A 3 viv project??

[beckdg]

position 1

i think blacking out the back of the tank will make for a nice look without a full b/g.

[Ozymandias]

Originally Posted by beckdg

position 1

i think blacking out the back of the tank will make for a nice look without a full b/g.

completely agree would look amazing, also good work on the tanks i really like that BG.

[JoeG]

Originally Posted by Ozymandias

completely agree would look amazing, also good work on the tanks i really like that BG.

Thanks. I'll be siliconing in option one some time tomorrow. What do you guys think is the best method to black out the tank? I heard somewhere that black contact paper worked very well, was easy to remove but was tough to find. Maybe automotive window tint?

I did a bit of testing with the fogger and some 1/4" lines...results were miserable at best, not enough pressure so I need to stick with 1/2" pvc.. a minor setback.

That bg was the easiest way for me to date all I used was florist foam (the hard green stuff) a chisel, a rubber mallet, cement coloring and dry-lok. There is no curing, cracking or mess. I plan on putting some final touches on it with gorilla glue, some LFS and eco earth to fill in the crevices and give it that 'lived in' look.

[Ozymandias]

contact paper might work i think automotive tint will be too see through. what i have done in the past is paint the backs of tanks it's more permanent but looks good and it does come off with a razor blade and some water.

[beckdg]

are you any good with tinting? if so, i'd say go for it. however if you're not sure you can get all the bubbles out i'd just paint it with black house paint and a foam door roller.

btw, you'll probably never hear this from anybody else, but i tinted the back of my aquarium with 2.5% limo black and you wouldn't know the glass wasn't painted. with a little tint off it's a breeze to remove too.

[Ozymandias]

really that good to know which tank is that beck?

[beckdg]

it's the 55 in my signature. it's really supposed to be a 50 but it's custom and a hair tall. it comes out to about 53 gallons so i have a hard time deciding what to call it, lol.

[Ozymandias]

right nice youre right really cant tell any thing

[beckdg]

yep... can't see jack through it at all. pretty sure i got the tint at wally world too. if not it was autozone. either way you can find it anywhere that has an automotive section, really. not too expensive either. you can do a bunch of 10 or 20 gal. tanks for ~$11-$15. no need to fuss with taping off or cleaning up paint either... that's a plus. just gotta keep a good amount of soapy solution on there till all the bubbles are out and you're good to go.

just need a razor trimmer (breakaways, exacto, just a blade, etc.), a spray bottle and a credit card or squeegee. make the soapy solution according to the directions, put them in your sprayer... size up and pre-cut a piece a bit bigger than you need... cut a slit in the corner and peel back the tint from the clear plastic sheathing making sure it doesn't fold and it stays wet... spray down your tint and glass with soapy solution till they're dripping... slap it on and smooth it out longways from middle out... anything that starts drying before the bubbles are out pull back and re-spray... once it's on trim as necessary with your blade.

it's easy as pie once you're doing it right. when i was younger tinting was one of those mystical "how does that work" things. once you're keeping it wet enough you won't believe how easy it actually is. that tank took me all of maybe 10 minutes and it was filling up with water... and i'm no master tinting machine either.

you don't need high tint either. that was cheap stuff. it turned completely purple in the berreta in less than a year. since it's not exposed to uv on the tank it's been on there over 3 years and not a hint of turning yet.

[JoeG]

Think I am going to give the tint a try...seems a heck of lot cleaner to me. Thanks for the input guys!