# Painting an aquarium with the fish in it?



## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

Alright, here is my problem. What would you do with it? I have a 60 gallon aquarium against a wall. There is about 4 1/2 -5 inches between the glass and the wall. Just enough to make room for the HOB filter. Anyway, it has this horrid background. It is supposed to be plain black but because of how it bubbles and won't stay on the tank it looks horrid. I would ideally like to pull it off the tank but not sure how I could clean off the back of the tank and paint it with it this close to the wall. Needless to say, it is too heavy to move away from the wall to paint. Is it even safe to paint it with the fish in it? Fumes? I know you need an oil based paint to stick on the glass so... I worry about the fumes with the fish. Not to mention, how in the world could I actually do it? I am thinking if I had a soft roller with a long handle maybe? 

For the past year I had a lot of plants that covered the bulk of it so it didn't bother me but now... they are shorter and it looks nasty. What would you do?

Here is how the background looks. I am sure you can see why I need to fix it.


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## beetlebz (Aug 2, 2007)

I wouldnt worry SO much about the fumes, but I would say the tank definitely needs to be covered. I would say saran wrap over the top for the initial painting, and the first few hours of drying, minimum, but not so long that the water gets starved (I wouldnt leave it on overnight, for example).

the tricky part past that would be getting it clean enough for paint to stick with it against the wall. Painting it will be the easy part 

if it were me, I would drain half the water and get a friend to help me drag it away from the wall for a few days, then drain it again to move it back. but thats just my $0.02! And painting it in place will be fine, just cover the top and be careful.


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## stevenjohn21 (Dec 4, 2010)

without moving the tank your not going to be able to clean it properly unfortunatly. I would get some black poster board from the dollar store and replace it with the old one. Once you take off the old one and replace it you might not notice the dirty marks. Also i would move the light more to the front so it leaves the back slightly darker .


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

beetlebz said:


> I wouldnt worry SO much about the fumes, but I would say the tank definitely needs to be covered. I would say saran wrap over the top for the initial painting, and the first few hours of drying, minimum, but not so long that the water gets starved (I wouldnt leave it on overnight, for example).
> 
> the tricky part past that would be getting it clean enough for paint to stick with it against the wall. Painting it will be the easy part
> 
> if it were me, I would drain half the water and get a friend to help me drag it away from the wall for a few days, then drain it again to move it back. but thats just my $0.02! And painting it in place will be fine, just cover the top and be careful.


Well, I can't drain it all the way with the fish in there and it is still very heavy. I am not as young as I once was. ha ha Good idea covering it with plastic wrap. 




> without moving the tank your not going to be able to clean it properly unfortunatly. I would get some black poster board from the dollar store and replace it with the old one. Once you take off the old one and replace it you might not notice the dirty marks. Also i would move the light more to the front so it leaves the back slightly darker


I might end up having to do that with the background but honestly trying to get that back there and fasten it will likely be a challenge as well. I have the stock top on there at this time but I might look into getting glass tops and moving the lights to the front. That is a good idea. 

​


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## beetlebz (Aug 2, 2007)

ive had bad experiences with construction paper :\ the paper had gotten damp on and off over a couple years on my old 29g, and the paper fused to the glass. was a nightmare to get it off.

Try it, maybe you CAN get your arm in there enough to clean and paint it. I just want pics


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

beetlebz said:


> if it were me, I would drain half the water and get a friend to help me drag it away from the wall for a few days, then drain it again to move it back. but thats just my $0.02! And painting it in place will be fine, just cover the top and be careful.


Careful, how many gallons is this?

Most aquarium stands that are bought in stores (for example Petsmart/Petco) are not structurally sound in that kind of movement. They are only designed to hold the massive weight vertically, but are quite flimsy in any kind of horizontal movement.

Home built may or may not be better, depends on how much cross support there is.

I vote for the poster board, best option without moving the tank.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

Labrynth(sp) type fish such as Gourami,and or Betta's, could easily become sick from fumes from paint for they take in oxygen from the surface at times.
Were it me,,I would drain the tank into large rubbermaid tub and place fish,heater, and filter on the tub to temporarily hold the fish.
Would put the gravel in another tub along with plant's and some aquarium water.
Would then get help to move the tank.
Should not take long to tape off the sides of the tank, cover the top ,and paint it.
Then move the gravel,fish,and plant's back.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

Geomancer said:


> Careful, how many gallons is this?
> 
> Most aquarium stands that are bought in stores (for example Petsmart/Petco) are not structurally sound in that kind of movement. They are only designed to hold the massive weight vertically, but are quite flimsy in any kind of horizontal movement.
> 
> ...



That is true, lord knows I don't need a broken stand and tank. As much money as I have been dumping on my dogs i sure as heck couldn't run to the store for an emergency new 60 gallon tank and stand. Ugh!



> Labrynth(sp) type fish such as Gourami,and or Betta's, could easily become sick from fumes from paint for they take in oxygen from the surface at times.


 I do have 2 Gourami in that tank right now. Don't want to take a chance with hurting them.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I third the poster board idea. I plan to do that with my tanks that are already set up. I spray painted a tank black, but I had to completely take it down. I'm not doing that with another tank until I have to move them. With a tank that large, I wouldn't risk moving it. 

Think of the poster board as a temp fix. When you have the time to paint it you can.


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## ladayen (Jun 21, 2011)

Just leave it Inga  It's only aesthetic and from what the other posters are saying will only lead to a headache.


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## TheresaMcMurrough (Jan 27, 2012)

We all tend to be harder on ourselves than others. I think it looks fine, just nurse the puppy back to health and worry about the paint later


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

Can you get poster board that is 4 feet long? Seams wouldn't be real attractive either. Then, how do you get it to stay in place?


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## bozzzz (Jan 24, 2012)

If you get a industrial black bin bags there sound for back grounds


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## beetlebz (Aug 2, 2007)

i second the motion to leave it, once it fills in you wont even see it! I kinda like the look of it anyway. black construction paper will almost have to have seams, which will be visible.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

bozzzz said:


> If you get a industrial black bin bags there sound for back grounds



Bin bags? I am not familiar with those. What are they used for and where would I get something like that?


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I think Bozz is talking about big black trash bags. That's an idea I've never thought to use. I should try it out on my 55 gal.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

thekoimaiden said:


> I think Bozz is talking about big black trash bags. That's an idea I've never thought to use. I should try it out on my 55 gal.


But how do you get those to stick on the glass? I think it would look much how what I have now looks. Kind of wrinkly.


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## Maxillius (Sep 27, 2011)

you could always go where they sell textile and pickup something like a peice of cloth that they would cut to the lenght and height you need?


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

Try and find some of this. I have used it on my 75g tank which had the same problem as yours. 

Take the background off, smear that stuff all over and put it back on. Using something with a flat end and preferably rubber, start from one side of the tank and work your way across and you will find you have got rid of most of the air bubbles.

If you have a magnetic algae scrapper that works well also (just go very slowly)


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Inga said:


> But how do you get those to stick on the glass? I think it would look much how what I have now looks. Kind of wrinkly.


Hmm. Maybe cut it, flatten it out, and tape it to the top and bottom of the tank. I'm not at home right now, so I can't experiment to see what works best.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

Maxillius said:


> you could always go where they sell textile and pickup something like a peice of cloth that they would cut to the lenght and height you need?


Good idea and worth looking into. Not sure how I could hang that though as it would be heavier then paper. 





> Try and find some of this. I have used it on my 75g tank which had the same problem as yours.
> 
> Take the background off, smear that stuff all over and put it back on. Using something with a flat end and preferably rubber, start from one side of the tank and work your way across and you will find you have got rid of most of the air bubbles.
> 
> ...


This is not the same as what I used but it was something like that. It looked great at first but then it started to bubble and now the top part is peeling down. How long has yours been on your tank? I am certainly willing to give it a try again. I had used a credit card to try to flatten it out.


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

I have had it on my 75g for about 2 years and only once really had to re-flatten it. I cleaned the back of the tank and let it dry before adding the background. I also added a small blob of glue to each corner and across the top all the way across the tank. It is usually from slight water splash that the top starts peeling first.

Credit card works as well for application.

The link I provided was for a supplier in Canada, there are tons of different types available.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

What kind of glue?


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

Non Toxic Pritt stick glue...the kind school kids use.


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## Maxillius (Sep 27, 2011)

Inga said:


> Good idea and worth looking into. Not sure how I could hang that though as it would be heavier then paper.


hmm if its close to the wall you could always do something like stitch a tube in the fabric for a pole then insert one on top and bottom then hang it from the wall behind? iv never done this but ... its something i was considering. or maybe just a metal one on top like a unfolded coat hanger then wood one on bottom for weight then find a way to attach that to the back of your aquarium I would probably drill 2 small holes in the back of my cover to insert the unfolded coat hangers , and even then after if your tired of black you can go buy another color cloth and change it hehe I think il do that thanks for making me think for a second! =D


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

Inga said:


> Can you get poster board that is 4 feet long? Seams wouldn't be real attractive either. Then, how do you get it to stay in place?


A photography store may have large rolls of thick paper that is used for backgrounds in portraits. They will of course be more than a couple sheets of poster board from a craft store though.

I remember in grade school they always had huge rolls of colored paper for students to do craft projects, prom decorations, or to make banners out of for sport events. I haven't seen that in craft stores though =/

If you went with poster board and had seams, you can overlap the sheets to lessen the appearance of the seam.

Someone else mentioned hanging something from the wall, that works too, it dosen't have to be physically attached to the glass.


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## Inga (Jun 8, 2010)

All good ideas, I will have to give a few a try and see what works. Reaching back there it is really hard since the aquarium is tall and too close to 2 walls. I have it in a corner. Hind sight is that wasn't the best plan ever. 

Geomancer your tank looks great!


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## bozzzz (Jan 24, 2012)

i tried everything but the bin bags look the best just use tape and the thinck bags the look great 
:-D


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