Reflection Reduced 35% on painted Background!!

[huskysglare1]

Black and Blue Background reduce light reflection in the back by 35%. Will having the background 1" away from the tank provide better reflection and Null the 35% light reduction?

http://liquid-medium.com/wordpress/2...-not-to-paint/

[nikon187]

are you going to really see anything in the back to need this extra reflected light?

[dknuckles]

When I put a background it really made my colors come out more. I do not know if a reduction in par, but it appeared much brighter.
IMO a lot of light is lost to the outside of the tank.
Did you use a par meter before and after?

[huskysglare1]

I am planning to place the rocks in the middle and have all rooms on all side.

DKnuckles, The guy from the article has done all the tests. Painted background vs plastic background vs no background. the result is 35% reduction in the back of the tank.

[huskysglare1]

any thoughts?

[gabbagabbawill]

That's crazy... who would ever think that black paint would absorb light?

/sarcasm

[sikpupy]

Originally posted by gabbagabbawill
That's crazy... who would ever think that black paint would absorb light?

/sarcasm

Hold that sarcasm mister!!

I thought the same thing, so, I went with white. Guess what? about a 35% reduction as well. The white wall board I put up was backed up to the glass. Take that away and my white wall that is 8" away makes it so much brighter and nicer, but then you see the pipes, blech!!

I guess there is more light reflecting back into the tank than we expect? If it could be done, unlike mine due to my coast to coast pipes, I would just move the background 8" or so back and put a strip light above that and see how it looks.

[terryagi]

Eventually the back will grow over with coralline anyway (unless you keep it scraped).

[phenom5]

That's a fair trade off for me. 35% reduction to a part of the tank I can't really see to hide all the plumbing & cords.

[fasteddie99]

Originally posted by phenom5
That's a fair trade off for me. 35% reduction to a part of the tank I can't really see to hide all the plumbing & cords.

+1
Hides cords and makes the colors pop out.

[downhillbiker]

I just dont see how that much difference is really needed in the back of the tank. mos t of us have rock in the middle/back, so the light doesn't get to the back anyway, and if it does, there really isn't the need for that much PAR increase. It just seems silly to have the cords showing and light shining on the wall behind for a little more light. To me a reef tank is living art, and there is nothing artistic about having the back clear.

[jbax]

i guy did research that if there is a gap of air between the background and the backglass your par reading would be higher then if the background was right against the glass

http://www.liquid-medium.com/1_2/backgrounds.htm

[sikpupy]

I always wonder why it bothered me so much. Yea was not happy at all about my findings, bsides $20 down the tubes. I sat and thought about it and realized it has more to do with visual depth perception than anything else. With a dark something against the back of the tank, you get the "it stops here" feeling. Withought a back, it looks like its deeper, IF you dont try to rationalize it right there on the spot.

[nikon187]

I believe the colour blue adds depth( Especially if it starts really dark at the bottom and fades up) while a black background would make colours pop more.

[sikpupy]

Uhm, in a contrast speaking situation maybe, but, if white did not brighten my tank, what makes you think blue, or, any other darker color would? I mean, unless you crank up the watts, but, thats just crazee! Were trying to get the most light from the least amount of watts. Now, if I was rich and could affford all the watts and A/C......

There was another post about backgrouds where the guy did some airbrushing to a background and set it back with an actinic overhead which looked sick, sicker than I, and thats pretty sick. Can you say extreme depth.

[ReefEnabler]

I tried for that myself by placing an acrylic lightbox behind the tank. Since its not sealed up against the glass it doesn't affect the reflective properties.



Inside the lightbox there is a 3000k T5 bulb which mixes as a kind of cyan gradient on the blue acrylic.

It's more cool for night viewing than when the lighs are on.

[dknuckles]

Originally posted by huskysglare1
I am planning to place the rocks in the middle and have all rooms on all side.

DKnuckles, The guy from the article has done all the tests. Painted background vs plastic background vs no background. the result is 35% reduction in the back of the tank.

I am sorry I did not see the link
That makes sense in so many ways after seeing the numbers. Thats what I get for assuming.

[ddinox64]

Jbax got it. Having a backgroung is okay as long as it is not adhered to the glass itself. It can even be snuggly fit as long as it isn't coating the glass.

Gabbag. Its not that it's absorbing the light. It's taking away the reflectability(if there is such a word) of the second plane of the glass. Meaning both the inside and outside surface reflect the light back into the display. Painting it difuses the outside plane.

[gabbagabbawill]

taking away the 'reflect-ability' is the same thing as absorption if you ask me. That's how we see color. We perceive the color that is not absorbed from light when we look at an object.

Still, I'm glad that someone finally made some sense of this post, and I REALLY like the light box that reefenabler has built! That looks sweet!

Reefenabler, can you explain how you made it a little more? I want to do this with my tank... what kind of paint did you use and how did you construct it?

[DaveG99]

I ALWAYS paint the back of my tanks black. I will continue to do so. I guess I'll just need to add 35% more light!

[huskysglare1]

I am just going to hang a curtain behind the tank about 1-2 inches away.

[darkdruid]

Do something that looks super cool and INCREASES the light reflected into the tank. Have a mirror cut to fit the back of the tank. It instantly looks bigger, fuller, and brighter.

[gabbagabbawill]

I'm not sure mirrors are a good idea... might stress fish out. I don't think I'd like the look.

[darkdruid]

Originally posted by gabbagabbawill
I'm not sure mirrors are a good idea... might stress fish out. I don't think I'd like the look.

Personal preference...without that, everyone's tank would look the same and that would be totally boring. Whatever works for you though, go for it. I've never tried it on a big tank but it looks cool on a 20 long I have.

[gabbagabbawill]

like you said, whatever works for you!