# Applying Regular aquarium background....



## DFishFox (Sep 27, 2011)

How many ways are there to do this?


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## reflexhunter (Jul 25, 2009)

What is regular background?

Are you talking about the paper type that you tape to the back?


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## DFishFox (Sep 27, 2011)

paper type yes. Tape is one way.. more than one way to skin a cat an all


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## DFishFox (Sep 27, 2011)

Ok.. I can't be the only person applying this vinyl type background using a technique very similar to window tinting... Its looks 400% better than taping. I was hoping someone out there did something similar so I could learn from them..........


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## Cromak (Dec 29, 2010)

If i recall I've read somewhere that people put some type of cooking oil on the glass, then stick the paper background right to it and it sucks right to the glass without having to tape.. It also elminates the bumps and air pockets..


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Don't use cooking oil. While it works well and looks good, it becomes rancid. Trust me, I did it on my first tank and it was fine until I wanted to change it. Although we never noticed it while it was on, the smell when we took it off was horrible. Try the gel called SeaView or just tape it on.


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## DFishFox (Sep 27, 2011)

yeah I'm stuck with the GEL cause I refuse to digress to taping. I'd sooner drape a black sheet over the back lol

But at least you guys tipped me off to the GEL.. thanks


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## Andy Somnifac (Jun 1, 2005)

I'd imagine baby oil/mineral oil would work find too. I went light with a light amount of vegetable oil when I put a black background on years ago and have never run into an issue with smell.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I have not found a way that works, nor have I seen a lot of posts from people who are happy with the results.

I've seen at least one negative post about SeaView as well.


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## heyzeusbrains (Jul 12, 2011)

+1 - SeaView sucks IME. Within a month it started developing runs and bubbles.


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## DFishFox (Sep 27, 2011)

Baby oil sounds worth a shot... but thanks all for the ideas I'll post up the results


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## marcopolo146 (Feb 23, 2011)

+1 on the seaview sucks. I have a 125 kinda close to the wall and now the background is bubbly and starting to fall off after 7 months and I used 2 bottles of the stuff. Paints the best bet for looking good for the long run.


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

seaview indeed sucks. once it starts to peel it just runs like no tomorrow. horrid looking after a month. id suggest paint over anything else. 1 can of spray paint plus a drop cloth and some tape and ur good. works wonders and never runs.. GL in your choice


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## Tadgo (Jul 31, 2011)

Three words: Paint it!

As quick as the seaview stuff is compared to painting, I'll paint any tank from from here on out. I wish I was able to spray paint my 75 instead of using a roller.


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## demonsoni (Feb 10, 2006)

Tadgo said:


> Three words: Paint it!


lol?

I want to paint my 125. Can people advise what kind is best? Can it be scraped off later? Thanks.


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## Tadgo (Jul 31, 2011)

I have used latex paint and a roller. A bit of it got damaged, so I cut around it with a razor blade and peeled that area off in 1 piece. Repainted the bad area. I'm waiting for 24 hours for it to dry then I am going to use Gripper primer over it to give it some scratch resistance.

Basically the latex paint will be easy to remove from glass. I do not know how easy spray paint will be, bu it should not be too hard to scrap it with a good razor blade.

Three more words: Was joke.


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## heyzeusbrains (Jul 12, 2011)

I used "Plasti-Dip" to paint the back of my tank. It is a rubberized waterproof paint that can be peeled off very easily. Got it at home depot. I'm very happy with it. Heard about it here at the cichlid forums. You can find threads here all about it.


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## des (Mar 30, 2011)

I've used SeaView on my first tank. I would not recommend it. It's messy and bubbles will form if it's not done correctly. That stuff will never come off with simple wiping. If you want simplicity with the paper background, then just tape! If you want it to look good, spend some time making your own 3D background or buy one. Otherwise, do what people with 20+ tanks do, paint, paint, and paint. Blue looks clean and provides great contrast. Black provides you with depth.


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