Black Background vs No/Clear Background

[ArxFanatic]

Hi guys,

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.

 

[ArxFanatic]

Bumping this - should I have posted this in another section?

 

[ObiTonyKenobi]

The black seems to make the colors look more richer... but the frost if you adjust your light's colors can give it more depth

 

[Miniandy]

It's just an opinion, yours is the only one that counts BTW, but without the black background looks better to me

 

[hamfist]

I hugely prefer it without the black background

 

[LightingBamboozled]

I prefer the look of the fish with the black background. I prefer the look of the plants without the background...

 

[Malarky]

One major advantage of a black background is that you can use a black internal filter/pump because it becomes virtually invisible and at a fraction of the cost of an external pump. There are other pros including no cleaning of glass pipes, reduced noise, and no worries about stainless steel pipes slipping and cracking the glass. I also think it is a little easier setting the right degree of surface agitation with an internal pump. You do have to believe the substrate/plants combo is going to do the biological work for you, but I think they do and all that fancy filter media is more than a bit oversold.

 

[Deano3]

I much prefer no or frosted background, agree black makes colours pop but makes it look enclosured, my opinion 👌.

Dean