02-17-2007, 01:21 PM
Here is a tip I figured out on my own. If you use a background photo of plants or something smear it and the glass with a thin layer of vaseline. Put the background on care fully, squeezing out any air bubbles. This will cut out the diffraction from the glass to the backdrop and do two things. One, it will allow you to see the background from the sides of the tank. Two, it will make the background look ten times brighter! And that will make it look much more realistic.
When I did this I put the reversible background on that had a saltwater design. My friend that owned a pet store walked by (10 feet away) and was surprised I had a saltwater tank. It looked that good.
If you want, take a little vaseline on your finger and smear it on a small spot on the background. Push the background on and see the difference from the side and from the front. It is amazing. Because it is stopping the air gap between the background and the glass from acting like a mirror it is transmitting the light to the backdrop instead and that is what gives it it's brightness.
The way I discovered this is, when i was filling my tank for the first time water splashed between the tank and the background and I couldn't believe how much better it looked. But the water would dry up. So I thought???? How could I achieve that affect (effect?) on a semi permanent method. And I figured the vaseline wouldn't dry up and it would act like a seal between the layers so I tried it and have been using it for many years having lots of people asking why my tank looks so good.
When I did this I put the reversible background on that had a saltwater design. My friend that owned a pet store walked by (10 feet away) and was surprised I had a saltwater tank. It looked that good.
If you want, take a little vaseline on your finger and smear it on a small spot on the background. Push the background on and see the difference from the side and from the front. It is amazing. Because it is stopping the air gap between the background and the glass from acting like a mirror it is transmitting the light to the backdrop instead and that is what gives it it's brightness.
The way I discovered this is, when i was filling my tank for the first time water splashed between the tank and the background and I couldn't believe how much better it looked. But the water would dry up. So I thought???? How could I achieve that affect (effect?) on a semi permanent method. And I figured the vaseline wouldn't dry up and it would act like a seal between the layers so I tried it and have been using it for many years having lots of people asking why my tank looks so good.