Have you ever bought a glass box for an aquarium and wondered how you would make the back black? Tint your tank! It can be very distracting looking through an aquarium – instead of looking into the tank and seeing the fish, rock, coral, etc., against a dark background.
Many aquarists have taken to painting the back of their tank black. Many also use cut to size acrylic sheets. While this works well – it also makes it challenging to change your mind about your background color. This is especially true if you are trying to avoid making a change without draining the tank.
The good news is that it is very easy to tint your tank as follows:
- Cover the top of your tank to avoid getting any products from the tinting process into your tank.
- Clean the exterior aquarium glass using dishwashing liquid and water. Be sure to remove any residue, glues, or anything else on the glass by rubbing or scraping with a razor blade. BE CAREFUL if your tank is acrylic as they scratch very easily!
- Dry the surface thoroughly with a lint-free cloth.
- Cut your window tint to the size of your tank to avoid having to cut the tint on your tank. This is especially critical if your tank is acrylic.
- Dampen the surface of the tank that you will be adhering the tint to with the spray bottle. The wetter the surface, the easier the installation. The only downside of all the moisture is that it may take a few days to evaporate completely. This means you can’t handle the tinted surface too aggressively for a couple of days.
- Remove the backing from the tinting film. Spray the tint as well – on the side that will touch the tank, of course.
- Place the damp side of the film against the damp glass. You should be able to gently slide it around until you are satisfied with how it fits.
- Now, dampen the exterior side of the tint so that your squeegee will glide over the tint film surface and not damage the tint.
- Using the squeegee, smooth the film against the tank. Start in the middle and work out toward the edges.
- Continue smoothing the film with the squeegee, working from the middle to the edges until all of the moisture and bubbles are gone.
- The process is complete when the film is smooth and free from air bubbles underneath.
- When dry (24-48 hours,) carefully trim off any excess film with a sharp craft knife, again being careful not to cut into the glass/acrylic or silicone sealant.
Black Aquarium Background
Do you want to make your aquarium background black? Are you thinking about using different shades and/or colors? Tint your aquarium instead of painting the glass, adding an acrylic sheet, etc.
To tint your tank the darkest shade, I recommend using residential window tint with the lowest visible light transmittance percentage.
There is a key advantage of residential window tint over automotive window tint. Automotive window tint will allow higher percentages of visible light transmittance (typically 5% VLT is the lowest) than residential tints. You can buy residential window tinting for your tank with 0% VLT.
That being said, I have seen many tanks tinted with a variety of shades and material types. It really comes down to personal taste. For that reason, I recommend getting some samples and taking them home to hold against your tank to see for yourself before you commit.
How much visible light transmittance becomes an issue will also depend on what is behind the tank. If the area behind the tank will essentially be dark, the lighter shades may still appear dark. Make sure your selection works for you and your situation.
Tools you will need to tint your tank
- Towels for the floor: there will be soapy water galore – so some might end up where you don’t want it.
- Water with soap: Small amount of dishwashing liquid mixed with RO/DI water, distilled water, or old-fashioned tap water if you have no imagination.
- Paper Towel: For primary cleaning of the aquarium surface.
- Razorblade: Used for scraping the stuff off your tank – probably not needed for a new tank – unless it’s to remove a price tag or something similar.
- Microfiber lint-free cloth: You don’t want anything – not even fibers between your tank surface and the tinting film.
- Spray bottle: This will be what holds your soapy water. Remember, very little soap is necessary; however, a tad too much will not kill the deal.
- Tinting film: Your choice in opacity selected from the samples you brought home.
- Squeegee: Large enough to fit in your hand comfortably, but not smaller than 3 inches across.
- Measuring Tape: So that you can measure your tank surface and pre-cut the tint to size.
- Utility or craft knife: Use this to cut your tint material
DIY Tank Tint Application Video
Here is a video showing a typical method to tint your tank
Summary
If you want the back of your tank opaque and are looking for the fastest and easiest way to achieve it – then tint your tank!
Tinting your tank will allow you to change your mind down the road. It will also provide you unlimited flexibility to think outside the (glass) box and pick the color and shade you want. Truly make your tank your own without following the herd.
You can tint a nano aquarium in less than 15 minutes with just a few tools, so just put on your DIY attitude and go for it!