Background Fix Ideas for 55 Gallon Tank?

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Hey y'all! On my current tank setup, I have a black background that my dad ordered for somewhere around $20 off of Amazon, and I think we installed it wrong, or it isn't waterproof. Instead of being a smooth, cohesive black background, it has little bubbles between the inside of the background and the outside of the tank. It looks like crap.

I've been looking at it for the past few months, and at one point was considering completely taking it down altogether (for most of the time I've had the tank, I haven't had a background for it, only within the past few months have I had a background). I don't think aesthetically taking down the background would look any better, as I would then see every ounce of algae and the wire mess behind the tank.

What I'm trying to ask is, what should I do? Should I paint the background black? Should I ditch a background altogether and cover it with an aquascape from the inside? Should I ditch the background and figure out a way to hide the mess of wires?

Once again, thank you in advance for any help!

 

[Midwater]

Aquascape would be good, if your tank is suitably large.

 

[Deadeye]

I usually just take a black plastic tablecloth and tape it to the back. It’s not tight enough where bubbles show or loose enough where you can still see light.
Nice, cheap, removable option.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Yup, I use black bin bags or if I am lucky, black cloth and just tape the edges. If I need to insulate then the polystyrene sheet gets wrapped in the bin bag or cloth and the whole thing gets taped to the back (and sides if it’s in the cold part of the fish house).

 

[james99]

I've used poster in the past, now I just paint them. Spray paint if the tank isn't setup yet, latex with a roller if the tank is already filled.