# Ideas for a 3d background



## mike2724 (Dec 12, 2007)

I have blue paint on an acrylic tank that I want to get rid of or change to black. But I have heard that once you paint acrylic tanks, you can never change the background color. Any ideas on how to make a 3d background for an acrylic tank? I have read that silicone does not stick well to acrylic. So, any alternatives to sticking the background onto the back?


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

you could cut a piece of thin black acrylic and use the weld-on44( i think it is) to chemically weld it to the inside of your tank.or people have made concrete/styro bg and used magnets to attach them to acrylic tanks.


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

You could get a sheet of plexiglass and glue slate pieces on it then just burry the bottom in the substrate and clamp the top onto the edge of the tank.


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## mike2724 (Dec 12, 2007)

Hey I like the idea. But how exactly do I glue slate to the plexiglass?


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

JUst buy some aquarium safe silicone, bash up some slate tile, and glue large and small pieces onto the plexiglass. Really cool when finished. I havent done it myself though.


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## mike2724 (Dec 12, 2007)

the problem is i have fish in there now. So I wont be able to do that. Something I can just put in the tank to cover up the blue?


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

CichlidAndrew said:


> JUst buy some aquarium safe silicone, bash up some slate tile, and glue large and small pieces onto the plexiglass. Really cool when finished. I havent done it myself though.


Silicoen does not stick well to slate or to acrylic, so this idea has a couple strikes against it. Waterfall pond foam sticks to both materials plus it is black so any showing around the slate is not noticed.

Paint on acrylic can be removed. First scrape or sand off the paint, then remove the scratches left behind with an acrylic scratch removal system. Could be very tedious.


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## mike2724 (Dec 12, 2007)

thanks mcdaphnia. now this will take really long. the sanding and scratching and gets really messy. anyone have links to making background and then just hanging it on the back of the tank?


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