tinting vs. painting

[malofish]

What are some of the pros. and cons. of tinting vs. painting the back of a tank??? I'm gonna do it sometime this week and was just curious!

[Sherri]

Had my 100 gal painted black mainly because it sits at my West side windows where the sun is the strongest.

[Moonrs]

What about just taking some black posterboard and carefully attaching it to the back of your tank with tape? I did that and I can't tell that it's not painted. The other side benefit is that if I decide to change the color, or that I don't want anything on it at all anymore, I can easily remove it... Just my two cents. Moonrs

[malofish]

Well I know for sure that I'm not gonna change it, cause the overflow's black and the silicone I'm gonna use is also black! I think that I'm just gonna paint it after all.

[TexasState]

You saw my 29G, it's painted. Doesn't the tint turn purple after awhile.

[malofish]

I'm not too sure, but I haven't got a big responceon the issua, so I'm gonna go with what I know, and thats paint. Thanks for all your oppinions and help!

[GaryP]

Sherri,

Why wouldn't you want the sun shining on your tank? Sounds like free 5.5K lighting to me?

[captexas]

Painting is good if you want a color other than black. Some people go with different shades of blue. The tinting could get water inbetween it and the glass and would look bad when the saltwater dried. Also, if you are running lights that put out a lot of heat, that could cause the tint to bubble up or fade over time. I think painting it would be easier and cheaper.

[witecap4u]

I say got with paint or a stick on background. I used tint on mine, and with the halides, you can see straight through to the wall but this is with 20% tint, 5% might be better, but they were out when I bought the tint for mine. On my FW tank, the same tint looks alot darker due to the lack of powerful lights....

Salt water getting into the tint isnt an issue for me as my trim is sealed well and the tint goes right up to the trim. Heat causing bubbling again isnt an issue as the water from the tank keeps the glass cool even with dual 400W halides and 220vho.

[manny]

I got a 5% tint that you can put on and take off real easily. One of those static cling tints. Haven't had any problems with it other than being able to see through it just a little bit since some of my light in my living room enters the back of the tank(I have it in the corner of the room). With the tint, it won't scratch off like paint does, and if you have a tank set up and you want to add the background you don't have to wait for the paint to dry.If you're impatient and don't want to wait for the paint to dry or scratch off you should go with tint. If you don't want to be able to see through the background even a little bit and can wait for the paint to dry and are really careful you should got with painting your tank. That's all I can think of. Hope it helps

[Sherri]

Gary...It's up against the West side of my house where the afternoon sun is HOT & direct during the summer months. It was a heat issue...not sunlight. I can still open the shades and it's great...it's just very hot coming thru the windows. Didn't want it to be an issue. Besides, I like it too. :D

[GaryP]

Sherri,

My only concern would be that since you painted it black, the paint would do a good job of absorbing the heat anyway. Think fresh black asphalt here. You are still getting the heat without the benefit of the light. I may be wrong here. You might want to think about putting a layer of aluminum foil on the back of the tank to help reflect the heat.

Gary

[GaryP]

BTW, I had the same problem with my wife's FW tank and the aluminum foil did the trick.

[malofish]

Well those are all possabilities, but I don't think that heat will be an issue, but I've never done halide before either??? If push comes to shove, I'll have to shell out the cash for a small chiller, I'd rather not so I'm gonna pray that the tank doesn't have heat issues!!

[Sherri]

Gary - no direct light hits the tank unless I open the shades. I didn't experience a heat issue this past summer as I kept the shades drawn. I usually keep them drawn most of the time anyway. I still like it too! :-D

[Nunzy]

I used black 3M vinyl that you use for signs and stickers. I bought mine at Herwecks art supply and installed it like window film. Using a mix of soap and water to apply.

[Sherri]

Mine was painted when I had the tank drilled at Aquarium Sales & Service just before they closed.