# How to get off mirror paint on the back of a tank?



## OhYesItsMe

Rubbing alcohol doesnt do much of anything, i cant find oven glass top cleaner at wegmans and they have 5000000 different types and i checked so what tankes it off???

http://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-314...568625&sr=8-2&keywords=glass+top+oven+cleaner 

will this work ???


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## jlpropst00

Best way I've found to take paint off the back of a tank is a razor blade.


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## OhYesItsMe

i tried that but it doesnt work very well i need a chemical with the razor blade but will acetone work???


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## Cory1990

I worked in a body shop and we always used "easy off" oven cleaner for over spray. You can buy it at Walmart for $4

That and some steel Wool will take if all off. 

A razor blade will work. But it will take more time.


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## OhYesItsMe

Ok I'm doing a cichlid tank and im still mout sure if I'm going to take off the mirror, is the mirror bad for them (I was thinking malawi)


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## Cory1990

I'm not sure if that's bad for them. But I do know the more natural tanks with rocks ext. are good for them. I'm not a huge fan of backgrounds in tanks because I like to make my aquariums look beautiful not have a beautiful picture of a aquarium. I like black backgrounds for tanks, I have personally bent the rules for that before to.


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## OhYesItsMe

I was originally thinking of a 3d rock background but those take up like 1/5-1/4 of the tank and are like $150. If I were to remove the mirror i would have done dark blue or black.


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## emc7

I've heard not to put betta's in a mirrored tank since they flare at their reflection all day. I have exactly 1 tank with mirror that I got a garage sale, it has some damage, so the next time it's empty i may try to take it off. I've had betta, Laetara dorsigera (small cichlid) and plecoes in it at various times and never saw any problems. Fish are smarter than people give them credit for. If they don't figure out the reflection, they at least figure out that "the other fish" can't reach them the way they do with adjacent tanks.


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## Redhead305

if the tank is setup you might need to avoid chemicals. if its not built your in luck if you can find out what the mirror paint is based with them it will help i.e water or oil. If its water based simply soak the back ground with a house to loosen and scrap off with a razor if however its oil, acetone or oven cleaner will do oven cleaner will be the better pretty much any would do tho so long as u give it a good cleaning afterwards. it terms of tools steel wool and razor blades will be your best bets. both CAN sracth glass so be careful not to rush the process


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## OhYesItsMe

Too lat i set it up 2 weeks ago


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## emc7

Real old-fashioned mirror used to be actual silver vacuum deposited in a thin layer. Not sure what modern "mirror" is made of but getting things to let go of glass is always easier than making them stick.

Did you try soapy water?

I don't think you'll have a problem with the mirror and the fish. I think fish are smarter than birds.

Birds are bugs are always hitting windows, but I never see a fish run into the glass. They only hit the lid when startled out of a deep sleep.

I do one guy who got rid of a big, aggressive cichlid that would hit the glass all night long. One theory was that a lit tank in a dark room made the glass into a mirror and he was trying to kill his image. But most fish, even cichlids prefer to avoid conflict.


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