renman303 Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 Why do people Black out or Blue out the back of the aquarium? Seems easier to add one of those decorator sheets that you can get from the LFS? I was thinking of securing a piece of polished Stainless Steel to act as a mirror thus enabling light to better reflect to the back of the rocks and make the tank appear larger without having to worry about the salt effecting it like it would on a mirror. Thoughts? Best Regards, Dave "renman303" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 I'd say it's mainly a personal preference. I leave my tanks bare backed because I like it better. Some say that blue or black adds depth to the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 I like a black back ground because it makes the corals stand out better and the colors "pop" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renman303 Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Cool, so, if it's just "Looks" then I'm going to try and make the tank look twice the size with reflection. I think this will help with everything growing behind the rock as well. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejaustin Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 You might try putting a small mirror by the tank before you put a lot of work into a reflective back wall. The inhabitants might take exception. They don't know about reflections and will see other fish (if you have fish) and may react badly. Probably depends on the fish, but a small test run might be a good idea. Just my 2c. ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mburton Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I painted the back of my tank to cover up all the plumbing behind the tank. I figured I tried to keep as much equipment out of the tank as possible, but if you see my 3 miles of PVC behind the tank, then I wastedmy attempts to clean up the tank.[/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crab Rangoon Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Why do people Black out or Blue out the back of the aquarium? Seems easier to add one of those decorator sheets that you can get from the LFS? I was thinking of securing a piece of polished Stainless Steel to act as a mirror thus enabling light to better reflect to the back of the rocks and make the tank appear larger without having to worry about the salt effecting it like it would on a mirror. Thoughts? Best Regards, Dave "renman303" When I was considering a clam tank, I was going to use reflective film as a backing and side covers. My main concern was that it would reflect light well enough to cause a distraction with peripheral vision, i.e. if the tank is in a well trafficked room, it would commonly cause glare, and be a PITA. But, rather than use stainless steel, I would just contact some local window tinting places and ask them if they can supply you with some double sided reflective tint to apply to the back glass. I recall seeing reflective backing available from somebody, but it was from a aqua-farming / lab type supplier, rather than your run of the mill aquarium supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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