Painting Background On Tank?

Question

I want to paint a dark blue or black background on my tank but i'm wondering what kind of acrylic paint I should get? If anyone can give me a few links to sites that sale waterproof acrylic paint & sites showing pics of backgrounds painted on that would be really helpful.

Answer 1

If you paint the glass, paint on the outside of the tank - then the type of paint isn't as much of a concern. I've heard of people even using spraypaint, but I prefer latex, since this is easier to create "textures" like these:
http://www.trompe-l-oeil-art.com/faux/faux-stone.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Custom-Painted-Background/6/

Even if this is to be just a solid color, I would use latex, and apply it in a few coats to make sure you get good coverage.

If you decide to experiment with stonework like is shown in the links above, just remember you're painting on glass, so you need to reverse the steps. For instance, if you were painting fake marble, you might do the "veins" in the marble last, but so they show through the glass and other paint laters, you need to paint them on the aquarium FIRST!

Answer 2

Like copperhead said, paint the outside of the tank. I painted a plain back background on two of my tanks and it was real easy, it took a couple coats though. I just used regular latex house paint. I got flat paint, if you get glossy it will be a shiny background, it's all about preference. Latex is good also because if you get sick of the color and want to change it, it will simply peal off the tank.

here's a video of mine so you can see how it looks, it turned out real good for being so easy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgQKTR7GtH8

Answer 3

I dont know about water proof, but at almost any craft store you can get paint that works on glass. Though, it would be best for making a kind of stained glass look rather than a solid colored background and should be used on the outside of the tank.