Best way to stick laminate backgrounds?

Hi Nut -

I have always been too concerned about placing the laninate in the tank
for two reasons -

1. Some adventursome tank inhabitant "might" find its way behind and
foul the water, (you know a year or two from now when the silicone has
a spot that gets a bit loose) and;
2. It creates a potential for water to foul from lack of curculation -
just a dead mass of moisture with no circulation between the glass and
the laminate.

I always wonder about the actual limanate as well, what if it is not
fully sealed? Would the picture material breakdown and seep something
into the water?

As to the painted back - IMO nothing works better than a straight edge
razor blade. I have removed many painted backs from tanks and the only
caution is to avoid cutting the silicone at the edges where the glass
is joined. Even cutting the silicone flush with the glass can cause a
leak to develop so I suggest just leaving the paint on the edges.

So I am a vote for cleaning the glass and placing it on the outside. I
paint all the backs on my tanks now, but when I used a "scene" on the
back I always reverse rolled the stuff to get it flat, and then ran
clear tape around the top and sides. I left the bottom open for what
reason I really can't remember now, but it seemed important at the
time! Even if there was a small "ripple" in the scene, it was
undetectable by the time you look through the tank.

Best of Luck!


nut wrote:
Hi all

I currently have a tank with a painted (emulsion) background, which i want
to replace for some of that laminate photo stuff which comes on a roll.

I normally prefer painted backgrounds, but in this case we've decided upon
the laminate... the tank has a very large pl*co (14") and an albino african
clawed frog, nothing else, with a gravel substrate... we did have sand but
the pl*co makes way too much mess, creating sand storms, clogging up the
filters.

If i were to apply it to the inside of the tank using silicone sealant,
presumably i'd lose any mirror effect? Has anyone tried sticking it on the
inside? I could move the pl*co, drain & dry the tank, apply the laminate and
wait 2 days for the sealant to cure... or should i just scrape off the paint
and stick it to the outside?

In the past i've found that, once i've cellotaped the stuff to the back of
the aquarium, air/condensation bubbles start appearing after a couple of
weeks.

I've been told to try applying a layer of oil/vaseline/why to the glass
before applying the laminate and smooth out any air bubbles, but won't that
cause an oily sheen?

Presumably i'm going to have to scrape off all the paint, then stick it to
the outside... how does everyone else do it?

Thanks in advance.



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