A mirror as the tank background? has anyone tried this?

bucket brigade · 02-13-2007, 10:51 PM

i've often wonder how COOL it would be to mount a MIRROR as the background to a tank to see things on the other side of the rocks.

the last time I was at a GlassShop I was looking at the different grades of mirrors they could custom-cut. they have a thin decorative mirror that comes in a huge sheet that could be custom-cut to the dimensions of my tank. its not heavy weight-wise at all. it could be easily hung by glueing it to the outside of the back of the tank.

do you think my fish would freakout and try and fight its own reflection? to the point of stress that it would die?

or would they just smile into the mirror and comb their hair....I mean scales....

AND YOU KNOW THE GIRLY FIREFISH WOULD BE CONSTANTLY CHECKING ITSELF OUT IN THE MIRROR TO MAKE SURE IT LOOK ITS BEST IN FRONT OF THE OTHER FISH

Fly Guy · 02-13-2007, 10:52 PM

Ive seen them before........it does look kind of cool..........

bucket brigade · 02-13-2007, 10:54 PM

know-it-all · 02-13-2007, 10:55 PM

I couldn't see through the sides/back of my tank If I wanted

BCREEF · 02-13-2007, 11:24 PM

Seen it, didn't like it, wouldn't do it, but that's just me.

Jflip2002 · 02-13-2007, 11:45 PM

I Think thatd be a little weird. ITd definitely add depth though. But Im thinking, it'd make it so there are less dark spots in the tank. The lights projecting Im assuming at an angle, depending on your reflector. Hittingthe mirror, and reflecting to what could have been a dark spot in the tank... Say under an overhang you may have towards the rear. Im not sure if thats a detrement or a benefit, but think about that I suppose....

Twitterbait · 02-14-2007, 12:33 AM

also depends on the fish. you don't want your fishy beating its brains out trying to get to the other fish.

or in the case of a firefish... well... you know...

partobe · 02-14-2007, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twitterbait

also depends on the fish. you don't want your fishy beating its brains out trying to get to the other fish.

or in the case of a firefish... well... you know...

Yeah Firefish would be leaving lipstick marks and the glass

Hardhead Cat · 02-14-2007, 07:45 AM

I have seen tanks like that - you can easily buy 12" x 12" squares of glass tiles in Home Depot or a glass shop and tape them to the back to see if it's what you want. I don't think I'd mount them permanently just in case I got tired of them - -

HHC

tims · 02-14-2007, 07:47 AM

some tanks are like that already.
but you could do it. even placing a regular mirror on the out side of the glass might work

kwjones · 02-14-2007, 07:50 AM

There's a guy in the local reef club that has an in-wall tank, but the enclosure is wider than the tank and he has a mirror on each end at a 45 degree angle so you can look down the back side of the tank.

Sambo · 02-14-2007, 08:37 AM

That's a cool idea! My problem with mirrors would be that the coralline algae on the glass would interfere with your view pretty quickly.

know-it-all · 02-14-2007, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sambo

That's a cool idea! My problem with mirrors would be that the coralline algae on the glass would interfere with your view pretty quickly.

exactly

cool idea at first, but after 1 year, you'll never notice it's a mirror

JustDavidP · 02-14-2007, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwjones

There's a guy in the local reef club that has an in-wall tank, but the enclosure is wider than the tank and he has a mirror on each end at a 45 degree angle so you can look down the back side of the tank.

That's exactly what I'm going to do with this clam tank:

The tank is just temporary until I build a newer, larger one in the acrylic shop. In the mean time, I'm putting mirrored acrylic at 45 angles on the left and right of the tank. It's all going to be secured to a smallish frame with velcro tape. It is just acrylic, is light, and I would need to remove it from time to time to access the plumbing etc.

Dave

crvz · 02-14-2007, 12:32 PM

The last thing I want to see while looking into my tank is my face staring back at me. Cripes!