# What background to planted tanks?



## Chizpa305

What background color do you prefer in a planted tank to make plants look best?


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## JasonG75

Black


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## EnigmaticGuppy92

i like black but prefer clear


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## TWA

Black. Always black here. I don't like seeing the wall behind, blue looks cheap, black is the only way I'll go


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## Kathyy

I have an acrylic tank with suspended lighting and want to give the impression the plants and fish are part of the room so no background is my current preference.


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## Psionic

I use black also


-Val


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## OVT

Black. Mirror background will also make your tank look bigger and let you peak behind plants and rocks.


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## Heartnet

OVT said:


> Black. Mirror background will also make your tank look bigger and let you peak behind plants and rocks.


You can also check yourself out while checking the tank out too. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


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## kribkeeper888

Heartnet said:


> You can also check yourself out while checking the tank out too.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


LOL 

I like black or clear personally. But black doesnt always look natural but then My tanks always have a white wall behind them


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## zoragen

My tank is in the basement w/ little ambient light. When I tried a black background it was too dark.

I got 2 different light blue craft paints & painted them on a poster board. I figured the 2 different shades would give it a bit of depth I wouldn't get in one color.

I think it should be a tad bit darker w/ maybe more grey in it so I'll probably re-do it at some point.


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## Chizpa305

> Mirror background will also make your tank look bigger and let you peak behind plants and rocks.





> You can also check yourself out while checking the tank out too.


Hahaha, yeah and maybe put a sink in front... Brush your teeth in it. (I always get bored looking at myself while brushing my teeth) This way you'll have the cleanest whitest teeth.


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## Eldachleich

My favorite background I have is my dark grey slate in my 5.5 gallon. I love it so much.


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## Fish Ed

I prefer black or white background. Mostly black.


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## CrazyCatPeekin

Eldachleich said:


> My favorite background I have is my dark grey slate in my 5.5 gallon. I love it so much.


I like that background, too. You did an excellent job on that.


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## Chizpa305

Bump


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## Axelrod12

Black or moss. I also want to try one of those 3d rock looking backgrounds.


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## jpappy789

Black, although a light blue or white can sometimes look good depending on the plants/fish/hardscape. I feel black gives a better overall color pop.


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## ADJAquariums

I prefer Black but I never paint the back of my tanks, I always seem to forget during set up


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## Chronados

I like window privacy screen, which, when applied, gives a frosted look that can be removed if needed. Especially nice with rimless tanks.


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## discuspaul

I used black for a few years, but switched to dark blue, which I now prefer over black.
Here's the dark blue background for you to see the effect:
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011


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## Scottyhorse

I think it all depends on the plants, scape, fish, lighting, room, and personal preference. I usually like black, but sometimes a lighter 'frosty' color looks nice too


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## SunDevil76

Black is where it's at.


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## wicca27

i dont tend to put backgrounds on my tanks. ive tried painting them blue, navy blue, and black but didnt like any of it


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## Chizpa305

ADJAquariums said:


> I prefer Black but I never paint the back of my tanks, I always seem to forget during set up


It happened to me too. I did paint it though. I lowered the water level, placed a cover on top taped it well so that no paint would get inside and painted it black using a bush. I know, it was very uncomfortable to do with the fish inside, but thankfully it's a small tank. I let it dry for two days before taking it back inside the house.


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## shift

I painted mine black. Looks awesome


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## Nightspell

TWA said:


> Black. Always black here. I don't like seeing the wall behind, blue looks cheap, black is the only way I'll go


This. Clear would be nice too, but I don't want to see all my cords and hoses. Might try mirror next, as it makes tank look bigger while reflecting a lot of otherwise wasted light back into tank.


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## marcelojc

Black, silver and white are good too!


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## pwolfe

painted black!


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## xmas_one

My room is painted dark blue, it actually looks pretty good when it's not painted on the glass but behind it a few inches.


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## talontsiawd

I like black best or nothing on a heavily planted tank. I like other colors on tanks that are hardscape focused with no background plants at all.


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## Markahsf

You can never go wrong with black. 

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