60 Gallon Seahorse Cube - input wanted

[Europhyllia]

My girlies are moving up. :)
A 60 gallon seahorse cube is in the works

I am currently debating on what to do for a background.
The flat solid backgrounds just don't appeal to me anymore.

And of course a black background would be out of the question anyway: I like my seahorses light and bright :)

But the Cube will be in the corner and I have no desire to go all out to make two sides real shadowbox.

I am thinking of different options in regards to translucent backgrounds that can be lighted from behind if I want to or just left as is.

Here are some things I found:
Window Cling - Frosted (http://www.windowfilmanddecals.com/mint_green_see_through_deco_tint_window_film)
Window Tint - self adhesive (http://www.coloredfilms.com/azureblue.aspx)
http://www.coloredfilms.com/images/view.aspx?productId=35Translucent Acrylic (http://k-mac-plastics.net/acrylic-sheet/2324TL_acrylic_plastic_sheets.htm)

I likethat the cling could be removed without a big mess but I am not as excited about the color choices.
I do love the color of the window tint. Perfect combination of blue and green. I don't like blue-blue backgrounds but am wondering how tough it is to remove the adhesive should I ever choose to change it (input from Jack?)
The translucent acrylic has a beautiful color and would be easy to remove but is also more expensive than the other two options.
So what do you think (out of those 3 options - I am really not considering paper backgrounds or paint for this project :) )?

[txg8gxp]

window tint adhesive comes off pretty easy with simple green. At least the ones I have messed with. Tint might be a cool idea, you could layer it at different hights to add to the shadow/depth look.

[txmike]

how about lighitng gel http://www.texasscenic.com/colormedia.htm at $7 per sheet and it is made in just about any color under the sun.

[txav8r]

Vinyl isn't hard to get off at all. A Hair dryer makes it come right off. Look at Fellers.com for color choices. If you decide to go with Vinyl, let me know and I'll order it for you on my account and have it drop shipped to you or I'll pick it up and meet you.

[Europhyllia]

Nice. I totally forgot about the Gels. I know we talked about them during the first shadowbox project!
I like these colors and they already come in 24"x24" sheets. At that price I could even swap around different ones!
http://www.apollodesign.net/Products/View/1408.aspx
http://www.apollodesign.net/Products/View/1410.aspx

Oh Jack lots of color choices in the translucent vinyl (page 47)! NICE. Thanks :)

This should be fun :)

[olaggie01]

Looking for something similar with my 150g build. Not too excited about the options I've seen. Defintely let me know what you decide. I like black, but with 27" of height and 36" of depth, I'd like to give the tank a little more depth to it. I'm using LEDs to light the tank so I plan on having some shadowing and highlight just parts of the tank/aquascape.

[Europhyllia]

olaggie
I did a bigger shadowbox background on my 215g reef.
I got a small thread on MAAST about it and a bigger more detailed thread on RC (see here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1868825))
This one will just be a low cost/little effort spin-off of that one :)

[Kristy]

Luckiest horsies ever!

[Europhyllia]

Thanks Kristy. I don't think they care about backgrounds though. ;)
I do think they will enjoy their new bigger place, maybe some new buddies, etc.
Right now they are enjoying their pre-x-mas seafood lunch of live grass shrimp :)

Really the current tank worked out fine. I just love them so much I envision a bigger scape and a whole herd of seahorses. :D

[olaggie01]

Hi Karin,
I've read about your shadowbox background. I am looking for something a little more flush with the aquarium. Would the gels work in that manner?


olaggie
I did a bigger shadowbox background on my 215g reef.
I got a small thread on MAAST about it and a bigger more detailed thread on RC (see here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1868825))
This one will just be a low cost/little effort spin-off of that one :)

[Europhyllia]

I am not sure yet but I am hoping they will. Really all I am looking for this time around is something semi-transparent that can be lighted from behind. I find the 100% opaque backgrounds close things in so much and make it look like everthing is boxed in.
I will try and pick up a couple of gels next week and see what they look like in person. :)

[olaggie01]

Sounds good. Have you looked into Springs book? He mentions lighted background in a couple of paragraphs. Doesn't go into a lot of detail, but it is there. I may try and find a few LEDs to see if that will help. Problem that I will have be my center overflow on a 36" wide tank. Should have gone with a corner overflow I guess.