Blue or black background on tank.

[SimonSKL]

Originally Posted by vito is hooked

Awsome dude.......Thats the one im gittin....6" short.. but the LS and rock will compensate.....tanks man....just what I was lookin for.......

You are welcome! If you keep your back glass clean, the reflection of your live rock on the back glass seems to make layers of live rocks extend to the back indefinitely. Very cool. If you don't like the background, just remove it. It is not permanent.

[vito is hooked]

My aquascape is gunna be in the center of the tank...mostly fish....it's a 300 gal..so I think this backround will be perfect....if not...like u said I can change it.....

[Agu]

I prefer black because my overflows are black and don't stand out against a black background. If you check out "in tank" equipment you'll notice black is the predominant color and it doesn't look as obvious with a black background.

[markaren]

This, I like!

[cpw]

Black for me... The gradiant sounds like a great idea too. I have a gradiant blue background I use in a photo tent for pictures of my woodworking projects. I dont recall what I paid for it, but it wasn't cheap, well over 100 I'm sure. I could see that working very well for a tank background if you wanted to spend that much.

[coolfishy101]

I personally like black on sps, blue on softie. It's up to you of course.

[Ryand63]

just an FYI I just bought that same blue water background from Petco. abotu 2.99 a foot.

[moshi1ry]

Originally Posted by SimonSKL

I use a blue seascape background with varying shade of blue and really like it. It gives a perception of depth.

I have the same background for my 10 gallon tank got it at petco actually. So check there

[Cleancoupe]

good read
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/5/equipment

[SimonSKL]

Cleancoupe, very good article indeed. Here are the recommendations from the article:

some basic recommendations related to the topic. 1) If you have a wall of live rock from the bottom almost to the top of your tank, then don't worry about the background too much. Most of the reflection takes place several inches from the top of the tank. 2) If you have considerable areas of glass exposed at the back of the tank, unobstructed by rocks, use a taped on plastic background instead of paint. Or, try putting your tank close to a wall and just paint the wall behind it blue/black. Again, this can result in the back of the tank being as much as 30% brighter than if it was painted. 3) Always keep your glass clean to promote better reflection regardless of backgrounds, which includes scraping away coralline algae. 4) Don't paint the front of your tank

[Psirex]

Originally Posted by Photobug

I am just finishing up my stand for my new 55 build. The tank came pre-drilled with a blue sticker adhered as a background. I am thinking black would look better but when looking at the painting threads looks like a lot of people went blue also. The Blue on there is maybe a shade brighter than royal blue.

What do you think should I go with a black background or stay blue?

Unless you plan on keeping the back glass spotless it doesn't matter....

[Rose613]

I like black....