500 gallon build , can someone help ?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
A

Adiz100

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 25, 2010
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Australia , Sydney
Hi all, im getting a 10 foot, by 32 inch high and 30 inch wide tank built, with a 6 foot sump and 2 wiers one on each side. i was wondering if anyone can tell me if that is good to go with.

once the tank is done i would like to keep arowanas , peacock bass and so on , you know how us MFKs roll lol, but i personally wouldnt want any substrate i want it just one big open tank with maybe a black background. by the way whats the best way of doing a background for a tank?

how does all of this sound? if someone can please give me a few tips PLEASE :)
 
I have had rock, sand, bare bottom and back to sand, and honestly if I didn't have to hear my wife say I told you so I would go back to bare bottom myself.
 
Yes paint the back (outside) of the tank. I used black spray paint on two of my tanks, tape off the trim and the sides to keep from getting over spray on it. It will take more then 1 or 2 coats, you don't want it too thick or it will run down and not look pretty. On a 20 gallon I had I even used some leftover window tint on it. I am running bare bottom on two of my tanks now, one is my discus tank, the other is my grow out tank. Other then that I would use something for substrate. That's just my opinion though.
 
tank has nice dimensions. i painted the back of my tanks black, it takes a few coats to get a solid black.
as far as substrate i would at least paint the bottom of the tank. i tried black but looks so dark black on black. i have seen people on here use textured paint with nice results get a sand look with easy maintenance.
for my next tank i think i'm going to go with a tile bottom, give you something to look at with easy cleaning
 
Sounds like a good setup. Painting the back should be easy, and i kinda wish i went bare bottom on my 500g, since now I think im gonna need to get a dozen power heads to cleanup catfish turds. Remember you might want to paint the bottom also since it will be visible.
 
Lgsasquatch;5157713; said:
Yes paint the back (outside) of the tank. I used black spray paint on two of my tanks, tape off the trim and the sides to keep from getting over spray on it. It will take more then 1 or 2 coats, you don't want it too thick or it will run down and not look pretty. On a 20 gallon I had I even used some leftover window tint on it. I am running bare bottom on two of my tanks now, one is my discus tank, the other is my grow out tank. Other then that I would use something for substrate. That's just my opinion though.
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it sounds good but this is a pretty expensive tank i dont think i would want to be painting the glass , isnt there a different way.. well i mean , what if i changed my mind later on and the tank is full of water i cant get to the back to clean it all up . i guess im going to have to check out some photos of how it will turn out
 
Adiz100;5158819; said:
it sounds good but this is a pretty expensive tank i dont think i would want to be painting the glass , isnt there a different way.. well i mean , what if i changed my mind later on and the tank is full of water i cant get to the back to clean it all up . i guess im going to have to check out some photos of how it will turn out
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Ok so there I was buying my first Monster tank (240) and when I show up at the dude’s house.... It’s an awful baby blue background that should be illegal to use for any reason.... I got it home and was trying to figure out what the hell to do!!! So I called the guy about the paint and what he recommended me to do to remove it. He says "I bought that paint from a hobby shop, and it come off with a razor blade with ease. When I first got the tank the back was a cream green, so I changed it to blue". (I will say the cream green sounded better then the blue he used). So off to home depot I go to get some razor blades. I ended up purchasing a push blade razor (it has about a 3" wide razor at the end and about an 11" handle) that worked PERFECT!!!! Not only did it take the paint off with complete ease... But I was able to use it later for the inside of the tank to remove algae in areas the magnetic cleaning thing couldn’t get to!!!!

So sorry for the long story, but if you can go to a hobby shop or craft store, they have water based paint (fishy friend) that hardens like a rock, and looks fantastic... Practically any color you want!!!! When you want to change the color, you just use that blade (peels right off) and change the color.

I as someone already stated will keep my next tank (almost 600 gals) with a bare bottom (so much easier to clean). But if you are going to keep the bottom bare, make sure you paint it also (so you don’t see through to the crap that’s underneath)...

Sorry, my 2 cents

:hitting:

$INI$T3R
 
as $INI$T3R said, a razor blade works perfectly, as doesnt scratch the glass. Was removing paint yesterday with one. Also good for removing silicone.

Also I'd go barebottom and paint that too, especially as its a new tank. Sand and gravel strach the glass so much, and make maintainance much slower.
 
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