Painting the back of a glass tank

[Skywalker71]

I was wondering what type of paint and brand I would use to paint the back of a glass tank?

[Nick_Kun]

Krylon Fusion is very popular.

- Nick

[bluielover]

thats what i used on gf's. but i did two thin coats of black fusion then did a coat of a primer and then added another coat of black fusion. if i didnt use the primer, thicker paint, i wouldve had to use like two or three fusion cans.

[Useful Idiot]

I just did the back of my glass tank with flat black rustoleum in the can, not spray paint. Used a small roller, one coat only and it looks fantastic. Very pleased with the results and only took a couple minutes.

[nalbar]

/\ /\ What I did, except rustoleum in a spray can. You have to wrap the tank in case of overspray so a roller is better.

The OUTSIDE of the tank!

Works great, but scrapes off easy if you rub it.


nalbar

[loose-electron]

a paint brush and latex paint out of the bucket, 2 coats got it done for me. Dont need spray paint because what you see looking at thru the glass is a surface defined by the glass. Consequently, run marks and brush strokes on the back ot the tank, who cares? Either will work, and if ya mess it up on glass, a razor blade will get it off.

[liver]

As another option you could go to San Diego plastics and get plastic cardboard cut the same size as the back of your aquarium. The brand is called coroplast and it comes in a lot of colors including black. I got 5 sheets cut for my tank for like $12. I put it on the inside of the tank and when its covered in algae I just remove it and put a new one in. I then clean the old one and save it for next time.

[pako73]

I've done both methods....rattle can=over spray....paint brush works well in my personal experience.

[SoCalBoo]

roll or brush a pretty thick coat, let it dry, stick a light inside the tank and see if any shines through the back. paint the lighted areas. done deal. there are some paints out there with special binding agents (like krylon for plastic) that will help it adhere better, but keep in mind you are painting glass...i.e. it will never bind as well as if it was, say, wood. i've had to touch up a few smaller FW tanks with HOB filter where the filter stays rubbed off the paint. Cover the tank with plastic quickly, get out a qtip, and paint in the scuff. Easy enough.

[Lcac_navy]

First of course you prep aquarium for painting. Tape off trim and top along with sides. Then I used Marble spray paint to give the back a different feel. Waited for that to dry and once dried used some semi-gloss for first coat. Then I used black primer until I could not see any light thru the back glass. My aquarium background looks like a sandy background. Kinda different and not just straight black.
I do want to mention that I got this Idea from someone else on this forum but can not remember his call sign exactly right now. Something Finns.
Hope this gives you something different to think about?

[mazilla]

I had my back glass tinted by a friend using "black out" window tint. I was planning on using mirror tint, but I had to get the tank running that night and he was out.

[pako73]

Great idea Maz, I recently used black acrylic for my 7g nano and it ROCKS!!!