in MBProgressHud.m file,find
CGContextSetGrayFillColor(context, 0.0f, self.opacity);
comment it and then add following line to set transparent bg color
CGContextSetFillColorWithColor(context, [UIColor clearColor].CGColor);
to set bg color as blue, use
CGContextSetFillColorWithColor(context, [UIColor blueColor].CGColor);
if you want to set opacity, refer to http://alwawee.com/wordpress/2012/06/30/change-mbprogresshud-color/