Is it okay to stick a mirrored background (silver) for a saltwater nano reef?

Question

The reason i ask is cuz ive heard that it makes fish bump on the glass because of territorial issues..so please answer thanks

thanks i needed that

Answer 1

It would probably be better to use a different type of background. Many of the marine fish are territorial and aggressive to members of their own kind, so it's possibly that your fish may become stressed or injured from constantly seeing their reflection.

Another reason I can think of for not using it is the reflectivity. The background will reflect any light from your hood back into the tank - this may cause unwanted algae growth as an unexpected side effect.

Eventually your glass will be covered with coralline algae from your live rock unless you continually scrape it off, so any background you use will eventually be hidden. If you want a background to hide equipment and cords behind the tank, plain black (non-reflective) or deep blue (to simulate ocean depths) is probably the best to use.

Answer 2

You will need to keep the number of fish in your tank low but you can have a beautiful 10 gallon nano. Do not just get a 10 gallon kit from Walmart. I would get a Nano Cube, AquaPod or similar that is designed to be a nano saltwater system. Some of these have metal halide, some power compact lighting. Be careful, go slow, read a lot and then buy wisely. You can be successful if you are careful. Your biggest enemy is haste.