egg crate?

[Chonk]

Should i put egg crate on the bottom of my tank? I ask because im planning on putting a wall of slate in the back and not sure if the tank will hold. I also think that it would be easier for the plants to root on it.

Should i paint the back of my tank black? I normally do, but im debating cuz it will be a planted tank and im not sure if it will look nice.

 

[shookONES]

Egg crate won't hurt. I would do it. As far as painting the tank background black, I would do that too. The green plants will pop like no other with a black background to contrast against.

On another note. If I were to invest money in anything at all, it would be substrate. Gravel just won't cut it. Eco Complete at the very least.

 

[Chonk]

Yeah, i just bought eco-complete yesterday along with slate. Those were my only two questions. For now that is.

 

[cuda]

If you want a black background you don't have to paint it black. If you go to your local fish stores and look at the back of some of the backgrounds they are black. Some backgrounds have different backgrounds on the back. Some just have blue on the back and some have black on the back. My wife bought a background to use the back side of it because it was black. We are starting to put plants in her tank and the black background looks awesome. The color of the fish stand out real good with it too. That way if you later change your mind on the background you won't have to worry about scraping paint off the glass of your tank.

 

[WyldFya]

I use black back on my 135 planted tank. If you want an easy way to get a black back, get some black vinyl plastic.

 

[moxxommox]

I spent 90 dollars on 3m black vinyl for my tank... it was worth every cent.