Black Background vs White/No Background

[ArxFanatic]

I posted this in the aquascaping section and didn’t get any replies, so I’m reposting this here:
I'm debating whether to keep a black background on my planted aquarium or completely remove it (or white/frosted).

The black background provides a nice contrast but also makes the tank look busier (?) and more 'closed in', whereas a clear/white background adds a bit more depth, but it looks a little empty + the branches look 'leggy' - probably filling in the back with more stem plants could help.
A lot of people prefer black backgrounds, but all most aquascapes I've seen online have bright or clear backgrounds.


Any opinions or suggestions would be highly appreciated.

 

[Mat H]

It's a quandary, I went with frosted fairly recently but based solely on the fact it doesn't show calcium build up so much. However given I'm currently amending my water and paying more attention to it during maintenance I don't get any build up anyway!

Ultimately it's what you find more pleasing, I like both but also agree with your points for both.

Tank looking great either way! 👍

 

[Scaperinc]

I posted this in the aquascaping section and didn’t get any replies, so I’m reposting this here:
I'm debating whether to keep a black background on my planted aquarium or completely remove it (or white/frosted).
View attachment 211517


View attachment 211518


The black background provides a nice contrast but also makes the tank look busier (?) and more 'closed in', whereas a clear/white background adds a bit more depth, but it looks a little empty + the branches look 'leggy' - probably filling in the back with more stem plants could help.
A lot of people prefer black backgrounds, but all most aquascapes I've seen online have bright or clear backgrounds.


Any opinions or suggestions would be highly appreciated.

White imo, when filled in will look awesome, all professional aqua scapers and shops mainly use white

 

[OllieTY]

I choose black, I prefer lower light/blackwater tanks though. I generally view my aquariums in the evening, and I find the mood of the tanks much more relaxing when they all have black backgrounds.

 

[_Maq_]

all professional aqua scapers and shops mainly use white

That's just the latest vogue, following Amano's example.
We should strive for freeing ourselves from this uniformity. Much too many aquascapes look as if created by the same person, repeating the same pattern without a hint of invention, imagination.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

I prefer the white but graduated grey might be nice?

 

[Oldguy]

I just painted a thick expanded polystyrene sheet with some grey masonry paint that I had in the shed. The poly sheet insulates the back wall of the tank and the water based paint gave it a slightly dappled look.
For maintenance I just remove the poly sheet. (The rear of the tank is accessed via doors into an unheated conservatory.)
I thought that I might paint it some other colour, but 15yrs on still happy with it. If you have lots of plants you don't real see the rear wall.

 

[Wookii]

I've had both in the past, they can work very differently for different layouts and design goals. Personally though I always keep coming back to a plain black background - to me it adds more depth; with white backgrounds I can always see the background and rear of the tank, with black backgrounds, it is a little more like there isn't a rear to the tank. Black backgrounds all seem to boost apparent contrast and help emphasise colours of fish and plants better than a white one.

 

[erwin123]

The bubbles from CO2 are a lot more obvious with a black background. When using a lit background, the bubbles are nearly invisible.

 

[Scaperinc]

The bubbles from CO2 are a lot more obvious with a black background. When using a lit background, the bubbles are nearly invisible.

Now i get it, i have black background on my nano and it borthers now , for the new one i put white on luckily lol

 

[Uncle_R]

One vote for a blue background.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[akwarium]

I prefer the frosted background, the plants will grow and make it feel less empty. But it looks more elegant and bigger in my opinion.

 

[castle]

Always black

 

[mugsy]

Going by your 2 photos,id say the lighter one looks better in my opinion. Black is to dark.

 

[Tim Harrison]

It has to be clear every time especially if you have interesting wallpaper.

Post in thread 'Why do you spend so much time on UKAPS'
Why do you spend so much time on UKAPS

Seriously though I think a plain backlit background always looks best, its borrowed space that can make the tank look deeper. If you have wallpaper or any other distracting background frosted film is perhaps the way forward.

No film just neutral background lit from behind with a row of LEDs. Beyond the plants could be a drop off in to infinity.

 

[PARAGUAY]

I always think some fish, think Cardinal Tetra,Glowlight Tetra look good in a well planted aquarium with a black back ground, Got ,l suppose it's a marine blue background on the living room aquarium ,think it works well because of fast growing stems at the back so it's just partly visible, The plain luminous types of occasions gift wrap ,look good with possibilities. and £1 a roll🙂The ADA aquariums look pretty good to my eyes with their light backgrounds

 

[tam]

I think some aquascapes would look quite good with a foggy repeat of the hardscape e.g. if you had an out of focus blurry shot of your tank wood repeated in the background it would give it depth - but I think a lot of people would also think that was cheating

The white/frosted always look to me like a display in a box, where as the black hides the tank a bit more.

 

[Aqua360]

Frosted or none, personally I've gone off black backgrounds a bit of late!