Background for the tank.

[robby ram]

Any suggestions? Color? or Do i need to put one of those tacky background paper?

[Eddie]

Anything light, just not hot pink or florescent yellow. LOL

[robby ram]

Anything light, just not hot pink or florescent yellow. LOL

I finally revamped my tank actually. Having difficulties vacuuming the gravel, I chose bare bottom tank now. Honestly, I do like the sterile look. Besides, I added more woods. Now, I don't have any excuses not to do WC every day or every other day.

and yes, I feed them like crazy and I love looking at their fat bellies.

[Eddie]

;)

[robby ram]

Is it bad to feed them until they get fat bellies?


I am afraid it will explode.

[Eddie]

Is it bad to feed them until they get fat bellies?


I am afraid it will explode.

They can explode. Feed them light meals frequently if you have some that eat too much.


Eddie

[Chad Hughes]

They can explode. Feed them light meals frequently if you have some that eat too much.


Eddie


Oh my god Eddie! Have you had a discus explode on you?? That made me laugh out loud. I just imagined a discus spontaneously combusting from eating too much... easuly amused, I know. I'm sure that eating too much can't be good.

To answer the background color issue, I like to use shelf paper (the vinyl kind). You can get it in white, light blue, dark colors, whatever you want. I like to use white shelf paper on my 29 gallon breeder tanks. The nice part about it is it's cheap and it peels off if you want to change color or just take it off without a lot of work. Since I cover three sides plus the bottom with it, I like the option of being able to remove it if I want to do something else with the tank. It doesn't leave glue residue and keeps the outside glass free of scrathches.

Best wishes!

[mmorris]

Is this the adhesive stuff? Can you tell me how to put it on without getting bubbles in it?

[Chad Hughes]

Yes, this is the vinyl adhesive stuff. Avoid paper products. It will get messy when water gets on it.

The bubble part isn't as much of a problen as creases. Creases acannot be corrected. Bubbles on the other hand can. I try and get it put on as straight and crease/bubble free as possible. Once I get that part done I go back and attack the bubbles! I like to use an exacto knife, but you can really use anything shard. I poke a small hole in the side of the bubble and then squeeze the air out of the bubble starting from the opposite end of the hole.

If the bubbles are NOT too huge, the paper should lay down without a crease and look perfect! Keep in mind to try and minimize bubbles to begin with, but don't sweat them. Another tip is to try not to stretch the paper as you are laying it down. Once you stretch it it's not square and can give you fits trying to get in smooth. Just try to relax, go slow and don't panic. Remember, it comes right back off if you don't like it!

Best wishes!

[mmorris]

Thanks Chad. I put it on the bottom of one tank and I did a pretty awful job. I tried again and again...Practice, I guess, makes perfect. :)

[Chad Hughes]

Yeah, practice and a little patients!

[Eddie]

Thanks Chad. I put it on the bottom of one tank and I did a pretty awful job. I tried again and again...Practice, I guess, makes perfect. :)

Me too Martha, it looked awful. I think it is worse on the bottom because all you can see the air pockets. LOL I took it off and painted the bottom.


Eddie

[Jhhnn]

Might try the method we use at our shop when applying large decals- spray the area and the glue side of the decal w/ water, apply the decal, spray the outside w/water- thensqueegee the water, bubbles and creases right out... easy at first, then harder to finish...

Never tried it on shelf paper, but the worst is that you'll have to cut another piece...

[Ed13]

Anyone got a pic? a pic of the package?
I'm trying to figure out if I'm imagining the right stuff:confused:

[rickztahone]

just paint it and be done with it ;). it's easy, inexpensive and looks great when done

[mmorris]

just paint it and be done with it ;). it's easy, inexpensive and looks great when done

LOL I can tell you're in a warm climate! There's no way to paint here for like five months in the year. I can't do it indoors because of the fumes, and it's freezing outside! I couldn't wait until spring.

[Eyecandy]

Hi.. I just use the light blue insulation sheets you can get at home depot etc.. I cut to size and the use velcro to attach since it's so light.. It's cheap, insulates so saves on heating and the blue color really makes the discus's color look great.. In the winter I cover the back and the side and as it gets warmer I just leave the back covered.. I have even painted the stuff on one side and use the black painted side on my geo tank.. Just be aware that spray paint and insulation don't mix if you use too much paint with 5 $ words as additives it can melt the insulation. So use a few light coats of paint rather than one thick coat of spray paint if you go black.. I love the stuff.. HTH Sue:D

[Chad Hughes]

Here's a link to home depot that carries the vinyl liner.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100388901&N=10000003+90012+525742

Best wishes!

[KDodds]

Boy, you guys sure do go a long way to solve a problem. :) Every LFS by me sells waterproof backgrounds in rolls in blues and black, and with images. Just tape 'em on, takes about 1 minute, costs a couple of bucks. ;)

[fishyj]

I just painted mine indoors. You can use a latex base paint and has no fumes. Its just like painting the walls in your house. The nice thing about the latex paint is if you don't like it its easy to get off with a razor blade also no air pockets showing and you can give it some texture look.

[Chad Hughes]

Boy, you guys sure do go a long way to solve a problem. :) Every LFS by me sells waterproof backgrounds in rolls in blues and black, and with images. Just tape 'em on, takes about 1 minute, costs a couple of bucks. ;)

I looked in to that some time back. My LFS wants like $2 a foot for backgrounds. If you have a 150 gallon tank, that's like $12!! I can buy a roll of this stuff and cover multiple tanks for half the price. Much better deal in my opinion.


I just painted mine indoors. You can use a latex base paint and has no fumes. Its just like painting the walls in your house. The nice thing about the latex paint is if you don't like it its easy to get off with a razor blade also no air pockets showing and you can give it some texture look.

The nice part about contact paper is the fact that it's not messy, it's cheap, it doesn't have to dry and it peels right off if you want a clear tank again. No scraping, no mess! In my opinion, paint is much more of a project! I did paint the back of my 150 black and it took 3 coats to get it completely covered with no light leaks. You don't have to worry about that with contact paper! Just my preferences. Paint does work nicely though too.

[KDodds]

$6? Uh, okay... I'd rather drive to one location, but maybe that's just me. :D

[rickztahone]

LOL I can tell you're in a warm climate! There's no way to paint here for like five months in the year. I can't do it indoors because of the fumes, and it's freezing outside! I couldn't wait until spring.

sry mmorris, i really didn't think of that. i guess we take the good weather in Cali for granted sometimes. i was going to paint the bottom of my 125 this weekend but forecast says it's going to rain so there goes that.

[Chad Hughes]

I just saw the same weather forecast. Why can't it rain during the week when I'm stuck at work???? UGH! I want my sunshine tax back! LOL!

Speaking of taxes, it looks like us Californians are not getting state tax refunds this year. We will receive IOUs. The state is broke! Sometimes I hate living in the sunshine state. It's not all it's cracked up to be!

[rickztahone]

I just saw the same weather forecast. Why can't it rain during the week when I'm stuck at work???? UGH! I want my sunshine tax back! LOL!

Speaking of taxes, it looks like us Californians are not getting state tax refunds this year. We will receive IOUs. The state is broke! Sometimes I hate living in the sunshine state. It's not all it's cracked up to be!

completely agree, we get a big fat IOU. i'm going to go to work and tell them "hey IOU on work hours" for a week ;). hopefully next week it is better weather. where in Cali are you located?

[Chad Hughes]

LOL! I wish the work hour IOU would fly. I'd do it in a heart beat!

I'm in San Diego

[Jules4me]

Hi RR,
I just painted this one on the bottom cause I am also going to a BB for my Discus. I haven't done the back yet, figured I'd give this a test with water in it and do the back if I like it. Tried to make it look something like sand.....kinda...sorta...:) It was easy and NOT expensive at all.
Have a great day,
Jules

[Chad Hughes]

That looks cool! How did you get the texture? Or is that just light leaks? I like mine solid, no light. If you have multiple tanks in one room, I like to be able to secure lighting to one tank, yet light the other. The solid cover allows me to do this. It is a preference I guees, but your look is great! Nice!

Best wishes!

[Jules4me]

Hey Chad,
No light leaks...solid.
I did it with CHEAP craft paint and a small piece of sea sponge.

First coat is white paint lightly sponged. Leave LOTS of "holes"...let dry.
Then black is sponged on ...only in a FEW random areas....dry....

Blue in the same way. (I just looked for the "holes" in the white.)

After these dry, use tan or light brown to fill more "holes".... dry.

Mix some tan with a bit of black to darken it (to get another shade of tan/brown). Paint this on with a paintbrush covering the ENTIRE bottom. This step fills in ALL remaining "holes" you didn't fill with other colors. When you look at mine from the underside it looks like a solid coat of tan. I used the tan to fill more than the blue and black because I wanted the "sandy" color.

It only took about 45 minutes to do...that includes the dry time between each color.

Supplies list
~3-4 bottles of craft paint ( Michael's or Ben Franklin has it for under $1 per btl) I used white, blue, black & tan.
~Small piece of sea sponge or porous sponge (rinse each color out between coats & squeeze out excess water) or use a balled up piece of plastic wrap!!
~cheap disposable paint brush

Thanks for the compliment. I am going to put the water in today to see if it looks o.k. If so, I'll be doing the back & sides.

Please post pics if you try this. Would love to see other people's color choices!!

Jules

[Chad Hughes]

Hey Jules,

VERY crafty I must say! I would certainly try this on a tank for dsiplay. I'm not big on painting breeder tanks. Sometimes these tanks I tear down after large spawns and use them for other fish. This is when vinyl becomes convenient for me to just rip off. Works nicely.

I'll be redoing my 110 gallon in the living room here sometime and I want to paint the back. I'll likely give this a shot with some nice "sea" tone colors. Blues, greens, maybe some white accent.... The hard part to me, as I am no artist, is trying to figure out how to make it look good through the glass. I'll try your sponge method and see how that workds out.

Thanks again for the cool tip!

Best wishes!

[Jules4me]

Ahhh.... the beauty of this is you can't mess up!! Just remember....BLOT, don't DRAG the sponge. You could do this to your breeders, too. It IS really easy. Practice on a piece of cardboard with some paint you have out in the garage or something first. I would love to see some pics if you decide to do this. I think the brighter colors would look awesome!!

Jules

[Ed13]

Anyone got a pic? a pic of the package?
I'm trying to figure out if I'm imagining the right stuff:confused:
Ah, nevermind! I'll continue to paint them and just to spike you guys I'll do it shirtless under the bright Caribbean sun!:sun::p

[Eddie]

Ah, nevermind! I'll continue to paint them and just to spike you guys I'll do it shirtless under the bright Caribbean sun!:sun::p

Come on Ed....this isn't that kind of forum. LOL :D

Eddie

[Ed13]

Come on Ed....this isn't that kind of forum. LOL :D

Eddie
:o Jeez, pants are a given,;) lol

[Chad Hughes]

Ah, nevermind! I'll continue to paint them and just to spike you guys I'll do it shirtless under the bright Caribbean sun!:sun::p

Bragger! :p