Hey - please don't be mad. I didn't initially respond to your post because I didn't know of any sites where you can get them (I don't use any in my tanks)...

And inre those other responses... obviously some kids who were board late last night. Lots of other posts also got nasty replies. Looks like they cleaned up the board of the rest of those posts, too.

I only know of backgrounds sold at local pet/fish stores... they're all pretty much the same. Sorry I can't be of more help!

Thank you for youre reply, I did get a little upset over the others. I have them emailed to me and didnt know there were other posts made as well.

All I can find are either all blue or funny looking. Guess Ill just use the one I have and cover it up as much as possible to hide the fake look. :)

Did you look at places like Drs. Foster and Smith (www.drsfostersmith.com)??

Sometimes a plain black, or navy blue background looks best. It darkens and hides wires, but doesn't take away from the tank.

-andy

I saw a really cool tank at a friends house where his wife matched a piece of the wall paper to the back of the tank. It hides all the stuff but you can't tell it's a background. I thought it was cool looking but i don't really mind see the extras, infact I spent a lot on that darn filter so I want to see it.

I read & reported those rude posts to management here & they were pulled immediately. Don't feel like you were targeted - they posted on a number of other threads here as well.

If it happens again, there's a place to report "forum abuse" on the main/home page of GardenWeb.

One of the neatest and cheapest, but probably the most time consuming background for a tank I have seen was one that a friend made with a piece of 1/2" styrofoam. he used a dremel tool and knife to carve it out so it looked like a mass of rocks and outcroppings, and then spay painted it with an airbrush using water based paints. Its as realistic as you can get and would go well in most any aquarium.

For our tank, we used construction paper crumpled up, in various colors and just lightly taped to the outside back of the tank. Cheap, easily replaced and you have freedom of your own imagination.

Sorry for the rude treatment you got [I didn't see the post]. In general this is one of the nicest forums I've seen. Can't help with backrounds, I don't use them.

I hate when people do that, being rude I mean, I asked for help on the Computer Forum here and this guy went bezerk on me and if that wasn't bad enough, some other folks joiined in and told me I was the trouble maker - WHAT! All I said was I thought his reply was very mean and unnecessary and obviousely that set him off and his defense lawyer acting buddy too.

Other good folks came to my rescue and again he went off on them too. According to the others and come on that forum alot, this guy has a "superiority" complex.

Needless to say, I just finally gave up and didn't reply anymore and I told Mr. Nasty to never, ever answer one of my questions again.

Don't let anyone like that keep you from coming onto anyone of these forums, if anything, they are the ones that need to stay off and leave folks alone if they can't play fair.

Flo

We have used pieces of fabric as backgrounds. You can get almost any design or texture for very little money and change them whenever you like. I like the ones with ferns and such all by themselves, but if you're talented and creative you can create any scene imaginable!

Well, I see I'm about a year late. Cheapie me, I took aluminum foil, crumpled it a bit and taped it onto the back of the tank. Now it is not the most decorative piece of work I've ever seen but it sure is different. Can't even describe what it looks like. Hills? Sky? Mountains? Guess it can be whatever you want it to be. You might give it a try, it sure is inexpensive. By now I'm sure you've found something to use but I did this out of desperation...couldn't get to the city to get anything else. Have fun and good luck.

Here's a few- 1)Vermont Slate Tile, You can get them at a landscape supply or tile store. Home Depot has them also, but they are from China I think. Very pretty but they do have iron deposits in them. I use them on the outside of the tank. 2) Paint the outside. You can just do a solid color. A freind was creative and used different shades of neutral colors and a sponge to make a kind of "riverbank" look. 3)I used a piece of "eggcrate", its sold in the ceiling tile section of Home Depot. It is a plastic grid type material. Anyway, I used silicone (aquarium safe) and Scoria (volcanic rock). I "globbed" silicone over the eggcrate and stuck the rock to it. Let it dry/cure for 3 days. Then soaked it for 2 weeks in a storage container full of water, to "water cure" it. Looks really cool, I left holes in it for caves and passages. It is also functional as a place for bacteria to grow.

Hello, i really like plain black paper in the back of my tanks. It just gives in a really nice finished looked if there are lots of plants and stuff in the foreground to be the focal point. Another way to cover the back of the tank (and my favorite) is to create a backdrop using java moss to create a screen across the back. This can be done by using a piece of drift wood to that is long enough to go from the top to the bottom of the tank, tie the moss to the driftwood and the moss will just grow in to cover the back of the tank. it does take a little while but it looks awesome, esp with spot lights above the tank in the front to create shadows in the back. In some of my tanks in the past the moss even attached itself to the glass walls of the tank! It's just that good and easy of a plant to grow! to be honest you can u can tie java moss to anything and it will grow. Hope this suggestion helps.

And don't forget paint... I have used acrylic on back outside of tank.. you can create shadings, (in my case dark blue back for driftwood darker tank) and if artistic create any landscape you would like. I sealed with floor sealer only because that's what I had around, anything would do so long as its water proof when dry. (so if you splash water on it won't be ruined and or mess up) I have links list at yahoo mail, if you'd like please email me and I will send them. Too large a list for here, all sorts of information re to tanks, backgrounds, rocks dutch viv's terrariums. Best Sherry (just add @yahoo to my name)