Painting the back of my Tank Black

hugh

New Member
Hey all, first off I wanted to say I am glad to be a part of this forum and appreciate the member's feedbacks and extensive knowledge.

I plan on painting the bottom and back of my new tank and was wondering what would be the best type of black paint that will stick to glass and look good?

thanks
 

Loner

New Member
Bro,

Just a suggestion, use oyama sticker paper is more preferred.

Paint might peel off.

For the base, please consider the color option carefully as changing of base color will be a tedious job unlike back or sides of tanks.

:)
 

tman

Super Moderator
I used C.I.L Endurance exterior 100% Acrylic Latex Accent base for the back of my 520 gallon tank. Apply a few coats and let each one dry. On my 450 gallon I used waterproof craft paint. Both paints work good and are standing up to any water. I can also run the magnet cleaner on the back of the tank and it doesn't peel off the tank. Just remember to add quite a few coats. I have never painted the bottom so I can't help out in that department.
 

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
Oyama paper is great, but hard to come by. There was an Alberta forum member a few years back named Boydo who had a lot that he imported. He offered it to me for sale and I still kick myself for not buying it.

I have painted a few tanks in the past (180 and 300 gallon), both times with acrylic latex blue paint. I suggest you get a tester sample from the paint store to see if the colour works for you. I remember being surprised at how much the blue I chose lightened up when seen against the back of the tank. I ended up going for paint that looked like dark navy blue but lightened up to more of a royal blue when seen dried on the back of the tank.

One nice thing about latex paint is that if you want to, you can scrape it off with a razor. I have done that before too and it was hard to tell the tank had ever been painted.
 

damtrees420

New Member
I went to a decal shop and got my blue in vinyl stuck right on pulls off if i ever have to think it was only 30$ for 12 ft and you can get it in every color though now i wish i went with a different one now that it too late
 

exoticaquaria

Active Member
I went to a decal shop and got my blue in vinyl stuck right on pulls off if i ever have to think it was only 30$ for 12 ft and you can get it in every color though now i wish i went with a different one now that it too late

This is the best option IMO!
 

jsodwi

New Member
I've used brush on and spray paint. Make sure glass is clean. And first coat must be very light and make sure it's completely dry. Best bet is to lay tank with the paint surface up. That way it cannot run.
 

hugh

New Member
So here is what i decided to try to use and it worked out very well. I have only painted the bottom and will do the back once it is on the stand. There is no smell from the paint and i tried to take it off just in case and it was easy to do so. I also spray it with water to test the paint and had no problems.

- Crafters acrylic paint (4 x $1 per bottle = $4)
- Roller Tray ($1)
- Roller Handle with one roller ($1)
- Extra 2 pack of roller ($1)

All purchase from Dollarama

I did 3 coats.
 

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fluidmotion

New Member
So here is what i decided to try to use and it worked out very well. I have only painted the bottom and will do the back once it is on the stand. There is no smell from the paint and i tried to take it off just in case and it was easy to do so. I also spray it with water to test the paint and had no problems.

- Crafters acrylic paint (4 x $1 per bottle = $4)
- Roller Tray ($1)
- Roller Handle with one roller ($1)
- Extra 2 pack of roller ($1)

All purchase from Dollarama

I did 3 coats.

I do the exact same thing. I perform one extra step, Purchasing a small bottle of Isopropyl to clean the exterior glass of any finger prints or grime before applying the paint. The plus side: water based dollar store acrylic can be removed in the future extremely easy if you decide you want to trade or sell your tank, or do a colour change ie. black to blue, either or, The colour looks great and it can be peeled right off like Plasti-dip. The only down fall: starts to lift if you get it really wet but, it's still cheap and easy to touch up if accidents happen.
 
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