Tank Background?

No, you don't need a background. it is only for looks. But IMO it can give your tank a whole new feeling/look rather than just seeing the wall behind your tank. It also hides any HOB equipment.

 

not vital, just looks better than all those cords and plumbing.

I always spread a dab of vasaline over the back to hold the background in place, squeegee the air bubbles out and you cant tell they are backgrounds

 

I love the black backgrounds,they really make the other colors stand out,another benefit is it hides all the wires and equipment on the back.Another good tip is to trim your background on the front of the tank before you add it to the back,then it will fit perfect the first time(it's a pet pieve of mine to have gaps or big air bubbles under a background or letting all the equipment show without one,just like not keeping your water level above the rim so the waterline is always showing,wierd i know,but thats just me!;D)plus the mineral oil trick works great with a credit card or drivers licence.

 

Thank you all very much. Makes me feel better.

 

yeah, gonna try the mineral oil next time, should be a little more fluid than the Vaseline making it easier to squeegee out the bubbles

 

it does make it more fluid,you can acually slide it on the glass to position it.

 

+1
God, it irritates me to no end when I can see other people's water line.

 

It makes my skin crawl to see the solid scale line 3" under the rim!!!;D

 

When you slide the background around (using the mineral oil) do you get more air bubbles? I failed tank set-up 101 and did not put my background on (now wife wants one) but it is close to the back wall and I want to slide it into place. I like the Mineral Oil tip.

 

+2 it's usually is accompanied by the load sound of the waterfall coming off the HOB filter.