boy did i make an error in judgement.

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

black has always been my favorate color. (i know the absence of light/not a color)

black guitars, black clothes,black car and of course black aquarium background.

if it aint black its going back, or so i used to think.

 

 

after seeing all those killa tanks in travis thread (idolized nano's) i decided to experiment with a little color. never again will i have a black background, im sold on blue!

the lights seem brighter, the fish happier (ok so im stretching it a little)

blue in now the new black. lol

 

 

i cant believe the difference its made. thanks travis, i owe ya.

before and after pic's, i've been appling the paint with a roller (so i dont get any in the tank) im gonna need another coat, but still very very pleased with the results.

 

heres both the black and blue backgrounds. even when it was black, it still looked blue.

not that your gonna change my mind on this, but which do you prefer?

[natrate]

I was torn between the two colors myself. I was at Walmart staring at paint for 20 minutes before opting for black. Both colors look good, but I didn't want too much blue because I'm using a 20K bulb.

[icenine]

Blue looks nice.... till the coralline sets in. Blue backgrounds look messy real fast compared with black. ....which is not a problem if you keep up with or are even able to scrape the back glass.

 

btw...your tanks looks awsome.

[scarf_ace1981]

i haven't been able to choose myself. there's no question the blue makes the tank brighter but black...ohh black.

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

they know me by name in the hardware store next door.lol when i went to get paint this morning i was greeted with a "what do the fish need now" comment (was buying water also.)

 

i musta looked at paint for 20min myself, trying to get a color i liked in a paint i could use. lol

 

my tanks on a 45 in the corner of the room, so cleaning the back isnt a problem, i just reach behind and use the mag float.

that being said, my clean up crew doesnt allow coraline on the glass, as soon as it shows up, its quickly eaten by my blue tuxedo or mexican turbos (big ones!) kinda cool cause they never eat if off the lr, just the glass.

 

thanks for the kind words guys.

[Carinya]

personally I like black but there is something to be said for mixing it up every now & then. if you like the choice, then who cares!

[Xytrix01]

I like the blue!

[Six]

i really like your tank set up. aquascaping , fuge, everything.

 

nicely done

[proraptor]

I like the black still nice tank though

[Nuhtty]

looks like a fish store

[NEVER SATISFIED REFFER]

well i have black, I let it cover in coralline, then I get tired of it and scrape it, back to black, like the color changing .

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

looks like a fish store

 

 

first thing that came to mind, but hey now i know why. the blue backing reflects alot more light than the black. for a guy that lights his tank with marine,aqua and power glows, its a huge difference. if i had a halide, i think id like the black alot more. however with my lighting, imo theres not comparison. my corals seem more colorful, my tank a little more active.

 

i'm loving the change.

thanks guys i really like my tank also

[Llamaguy]

is that a hydrometer floating in the tank? I don't think you're suppose to leave them because of salt/mineral deposits.

 

Other than that, the tank looks great

[RayWhisperer]

is that a hydrometer floating in the tank? I don't think you're suppose to leave them because of salt/mineral deposits.

Where do you see a Hydrometer?

 

 

BTW Icy, nice looking tank. Sorry, I like the black you had before. JMO, as long as you like it, that's all that counts.

[Samoyed]

I was torn between the two colors myself. I was at Walmart staring at paint for 20 minutes before opting for black. Both colors look good, but I didn't want too much blue because I'm using a 20K bulb.

 

 

I WAS SOLD ON BLACK...still am..but i love colorful corals

[travisurfer]

blue background definantly makes the tank look brighter. my fw tank looks so dark b/c of the black sand though.

 

sw coming in 2 months

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

is that a hydrometer floating in the tank? I don't think you're suppose to leave them because of salt/mineral deposits.

 

Other than that, the tank looks great

 

nope no hydrometer in there. probably my glass thermo your looking at.

 

something i noticed about gloss black back grounds, my mandarins behavior has really changed since i changed the color of my back ground. my scooter blenny sail fin and fairy wrasse also. (did my second tank the same color)

 

last week i put a mirror behind one of my tanks, and all my fish went nuts (scoot,blenny,wrasse) displaying to thier reflections. with the black back ground i had similar behavior in my main tank with my mandarin and didnt even realize it.

it seems the black causes just enough of a reflection to irritate the mandarin into raising thier fins. the female liked to wig out on the back glass every once in a while.

 

its only been one day, but now when the fish swim to the back glass, theres no reflection, no hi fins and no wigging out. (so far)

i'll keep ya posted.

i like the blue best during the morning/evening hours when the antics are on. the only advantage to running 6 20watt flouresent lights, is the 6 different effects i get in the tank as the lights turn on and off through out the day

 

first pic is a marine glow and coral life, second just the marine glow (the marine glows on for 1/2 hour before the coral life kicks it) with all 6 lights and an army of timers, it really does give the effect of the sun rising and setting on the reef.

[I'm the same guy as reefer9391]

I think it depends on the kind of reef look you have going for the best background color but yes anything reflective drive them CRAZY.

[Sea Keeper]

I had a black background for a loong time on my 55 gallon. No matter what I did to the tank I could not figure out why it didn't look....good. After many advising me that it was the black background I decided to take the plunge one day and scrape off the black paint and put a nice blue (like yours) on the back with a roller. MAN I had no idea what I was missing all these years! I'm now satisfied with the way my tank looks now for the first time after having it for so many years (though its a freshwater now).

 

I recently did the back of my 10 gallon nano saltwater the same blue and it looks AWESOME!

 

Wish I coulda seen the 55 gallon like that when it was saltwater.

 

Oh well.....good job and AWESOME TANK.

[SCUBALeah]

Icy,

Wow! This is the first time I have ever seen a fuge display I really love the set up. I have always been pretty bumed out that my fuge is not displayed to where people can see it. when they come over I have to show them that also! What a good idea though. (I liked it so much I had to save the pic to my computer so I can try and build one myself) You have a beautiful tank on your hands and I like the new color change, cool pics of your lighting.

Drowning,

I love that SCUBA pic you have it makes me smile

[Mojorizn]

Painted my tank with a sponge. Like the HGTV people do to rooms.

Gives it a texture instead of flat color.

Mostly black with blue and purple highlights.

A little orange in there as well.

Looks better as the tank grows.

[kinetic]

still diggin the stand. looks good =)