# What color background?



## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I am working on setting up a ~75g tank and am trying to decide on a background color.

It will be a CA tank with some plants(mostly surface plants) and possibly root structures. I was thinking of steering clear of a black background because I have one on my African tank and it seems to dull the colors of some of my fish. Although that may also have to do with insufficient lighting, I'm not sure.

Maybe I could try brown.

Anyways, what does everyone like for a background color?

If you want to share pics of a tank with your background choice feel free. :thumb:


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

I personally Love my Black background it just makes my fish POP!  . Go with what you feel and don't let anyone tell you otherwize


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I'v just never used anything other than black. For some reason when my lemon Jake is in front of the black it's colors are very dull and dark. But i also have all my lighting at the front of the tank, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Anyone tried a brown background?


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

Never seen brown in other than 3d backgrounds..

I use black always too =) but if you get to use brown, make sure to post some pics here to see how it looks like


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I'm a little nervous to experiment on this tank, because it will be a plywood tank, so the background color will be the color of the sealant and not ewasily replaced like a painted background on an all glass tank.

Maybe I'll try hanging some sample background colors behind one of my holding tanks that don't have backgrounds.

I'm also going to ad another light strip to my 55g before I decide against black. Hopefully that will take care of the dullness.


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## rgr4475 (Mar 19, 2008)

Well if you think black dulls your fish I can't imagine brown being much better. At least the black would match intake/outtake tubes from filters etc. Maybe a darker shade of green?


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I'm not worried about intake and outtake colors because I'm going to have an overflow and everything will be well hidden.

Dark green is a good idea. I might try that.

I'm trying to get it to look as natural as possible.


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## dtang (Jan 30, 2004)

I'm in a similar situation. I'm also setting up another tank and have always done plain black. I'm becoming more and more interested in backgrounds. Just a couple of weeks ago, I would have never considered a DIY background, but after seeing how much it can enhance the look of the aquarium, I'm seriously considering it. I figure that if it comes out really bad, I could just put it outside of the tank so that its still visible, or just go with plain black again. Even a few days ago, the idea of consuming so much of the tanks volume by adhering the background to the inside of the tank did not appeal to me, but if I can make the BG with 1" foam I think I'll try it. I've seen several examples (as on youtube) where people have consumed 7-8" of their 18" depth with BG.

If your tank is 48" long, you might take a look at this site:
designsbynature dot net (apparently, I'm not allowed to post links) 
Even though the longer lengths get kind of pricey, I think it would be worth it considering how much time it will take to do a DIY and considering that the result won't be nearly as nice. I'm doing a 72" length so my only option would be to connect two of these together. The examples that they show with two identical panels connected make it go from extremely believable to totally artificial.

To answer your question, I think brown would look good for a CA tank.


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I agree about diy backgrounds taking up too much space. Maybe on a 3ft deep tank it would be nice, but I can't see myself doing it for my 2ft deep tank unless I can keep it relatively thin.

What I'm planning to do for this tank is set up a sloped "shore" along the back wall. This, along with some added rocks, driftwood, and live plants(both aquatic and terrestrial) should give me the feel I'm looking for.

Because I'm doing the shore along the back wall, the background color will only be visible on the sides(plywood tank). I think a dark slightly "greyed out" brown will work well. It just can't match the substrate exactly. It should probably be darker.


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## jzdanows (Jun 20, 2010)

whats diy background? I have no background. I have done my best to conceal my hardware on the tank but it is the focal point of my room. It looks great from any angle, I would hate to cover up any part. I have read that fish need that concealed space for security and what not, but I have constructed many safe havens and areas to hopefully suite their emotional well being.


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

do it yourself 

check the DIY part of this forum and you'll see a lot of them.


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## Cherryd69 (Jul 5, 2010)

I prefer black, having come back into the hobby after a 3yr break and moving into cichlids iv stuck to the same colour.

Black just seems to make the bright colours on fish come out more.

this is my old community 4ft back in 2005, as you can see the darkness of the background made everything just stand out.









Although, having had a look at the diy section on here, wouldnt mind having a pop at making my own 'rocky' one (unless someone kindly offers heh) :thumb:


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

as for DIY ones taking too much space, not so, the thickness depends on you.

just as with commercial backgrounds, they can be 1" thick, or they could be the full depth of the aquarium. if anything it should be easier, use a single 1" sheet of poly and carve out a bit to create the rock effects, rather than gluing extra sheets


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I don't really like most of the thin backgrounds I've seen. I am planning on doing a 3d background that is space efficient. I think it will work better than what I originally had in mind.


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