Painting Tanks..

[flukes]

I was wondering what is a better color to paint a tank for discus with, a lighter or darker color. The reason i ask was when i first got my discus i was told the darker the background the more the color stands out, so i put black contact on all but the front side. It seemed to work well and it does highlight the fish color. Now i been seeing alot more other people's tanks ive notcied alot of breeders and hobbyists have their tanks painted that light blue. I was just wondering what people think.

Not a big drama just got me wondering..

Scott

[Proteus]

I have heard lighter is better...

but each to there own.

[flukes]

Well ive tried the black, i think it went ok i dont hear them complaing
Ill go for the light blue this time. But i was wondering if i could get a paint that it waterproof as i want to pant the side of a internal filter so you cant see it and wondering if it will leak into the water?

I think i am getting ahead of myself the tanks are not even made yet.!!
Still trying to work out filtration.

Scott

[Chris McMahon]

I just finished painting my 5x2x2 matt black - back and two sides - about a week ago. I used 2/3rds of a tin of KillRust 500ml Matt Black. That gave 3 coats and it looks great. I used a sponge roller and a fine brush for the edges. Even the direct QLD sun can't get through it.

[Mattzilla]

i used to have a tank with a black background but found that my discus shown darker colours and my pb's shown tonnes of peppering....
i got rid of that tank and got a new one. painted the back with high gloss enamel 'sky blue' paint. it looks awesome and my discus now show bright colours and almost no peppering on my pb's.

i would definately go for the light blue colour....

as for painting your filter bits...i don't think that is a good idea. the paint will most probably leach into the water..

there may be some sort of silicon based paints i guess that would be ok...but i know i wouldn't risk losing my fish over filter tubes...

hth

matt

[flukes]

high gloss enamel 'sky blue' paint

Bunnings?? was it spray can or in a tin.

Ive seen a few people on simply using that sand grain effect, it comes in a spray can but its like $12 a can and iam sure you would need 2-3 cans each tank.

Cheers

[Mattzilla]

i got a sample pot of the sky blue high gloss enamel and did three coats with a roller. one coat each day for three days

cost bugger all. one tip, buy three rollers.... it was such a pain in the ass to try to clean it each day...not worth the bother.

you can buy small rollers with multiple spare rollers very cheap. you don't need to buy the expensive ones.

hth
matt

[Chris McMahon]

one tip, buy three rollers.... it was such a pain in the ass to try to clean it each day...not worth the bother.

Simply put the roller and tray in an air tight plastic bag. It'll last up to 24 hours without drying. You can get small sponge rollers with drip trays for around $2 from Bunnings. They are called "sample pot" rollers. About 3" across.

[Lily]

What about painting the tank back dark green? Anyone ever tried this?

L

[kevkoi]

My breeder in Penang informs me that painting the tank background darker shades tends to cause dusting in pigeon blood strain fish. He uses a light milky blue painted background like this...