Blue or black background: which looks better?

I'm about to put up a background but am not sure which side will look the best. I want the tank to be bright and clear looking. It's a dull kind of blah at the moment because of a 3d polystyrene sheet that is sitting behind it. This suggests the blue would look good, but I've also seen some stellar black backgrounds that make a tank look so sleek and clean. If it matters, the gravel is natural, it's planted, has driftwood, and has patches of sanded areas.

I'm also probably going to use some on my new shrimp tank. It's planted and has that shrimp substrate in chocolate/poo brown. They are rcs, so I want them to be highlighted as much as possible. It's got a very good led light that will light it up even more with a back on it. I suppose black is going to show more? This is a little tank anyway so it can be changed, but the other is a 4 foot so I'd like it to be right first off.

 

I've got a tank with blue and a tank with black. I like the blue better.

 

I've always liked black. Here are two of my tanks with black backgrounds.

 

I second the blue.

 

I prefer black myself

I've always liked black. Here are two of my tanks with black backgrounds.

Liking those tanks! black sand/gravel looks really well with the green plants

 

Blue is brighter, but black can look better in good lighting. It won't look as good at night whereas blue can look better from my experience.

 

Good morning,

I've tried both the blue and black backgrounds and I've stuck with the black on both of my tanks. I think the black helps to give the tank more depth.

Ken

 

I've had blue before and it was great, especially with white sand. This tank doesn't have the same tropical island feel to it though. I suppose I could stop being lazy and just pick one and change it around later if I really don't like it, lol. I just can't help but fear black will be too gloomy. Also, the blue backing is a lot darker than many blue backgrounds. It's almost got a midnight blue/metallicness to it. It's odd.

 

I always use black on all my tanks. Really makes plants and fish "pop".
Really dark blue sometimes looks okay but IMO blue only looks good in Saltwater set ups.
Just my opinion however.

If you are unsure, buy some cheap posterboard (black and blue) and slide it behind your tank. It should be enough to give you an idea.

HTH

 

I couldn't decide either, so I tried both. Two look better black and one with blue.

 

HI All , once again I can't decide what to do hers a pic of tank at the moment


I want to change the background to a dark blue or black but not sure. Would welcome any ideas better still pics of your background
thanks Mike

 

I am partial to blue I think it looks more like water . two of my tanks that I have a background on have blue. I would post a picture but have never been able to to figure it out. I am old and computer challenged ,to say the least. Nice looking tank by the way. Alison

 

I have brightly coloured fish including blue ones so I like the black background in my tank.
You want your fish to shine, so I would pick the colour that your fish look best against.
Darker fish may look best with a lighter blue.

 

I have both colours, not much help I know but if you go for blue go for a darker blue as imo bright blue is a bit distracting from the fish

 

Blue if the substrate is dark, black if the substrate is light. Black bg + black substrate is overwhelming. 0.0

 

HI Aliray what operating system does your computer have eg windows 7 etc etc let me know and ill tell you how to edit pics if you want
regards Mike

 

I think your tank would look really nice with black, it will not only make your fish pop but also the green in your plants. I just switched mine to black and what I like about it compared to my old decorative background is when you look in, you really see the fish and decor, nothing detracts from them. You can always buy a couple colors and put each behind the back before cutting to see what you like better.

 

Agree with cmclien, go w black!

 

This is the background that I use on most of my tanks, I find that it adds to a planted tank, more plants are being added to this tank as its the puffers tank

 

I have a dark planted like background on my tank since my substrate is on the light side.

 

I like a dark planted look background too.

 

I do black and black on all my tanks. Brings out the color of the fish and plants

 

nice tanks thanks for sharing Black it is me thinks

 

HI Aliray what operating system does your computer have eg windows 7 etc etc let me know and ill tell you how to edit pics if you want
regards Mike

Thank you for the offer ,but I will have to ask hubby what system I have. He knows more about it than I do and would like that information as he hasn't been able to figure it out either and I would love to be able to post some pictures of my Plecos. Alison

 

I use paint to edit mine by shrinking the pixles down to like 2100 x 1575 and that works, I don't know how high up I can go I just know that the 5000+ pixles the things start with are too big

 

Go with black.

 

Thank you for the offer ,but I will have to ask hubby what system I have. He knows more about it than I do and would like that information as he hasn't been able to figure it out either and I would love to be able to post some pictures of my Plecos. Alison

I asked Hubby and he said the operating system is a Vista. ... Alison

 

hI Alison I think vista is similar to home premium which is what I have.
ok so select your picture folder
double click on pic you want to use it should then open in a new window(windows live gallery or similar)
top left corner button named "edit organise,share" click that one
opens new window 3rd button in front top left "edit" click then see resize hit that button opens a smaller window select small option (800) then click resize and save.
you will then have 2 pics select the one that is eg 307kb could be more or less depending on the original that's the one to upload to this site.
Hope you can make sense of the above give it a try let me know if you hit a problem

good luck Mike

 

Black looks good with anything as long as you don't have black mollies.

 

Black looks good with anything as long as you don't have black mollies.

or juliI cories which is why I have them called spook they kinda just pop up out of no where

 

Thanks Mike for the info, I appreciate it. Alison

 

No problem Alison did it work?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Beats me? We still have to take the pictures and then Hubby has to translate the foreign language that you sent. HAHA. We will try it but first I have to get the plecs to cooperate and pose. I bookmarked your post so that I won't loose it. Ray took a lot of computer classes over the years and has always been fascinated by them. I on the other hand didn't know how to turn it on or off until about 3 years ago. So I just putter and learn by trial and error. He still has his first computer which was the first personal computer that Texas Instruments sold. We both grew up before TV, never mind computers. Alison ..

 

For the few dollars they cost i'd buy both and see which looks best for your set up.

You could always use the other at a later day for a change of scenery.

 

my other problem is putting it on the tank seeing its against the wall n heavy

 

Black definitely adds the illusion of space. Navy blue (not jean blue) or something very dark can work. If a confined space is what you're after you can go for light (but not bright) colors. Bright colors will draw attention away from the scenery.

 

my other problem is putting it on the tank seeing its against the wall n dam heavy

Oh, sounds like the application is going to be more of a challenge than choosing the color.

Good luck!

 

yeah me thinks broom handle with a squeegee and divine intervention lol

 

Fish Tank safe Paint, no air bubbles no placement issues just paint, if its a solid background, my friend did it this way

 

I would go with a wooden background. I have one and it gives the impression of river beds and lake beds. which have similar colors to a light brown with grain lines. just suggesting what I think would look best on your tank. I don't want anyone questioning my opinon, I have gathered that many people on this forum like to judge your knowledge against theirs but have fun on the background decision