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DIY: Painting tanks (how/what paint)


Fishy Bits

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being on the outside I don't think it really matters so long as it sticks. blink.gif

though of course painting an established tank with a pressure pack would be dangerous! sadsmiley02.gif

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Any waterbased will do. ESP is a good idea if you want it to stick hard and fast.

You can also buy sample pots for about $6.00 from most paint shops.

Any acrylic flat or low sheen will do.

You can also use the arosole cans but they really smell and they do block up but they are also a cheap alternative.

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I bought two cheap aerosol cans and sprayed over aplant held against the glass with a blue then after allowing it to go off 5-10 mins sprayed over the sprayed silouete of the plant with a yellow .This ended looking like the dappled light you see in water whilst snorkeling and for 6$you cant go wrong. thumb.gif

Neil

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I found that when I used a roller I got a flawless finish compared to using a brush, but hey maybe that's because my brush work is a bit dodgy. One thing for sure though as others have pointed out, do multiple thin coats allowing the paint to dry thoroughly between coats. I recently did about 10 coats on my tank over about a 5 day period and the results are great.

Jamie.

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Go to a paint shop/ hardware and ask if they have any mistinted paint. Normally $8 for a litre tin ( which will be heaps) If you find a colour close to what you want just ask them to darken it up. As for the type of paint, any will do as in reality no paint really sticks to glass and can be scratched off with a razor blade. As long as nothing rubs against the back of the tank the paint will be ok. I used satin enamal as that was what the store had cheap. Regardless of using satin, flat or gloss the result will be the same as the glass will give the appearance of gloss.

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I painted the back of my tank with about 4 coats of water based paint. Looked good so I moved it in up against the wall, filled the tank and like a careless idiot drop the aquaclears over the back of the glass and scraped a nice big streak out of the background mad.gif. I now used a small block of foam to steady the AC on the glass.......

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Sooty helped me silicone one of those latex 3D rock backgrounds in my tank. Looked pretty sweet but I found that it took up a good 2" of my tank in bredth and made it impossible to use "hang-on" filters or mount my spray bar where I wanted it for that matter

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I have used a roller and sample tins of British Paints from Bunnings. it's like $4 or something as cheap for a sample pot that easily does 2 coats on 4 footer.

i use enamel paint - can peal it off easily if you decide you want to change AND doesn't streak when water is splashed on it.

I have gone for darker earthy colors - a slate grey/green on a couple of tanks, and a dark purple that looks almost brown on another.

i find i have happier fish with paint on the tank and a darker mood to the tank.

Grace

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Hmmmn??? blink.gif

I was going to paint a really dark blue. I really don't like the tacky normal blue most people have. I am not really fond of green though. Originally i liked black??? but the misses doesn't like black (too boring)... Will have to look around and see what dark colours i can find. really getting excited about painting it. Have to wait until i move house in december because its too much effort moving the tank.

Thanks again guys.

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i'm not sure why people bother fussing with paints. The local LFS will have thick plastic backgrounds in all sizes & patterns including plain dark blue & black. Simple to cut to size & sticky tape or blu-tack to the back of the tank.

Just gotta make sure it's tight & flat to the glass. An optional strip of tape long the top or silicone helps ensure no water gets between.

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