Any tips on how to make my tank look nicer?

[matt1129]

Some manzanita DW isn't going to effect your water perimeters or color one bit. I've used it in all my tanks and it has absolutely 0 effect on water color and perimeters. I don't use it anymore though. I liked the look but it was a royal pain in the ass getting the substrate vacuumed around it while doing water changes so I discontinued using it.

As far as for the background w/o moving the tank there are ways. I had a 95g against my wall that I didn't want to drain to pull out and spray. I went to the dollar store and snagged two pieces of solid black poster board. Razor cut them to the exact size, and I just pulled it tight around the edges and taped it. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out but it literally looked just as normal as my other 125g that had the back sprayed black. Worked like a charm.

doesnt posterboard get wet and fall apart?
im very interested in planting my tank. anyone have any tips? i dont want to spend money on plants just to have the fish destroy them. i was thinking of doing a slate cave but im not sure yet. as for the drifwood thing, youre right, vaccuming would be a PAIN around a piece of manzanita.

 

[Jon M]

doesnt posterboard get wet and fall apart?

Uhm, sure if you get it wet?... Why in the world would the back of your tank be wet?... This might sound like a ridiculous question but you do realize I'm not saying to put it on the INSIDE of the tank right?

as for the drifwood thing, youre right, vaccuming would be a PAIN around a piece of manzanita.

IT IS! I now have 80$ of DW from manzman that I am not using, lol. It's super nice and looks great but it's not worth the pain going around it.

 

[matt1129]

hmm. maybe i can stack some slate and make some compartments and put some plants infront of it. The slate "tower" looks pretty nice and would provide tons of spots for my fish to hide
*plants arent gonna happen, my light i found out is only 40 watts lol*

 

[LD50]

For the black background I find a roller on the end of a mop/broom stick and a 5$ can of paint from the depot quite effective, no spray to worry about, you can always touch it up of it gets messed up for some reason, scrapes off with a razor if need be and you can apply a perfict look without draining/moving your tank.

 

[linh903]

just buy a black table cloth it like 1 dollar and u can remove it if u dont like it. for driftwood let sit in different water for a while.

the bottom of the tank is ok but the mid section is empty and top
plants?

 

[Ancient_Fish_Master]

black background and some lace rock.

 

[swk]

Take a look at some videos taken from the rift lakes for inspiration. You need, IMO, rocks and a backround. Black or blue backround works great. After you've seen some vids from the lakes, go to your local landscape, or masonry supply yard and pick out a type of rocks that you like. Get 1 or 2 large rocks for the centerpieces and then some medium sized and smaller sized rocks for a good mix. This will look the most natural. Have fun with it and be creative.

 

[PostalPenguin]

thats the thing, i reallly dont want to have to drain the tank 100% to move it for spraypaint. any way to do it when theres about 4 inches between the wall and the tank glass

You can use a foam roller to paint the tank. Just make sure to use a flat black, I used Rustoleum Flat Black oil based paint with good results. The foam roller is essential though as the cloth rollers seem to leave more of a dimpled pattern requiring extra coats.

Since you will be painting against a wall be sure to cover that wall as the roller will fling paint onto the wall if you aren't careful.

 

[fishmamma]

I agree with painting the tank, I used Olympia flat black waterbased.. and it looks great! and it's the most environmentaly safe paint I found available.. I also used a foam brush, not knowing that it would provide better results.. GL... and I'm always for some manzanita!

 

[matt1129]

the background will definitely happen after the rocks. thanks for the tips everyone!