# Paint back of tank - flat black or glossy black?



## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Don't think it matters unless you'll be looking at the outside of the black painted side . Either way it'll be black through the glass .


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I used flat black on my 75gs and prefer that. Looking *through *the tank to the back/side walls that are painted they look glossy from the glass. Its up to you if you want that gloss look when see the outside of the tank.


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## Natasha (Nov 22, 2015)

I've got matte black because I used plasti dip, but I've heard that people tend to like a gloss/semi-gloss because they can more easily wipe it off


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## [email protected] (Jan 8, 2010)

Here's a tip use acrylic latex and apply it with a foam roller


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Apr 9, 2012)

I got the most matte I could find, it was described as having a chalk finish. Not the chalkboard paint, but the chalk finish. It looks very matte with the tank flooded and isn't reflective at all, which is what I wanted.


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## Mattb126 (Nov 13, 2016)

ArchimedesTheDog said:


> I got the most matte I could find, it was described as having a chalk finish. Not the chalkboard paint, but the chalk finish. It looks very matte with the tank flooded and isn't reflective at all, which is what I wanted.


Picture? I'm gonna paint some tanks soon.


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Apr 9, 2012)

Mattb126 said:


> Picture? I'm gonna paint some tanks soon.


My inexpert paint job can be seen upon close inspection but I didn't use a roller. You can see that the plants at the back cast shadows but no reflections.


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## Waters (Oct 15, 2012)

I always paint my reef tanks semi-gloss dk blue and my planted tanks semi-gloss black. With the planted tank, once the plants take off you can't see the back anyways.


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

I used a matte black acrylic paint. Just some cheap stuff I got at WallyWorld and I think it came out pretty well. Took three coats to get full coverage though.


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## hotpapi64 (Nov 15, 2016)

I'm getting ready to paint my 75 g planted tank flat black latex with 4" sponge roller


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

I always use flat black. Just looks better IMO because I would think with the combination of the glossy paint and light it could become too shiny.


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## Chip Munk (Nov 12, 2016)

I bought a quart of oil based black paint from the "Tractor Supply" store, (in case you have one near by, It's just a hardware store chain). I thought that oil based paint would stand up better to getting wet frequently. It was very easy to apply. I painted it on pretty thick and did 2 coats +. After you apply a coat, whatever paint you choose, shine a light from behind it and then look through the front. Doing so will reveal any missed spots or streaks where the paint isn't thick enough, so you can do a few touch-ups to make it perfect.

The paint I used was "Majic Tractor, Truck & Implement" Exterior Oil Base Enamel - 8-2959 Matte Black", and is manufactured by Yenkin-Majestic.

It looks Matte, but also you have the glass in front of it that doesn't exactly make it glossy, but rather "glassy", if that makes any sense. Check my profile where I have a couple photos up.

Hope this helps,
~Chip


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