Painting an Aquarium

I recently bought a new aquarium so painting it will be a breeze, but I've decided it will be easiest and best for me to also paint my other two aquariums at the same time. However, these tanks already established. What would be the best way to go about painting them?

My 10 gallon tank is small, and I think I can move it far enough away from the wall easily, paint it, let it dry and then move it back without stressing the fish.

My larger 36g tank I am not so sure what to do. My thought is to paint the new aquarium, let it dry, etc, then on the second day transfer the fish with their own water and cycled filter into the new aquarium temporarily while I paint their current home. Then move them back the next day or maybe that evening depending on what works out.

I'm sure someone else has already done this and may have some insight as to what my best plan of action might be?

 

I recently bought a new aquarium so painting it will be a breeze, but I've decided it will be easiest and best for me to also paint my other two aquariums at the same time. However, these tanks already established. What would be the best way to go about painting them?

My 10 gallon tank is a small, and I think I can move it far enough away from the wall easily, paint it, let it dry and then move it back without stressing the fish.

My larger 36g tank I am not so sure what to do. My thought is to paint the new aquarium, let it dry, etc, then on the second day transfer the fish with their own water and cycled filter into the new aquarium temporarily while I paint their current home. Then move them back the next day or maybe that evening depending on what works out.

I'm sure someone else has already done this and may have some insight as my best plan of action might be?

I haven't done painting stuff but I am interested in what would you paint? Like some painting or just paint, if you know what I mean...also I think moving 36g would be difficult for you to move in perfect condition with water in it. Not sure what fish will feel about it.

 

HI Bhatti, I will just be painting the back of the aquarium black

 

Does anyone have thoughts on painting my established aquarium? I am considering moving them to my empty aquarium while I paint, but I am also considering lowering the water, but leaving them in the aquarium while I paint.

I could lower the water, move the aquarium, and add water say up to 75%, then remove the water again the next day in order to push the aquarium back to the wall. This would save me from moving the fish and stressing them out, and would just be like a big water change for them?

Thoughts?

 

After talking it through with myself, removing 50% water and gliding it away from the wall worked out for me and the fish. Thanks for the advice everyone

 

What kind of paint did you use? Did you spray or brush?

 

Hey @ I used Valspar Reserve, satin finish, 'black pepper' color.

Brushed on with a cheap brush from Lowe's, I can get the name of the brand, but it's just their cheap version with plastic-type bristles and plastic black handle. Took about 3 coats. Be sure to let it dry for ~2 hours between each coat.

 

Here is a link to the type of brush I used, they are called "Project Source."

 

I was just about to make a topic about this.
AquariaP - How are you liking the satin finish? I'm interested to know how the different finishes look in the aquarium. I was thinking of semi-gloss or flat black but I'm not sure!

 

Hey @Dovah, from the viewing standpoint, all the finishes will look the same.

Satin or semi-gloss will work fine as they are easier to clean should you ever want to dust or wipe down the back side. I would avoid flat as it's basically not possible to clean it, and I think would scratch easily if you needed to move the tank.

As far as my painting job, I really like the final result and am happy with satin

 

 

Hit 'post' accidentally on the last before I was done >:[

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures for you. The first one which is a collage of 4 photos is me in progress. First coat on the back side. I tested the black color with posterboard for a while before I decided if that was what I wanted. I loved it so that is why I ended up going for painting. I will admit that the black paint looks nearly identical to the posterboard so if you aren't sure what you want then I say go with the removable option

The picture in this post is one of my tanks after it was all complete.

 

same tank when it was posterboard

 

Thank you so much! Your tank looks awesome and this is exactly what I needed before I decided to buy some paint. Cheers!