Painting back of tank black?

This is an odd question, and I wasn't sure where to post it, but my mom wants to get a background for my tank to hide the filter, and the wires hanging down, we were at the LFS buying some stuff, including a background for the tank, when the sale associate told us that those background get messed up when water splashes on it, and suggested to paint the back of it black instead of buying the black background.
Can I paint it?
What kind of paint should I use? (I have an all glass aquarium btw)
Has anyone bought those background things and had it get warped from water?

 

Hi,
I got a printed background and the guy at the LFS said coat it in a thin fI'm of cooking oil and spread it onto the tank with a credit card or similar - worked a treat! just wash it off if you need to swap it.

arky

 

Good morning,

I have painted the back glass on some of my tanks in the past. I just used regular paint from WalMart. I used a brush to put it on the glass. Currently I have black backgrounds on all of my tanks that I purchased from the pet store.

Keep in mind that if you paint it, and you want to change it, all of the paint is going to have to be scrapped off. It may be more trouble than it's worth. However, you can paint it if you wish. I have never used spray paint on glass though.

Here is a link to Mounting Gel that you can use to attach the backgrounds to your tank:

It works very well!

It's really up to you if you want to paint it or not. Make sure no paint gets inside of the tank!

Ken

 

HI guys I have had two tanks since I have started fish keeping and for both I used a background, the first tank was a very small 25L tank which I put the background on the outside of the tank using stickers heres a
For my new 64L tank I used the same stickers and put the background on the inside of the tank using the same method and it works fine, and looks a lot more colourfull than having it on the outside.
PS. these stickers can be removed if you wish to change your background just simple gently pull them.

 

My husband had a tank that came with a black background (the acrylic was actually black). It really put a damper on how the tank looked with decor and everything. I would never choose black. I would say to use something removeable just to be sure you have another option, should you choose to change it.

 

I personally never paint the back side of my tanks. I just buy the cheap back grounds and use double sided tape to attach it. I even cover the sides on some of my tanks that might get too much light or that are near a door way. My LFS sells back grounds by the inch so I just measure how much I need and have them cut it to suit me. I can change the back grounds between tanks or simply put a new one on if the wife changes the room around and my back ground don’t work for her.

 

Black (or any colour) book contact works a treat. Cheap, easy to apply (with a bit of patience) and easily removed.