diff --git a/ndsl/quantity/field_bundle.py b/ndsl/quantity/field_bundle.py
index f33ae8a6..c66b338f 100644
--- a/ndsl/quantity/field_bundle.py
+++ b/ndsl/quantity/field_bundle.py
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ def __getattr__(self, name: str) -> Quantity:
                 units=self._quantity.units,
                 origin=self._quantity.origin[:-1],
                 extent=self._quantity.extent[:-1],
+                backend=self._quantity.backend,
             )
         return self._per_name_view[name]
 
diff --git a/tests/mpi/test_mpi_halo_update.py b/tests/mpi/test_mpi_halo_update.py
index 76aca71e..7b6a1825 100644
--- a/tests/mpi/test_mpi_halo_update.py
+++ b/tests/mpi/test_mpi_halo_update.py
@@ -271,14 +271,9 @@ def depth_quantity(
                 data[tuple(pos)] = numpy.nan
                 pos[i] = origin[i] + extent[i] + n_outside - 1
                 data[tuple(pos)] = numpy.nan
-    quantity = Quantity(
-        data,
-        dims=dims,
-        units=units,
-        origin=origin,
-        extent=extent,
+    return Quantity(
+        data, dims=dims, units=units, origin=origin, extent=extent, backend="debug"
     )
-    return quantity
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(MPI is None, reason="pytest is not run in parallel")
@@ -320,11 +315,7 @@ def zeros_quantity(dims, units, origin, extent, shape, numpy, dtype):
     outside of it."""
     data = numpy.ones(shape, dtype=dtype)
     quantity = Quantity(
-        data,
-        dims=dims,
-        units=units,
-        origin=origin,
-        extent=extent,
+        data, dims=dims, units=units, origin=origin, extent=extent, backend="debug"
     )
     quantity.view[:] = 0.0
     return quantity
diff --git a/tests/test_zarr_monitor.py b/tests/test_zarr_monitor.py
index be3e7650..b0943ffb 100644
--- a/tests/test_zarr_monitor.py
+++ b/tests/test_zarr_monitor.py
@@ -98,9 +98,7 @@ def base_state(request, nz, ny, nx, numpy) -> dict:
     if request.param == "one_var_2d":
         return {
             "var1": Quantity(
-                numpy.ones([ny, nx]),
-                dims=("y", "x"),
-                units="m",
+                numpy.ones([ny, nx]), dims=("y", "x"), units="m", backend="debug"
             )
         }
 
@@ -110,20 +108,20 @@ def base_state(request, nz, ny, nx, numpy) -> dict:
                 numpy.ones([nz, ny, nx]),
                 dims=("z", "y", "x"),
                 units="m",
+                backend="debug",
             )
         }
 
     if request.param == "two_vars":
         return {
             "var1": Quantity(
-                numpy.ones([ny, nx]),
-                dims=("y", "x"),
-                units="m",
+                numpy.ones([ny, nx]), dims=("y", "x"), units="m", backend="debug"
             ),
             "var2": Quantity(
                 numpy.ones([nz, ny, nx]),
                 dims=("z", "y", "x"),
                 units="degK",
+                backend="debug",
             ),
         }
 
@@ -263,6 +261,7 @@ def test_monitor_file_store_multi_rank_state(
                     numpy.ones([nz, ny_rank, nx_rank]),
                     dims=dims,
                     units=units,
+                    backend="debug",
                 ),
             }
             monitor_list[rank].store(state)
@@ -351,7 +350,9 @@ def test_open_zarr_without_nans(cube_partitioner, numpy, backend, mask_and_scale
 
     # initialize store
     monitor = ZarrMonitor(store, cube_partitioner, mpi_comm=LocalComm(0, 1, buffer))
-    zero_quantity = Quantity(numpy.zeros([10, 10]), dims=("y", "x"), units="m")
+    zero_quantity = Quantity(
+        numpy.zeros([10, 10]), dims=("y", "x"), units="m", backend="debug"
+    )
     monitor.store({"var": zero_quantity})
 
     # open w/o dask using chunks=None
@@ -371,7 +372,9 @@ def test_values_preserved(cube_partitioner, numpy):
 
     # initialize store
     monitor = ZarrMonitor(store, cube_partitioner, mpi_comm=LocalComm(0, 1, buffer))
-    quantity = Quantity(numpy.random.uniform(size=(10, 10)), dims=dims, units=units)
+    quantity = Quantity(
+        numpy.random.uniform(size=(10, 10)), dims=dims, units=units, backend="debug"
+    )
     monitor.store({"var": quantity})
 
     # open w/o dask using chunks=None
@@ -421,7 +424,10 @@ def test_monitor_file_store_inconsistent_calendars(
 def diag(request, numpy):
     dims = request.param
     return Quantity(
-        numpy.ones([size + 2 for size in range(len(dims))]), dims=dims, units="m"
+        numpy.ones([size + 2 for size in range(len(dims))]),
+        dims=dims,
+        units="m",
+        backend="debug",
     )
 
 
@@ -495,6 +501,7 @@ def test_diags_fail_different_dim_set(diag, numpy, zarr_monitor_single_rank):
         numpy.ones([size + 2 for size in range(len(diag.dims))]),
         dims=new_dims,
         units="m",
+        backend="debug",
     )
     with pytest.raises(ValueError) as excinfo:
         zarr_monitor_single_rank.store({"time": time_2, "a": diag_2})
@@ -510,6 +517,6 @@ def test_diags_only_consistent_units_attrs_required(diag, zarr_monitor_single_ra
     diag_2 = copy.deepcopy(diag)
     diag_2._attrs.update({"some_non_units_attrs": 9.0})
     zarr_monitor_single_rank.store({"time": time_2, "a": diag_2})
-    diag_3 = Quantity(data=diag.view[:], dims=diag.dims, units="not_m")
+    diag_3 = Quantity(data=diag.view[:], dims=diag.dims, units="not_m", backend="debug")
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
         zarr_monitor_single_rank.store({"time": time_3, "a": diag_3})