Aquarium back panels
By Aram Schneider Published Updated
Translated from German with AI assistance and reviewed by our editors.
In aquaristics, back panels and background films are classics for designing the background of an aquarium. Here we show you a few examples of how you can beautify the back of your aquariums.
Background films
Unlike aquarium back panels, films are applied not on the inside but on the outside of the glass pane. These background films are available in various colors; black or blue are popular classics. A dark background creates a great contrast with the colorful aquatic plants and fish in the aquarium. With modern aquascapes and planted aquariums with transparent silicone seams, white or milky background films fit well into the overall picture. This makes the rear plane of an aquarium layout look somewhat more diffuse, which creates a better sense of depth. Semi-transparent films can also produce great effects in combination with a background light (see next section).
A milky gray film and targeted background lighting accentuate the cave in this aquarium layout in a special way.
Background films are stuck onto the rear glass pane of the tank. They have the advantage that they can be removed again relatively easily. To apply one, the glass is often lightly moistened with water. Then you place the film on the glass and smooth it out with a flat object (for example a set square or a credit card). Any bubbles can also be pushed out to the edge and removed this way. Excess material can be trimmed to fit with a sharp utility knife or scissors.
Do you want to apply a background film? No problem, we have more detailed instructions for attaching it here.
Background lighting
An illuminated background in an aquarium gives the design significantly more depth and also creates pleasant lighting effects in the living space itself. The diffuse brightness in the rear plane of an aquascape creates an optical trick: the slight blur in the back, combined with sharply rendered objects in the foreground and midground of the aquarium, makes things in the background appear farther away. A distinct 3D depth effect results. This is a circumstance that is often used in aquarium photography as well, for example to take good final shots for entering a contest.
With the Light Screens, the Japanese manufacturer Aqua Design Amano (ADA) now offers illuminated back panels for aquariums for the first time. They are available in two sizes, cut to fit the ADA 90-P and 60-P aquariums exactly. Other manufacturers now offer illuminated back panels as well, such as the Light Screen from Lightground.
Back panels & 3D back panels
Unlike films, aquarium back panels are installed on the rear pane inside the tank. As a rule, this is done before the aquarium is set up and filled. The back panel is fixed in place with adhesive such as aquarium silicone. For this reason, it is very hard to remove such a 3D back panel later on. The selection and mounting should therefore be well planned and thought through.
Aquarium back panels have many advantages. They immediately upgrade the look of your aquarium, and you can choose from many different designs. There are also back panels for a particular theme; for example, there are matching designs for the Amazon theme with great roots or rocky layouts for African cichlid aquariums. Particularly attractive are the so-called 3D back panels, whose structures in part protrude farther forward into the tank and thus create a realistic environment with a great sense of depth. On the other hand, if space in the aquarium is tight, the thin Slim Line back panels are a good choice; they take up little room and still look great.
These aquarium back panels look very natural; they are handmade after models from nature. The materials used guarantee the durability of such a 3D back panel. They are also safe for the animal and plant inhabitants of the aquarium.
Of course, various natural colors such as gray, brown, yellow or red are also available for the back panels, as well as various formats for different aquarium sizes. While the products for smaller tanks are usually one-piece, multi-piece modules make installation easier in larger aquariums or in tanks with glass braces that get in the way during installation. The manufacturer Back to Nature offers custom-fit two-piece back panels especially for Juwel aquariums, which take the integrated filter compartment into account. This can be cleverly hidden behind the back panel, and its function is still ensured by integrated inlets and outlets.