Background color for south american tank

[GOOBERFISH]

Hey guys, I will be putting up a new 50 gallon south american cichlid tank. So I was wondering whats would be a good color background white or light blue? I had a light blue painted background a few years back but I really don't want to paint this tank. what are your thoughts?

 

[xraycer]

Black!

I don't recommend white at all

 

[JDCHSFB69]

No white. Blue or black.

 

[GOOBERFISH]

Is there a reason why I should or shouldn't use a certain color as a background?

And thanks for the response

 

[sdv3]

If your water is even a tiny bit dirty, white will show that. I can't imagine algae on the back glass looking good either.

I never thought I would paint a tank until I just did my 150gal black. It looks 3x better than the plastic stuff you tape or stick to the glass. I don't think you'll regret it, and if you do, a razor blade will get paint off in seconds.

good luck!

 

[xraycer]

Go on Youtube and watch different videos of other peoples' aquariums. They tend to pretty much all have dark background. Black, especially, makes the fish color "pop" whereas white background tends to washes out fish color.

 

[Osca]

I have always liked black...i would never choose any other color unless i purchased a used tank that was already painted something else

 

[Pomatomus]

I always go black in freshwater unless your fish are turning too dark. But admittedly, most of my freshwater tanks lack backgrounds.

Saltwater on the other hand, I always use blue. My former boss loved to use black, but I think it makes the tank look dull.

 

[ryansmith83]

It depends on the fish you're keeping. Some cichlids, like discus, will try to blend into a dark background and so they'll always look dark and dingy. Other fish, like super red severums or certain geos, have colors that really pop on a dark background. My 150 is painted light blue and my 210 is painted black.

 

[virgil2090]

i like black,but if your not sure,you can get posterboard in different colors to try.