I am ready to get rid of my now light blue gravel that looks worn and torn. I was considering, for a change, to go black. Also, I thought it would show the colors of fish better to have a black background? Does this sound good to anyone? Or bad to anyone?? Does black enhance the aquarium..... oh yea and does SOLID black or blue backgounds make that much a difference than a scene background like the ones sold on that site thing here... (you know what im talking about)
Black backgrounds/gravel
- Thread starter happytreestump
- Start date
Well, I have a black background, and black gravel with black sand. It helps bring out the colors of the fish and plants tremendously!
I can find my shrimp better, and my snail that has made the gravel mixture it's home can be seen better when it ventures to the top.
The only bad issues I've had is, watch out for algae! You'll be able to see it lickety-split on the background and gravel.
My Betta flares up at the reflection that the background makes but that doesn't last long. *thinks* Fish poop will be more noticeable.. but that's just a good cleaning indicator.
I can find my shrimp better, and my snail that has made the gravel mixture it's home can be seen better when it ventures to the top.
The only bad issues I've had is, watch out for algae! You'll be able to see it lickety-split on the background and gravel.
My Betta flares up at the reflection that the background makes but that doesn't last long. *thinks* Fish poop will be more noticeable.. but that's just a good cleaning indicator.
I've just completed a redecoration from black sand, black slate rockwork and black background to a light brown substrate and rockwork but still with the fixed (Juwel Structured) background.
I've noticed that some fish colours are now "cleaner" and others are just a shade lighter. Most fish have not changed at all.
As usual with decoration, it's down to personal taste. I found that so much black was actually a bad idea, though at first striking it is quite dismal and unnatural. I think it's important that the decor hangs together well and is credible - the substrate should appear as a ground up version of your rockwork for example. For others the high contrast between substrate and decor is most appealing, eg black slate and white crushed coral or black sand and rainbow rock.
The solid black or dark blue backgrounds do have the reflective problem that Velvet AciD mentions but the Juwel 3D backgrounds are excellent.
I've noticed that some fish colours are now "cleaner" and others are just a shade lighter. Most fish have not changed at all.
As usual with decoration, it's down to personal taste. I found that so much black was actually a bad idea, though at first striking it is quite dismal and unnatural. I think it's important that the decor hangs together well and is credible - the substrate should appear as a ground up version of your rockwork for example. For others the high contrast between substrate and decor is most appealing, eg black slate and white crushed coral or black sand and rainbow rock.
The solid black or dark blue backgrounds do have the reflective problem that Velvet AciD mentions but the Juwel 3D backgrounds are excellent.
I struggled to find the background that I wanted. Early on I "borrowed" some black construction paper from my kids and used that. I was impressed with how that looked. Later I purchased a "scene" background and tore off the paper. I was disappointed. The "scene" was not very clear even with really clean glass. In the end I purchased a shaded blue (darker at the bottom then gradually gets lighter towards the top) and I am very happy. Really brings out the colors of the fish and plants. Looks very good.
*celebrate
*celebrate