# Painting



## ronmarsh99 (Feb 18, 2011)

I am thinking about paint the back of my tank, I've played around with back rounds and I found putting it on with water did a really nice job but did'nt last long and started to get bubbles, So I want to paint it a light blue, what kinda of paint should I go with?


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

well if you look at my 20g tank i used a light blue paint, that i got that was suppose to be safe to paint kids stuff, i painted everything the hood trim all of that and my fish havnt had any problem with it.


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

why not try window paint? It can be scrubbed off, IDK if thats a plus or minus to you...


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

household paint comes off easy with a razor blade but window paint would be alot easier, but the downfall to window paint is that it will smear after awhile if water keeps getting on it. thats if you are talking about the stuff you put on your car window when you are trying to sell it or putting just married or congrats.


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

I would think that normal acrylic paint would work


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

You can use special glue for that stuff. Now theres this stuff out thats made for aquariums and comes in a little kit for like 5 bucks to fix this problem, and your backround should stay on to the back of your tank with tape. I have heard good things about it, if your interested I can get the name for it.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

A lot of people use rustoleum spray paint. Paint with good adhesion to metal usually has good adhesion to glass and thinner coats also stick better (thicker paint shrinks more and want to peel off). Oil-based is better than water based, because water-based paints are usually more effected by drips and humidity. Of course you do it to an empty tank, upside down, with all the trim covered with tape. It doesn't last forever, eventually it flakes, and then you scrape it off with a razor blade and try again. Black bottoms are good for tanks with no substrate.
I've also seen tanks with sprayed-on coatings that resemble stone.

For backgrounds, use Vaseline, not water. Or try car window-tinting film.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Krylon Fusion

is the paint of choice for most reefkeepers, since sometimes you just have to paint things inside the tank, and the stuff is totally inert and waterproof once fully dried. To paint the outside, like for a background, pretty much anything latex works, but even it will get marred if it stays constantly wet.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

TheOldSalt said:


> Krylon Fusion
> 
> is the paint of choice for most reefkeepers, since sometimes you just have to paint things inside the tank, and the stuff is totally inert and waterproof once fully dried. To paint the outside, like for a background, pretty much anything latex works, but even it will get marred if it stays constantly wet.


WOW?! Really, I knew some people that said they used that stuff but I didnt believe them and there was no way I was putting that stuff in my marine tanks. Dam, would have been helpful if I knew this.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

"NO BLUE"..........the bottom and sides of lakes and rivers are not blue..light colors will tend to keep your fish's colors washed out some..i only use black on the back and sides of tanks..the plants look better....the fish are not stressed and their full colors will stand out..unless you would rather look at the pretty blue paint instead of the fish and plants..


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