time but eventually?)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[greengoddess]

OK, sounds like a great idea! I take it none of you have ever tried mounting the background inside the tank?

 

[waterdrop]

I once had an internal background that was constructed by embedding lots of real rock in some kind of inert resin such that it was a solid rock wall, with several inches of 3-dimensionality to it. It had two plastic covered wire cables coming out of the top which you used to hang it over the back tank wall. Talk about a true underwater scene! This was decades ago and I've never seen anything like this recently although seems like it could be a good little e-bay business for someone!

One of my favorite tank designs involves rock walls: Its a custom design (in my dreams of course, I've never had one) where the back wall of the tank consists of two surfaces set to open a wide angle with the seam not centered relative to the front rectangle of glass that is the front of the tank. The side walls come away from the front glass at very wide angles going back to meet the back panels, creating deep triangular shapes in the side footprint of the tank. The two angled back walls would be rock. Only the front rectangle of glass would be exposed for viewing through a wall, so to the viewer, the sides would not be visible. In other words, a squashed pentagon with irregular angles.

All of that sort of stuff is labor-intensive and expensive though and people do some pretty amazing things now with plastics and pictures!

~~waterdrop~~