FishyMike Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 (edited) Hey guys just sharing a picture of the bottom of my bare bottom tanks. I saw a video I think by gregjones spray painting the bottom most of his tanks with rostoleum stone paint and thought I would give it a try. It’s a nice alternative to just doing black or no bottom. And cheaper then you’d think.! Edited September 7, 2021 by Mikeo 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 Definitely a neat idea! I saw some nice marble paint not too long ago that might be neat to try this with. It's going to be hard to pull me away from my black bottom and backed tanks though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishyMike Posted September 7, 2021 Author Share Posted September 7, 2021 If you don’t mind me asking do you paint your bottoms and sides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 Depending on the layout, I either paint 2 sides (bottom and back) or I paint 3 (bottom, back and one short side.) The times I paint 3 sides are when tanks (like 10's or 20H) are stacked next to one another, I do it to limit the view from one tank to the next. If I'm keeping a smaller species I don't want them to see a larger species that's being held in QT or breeding in there that might be predatory and to inadvertently freak them out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishyMike Posted September 7, 2021 Author Share Posted September 7, 2021 I'm having a bit difficulty getting my acrylic paint to stick in select spots. They were all cleaned well and fist coat went on fine but there are like spots that seem to be stubborn.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishyMike Posted September 7, 2021 Author Share Posted September 7, 2021 On 9/7/2021 at 1:04 PM, Tihshho said: Depending on the layout, I either paint 2 sides (bottom and back) or I paint 3 (bottom, back and one short side.) The times I paint 3 sides are when tanks (like 10's or 20H) are stacked next to one another, I do it to limit the view from one tank to the next. If I'm keeping a smaller species I don't want them to see a larger species that's being held in QT or breeding in there that might be predatory and to inadvertently freak them out. that is my exact thought I'm painting side and back so they wont see each other! give them more protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 On 9/7/2021 at 1:06 PM, Mikeo said: I'm having a bit difficulty getting my acrylic paint to stick in select spots. They were all cleaned well and fist coat went on fine but there are like spots that seem to be stubborn.... I wipe all tanks down with 99% isopropyl if they have never been pained. If I'm painted a used tank that previously had paint removed with a few razorblades (since the nice sharp ones will dull quick) I carefully go through and wipe everything glass down on the exterior with acetone and make sure to stay away from the frames since acetone will cause them to melt or crack, overall just degrading them. If you ever go the acetone route, do it outside so you get ventilation and always use a rag to apply the acetone, never pour it on the tank and wipe. Wipe the tank down after with some water and rags to get remaining acetone that hasn't flashed and evaporated to be gone. Never get acetone inside of the tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishyMike Posted September 7, 2021 Author Share Posted September 7, 2021 I think that might be the secret sauce!! the 99% isopropyl I just use vinegar and Windex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 Looks great! I taped some dark paper to the bottom of one of my tanks, but unfortunately I never see it because the glass is always reflecting the back of the tank towards me. Maybe paint works better because it actually coats one side of the glass. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJV Aquatics Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 It's an interesting idea for a bare bottom tank... but I tend to prefer 2-3 inches of sand for a bio-rich substrate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 On 9/7/2021 at 1:55 PM, Hobbit said: Looks great! I taped some dark paper to the bottom of one of my tanks, but unfortunately I never see it because the glass is always reflecting the back of the tank towards me. Maybe paint works better because it actually coats one side of the glass. Yep, with the paint you get zero strange reflection. You'll still get glare because it's glass on top of an adhered layer, but the bottom will look like one pane rather than taped paper. The other way around that is to use vinyl, but I've noticed that overtime some colored vinyl will fade in time. The only stuff that seems to work in that case are the privacy window film that's frosted. The cheaper stuff will yellow, where the 3M stuff won't, but then you're stuck with a giant roll. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevesFishTanks Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 I use these colors for the bottoms and sides of my tanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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