is there a fish/plant safe acrylic paint?

H

hmt321

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Nov 21, 2005
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I got a great deal on a overflow, only problem is that it was used in salt water and it has what i believe are calcium deposits on the inside of it that are hard to clean off. I have the deposits mostly off and i can take a wire brush to the inside to get them the rest of the way, the problem is that it is scrached up, stained and as my wife put it "not 2 pretty". I was planing on painting the outside of the back of the tank blue, is there a fish and plant safe acrylic paint that i could use on the outside of the overflow so it would have a nice new look????

thanks.
 
100% epoxy paint that is safe for potable water tanks is the only thing safe to use near fish, but it isn't the safest paint to be painting with.
 
I have used stuff like that before on my sailboat, my concern though is that it my not stick to the acrylic or even melt it during application.

do you think PVC dye would work?
 
Artists arylic paints are great for this type of application. There are many non-toxic brands. But even the regular brands are safe when dry.
 
to be clear, this will go inside the tank, it is exposed to the water.

perhaps if i wet sand the overflow box and give the paint, epoxy or whatever i use a better hold.

If anyone has any experence with painting acrylic please post
 
garf said:
This is absolutely the most important part of any plywood fish tank made, and the least researched by the vast majority of aquarium DIY people.A tank coating that doesn't poison fish.
The only sealer/coating that is qualified for use in an aquarium is a TWO PART EPOXY FOR POTABLE WATER TANKS. This coating is used to seal the interior of several thousand gallon community drinking water tanks, as a coating for holding tanks in fish farms and as a liner for large public aquariums. These coatings are NSF 61/USDA/ANSI/AWWA and FDA certified and approved.
Click to expand...

I don't think artists acrylic paints meet that description. Maybe you could try sanding the outside of the acrylic before painting(would be best to try this on a spare piece of acrylic though).
 
I have purchased a gal of 2 part epoxy paint that i put on a test piece of acrylic.

I have used 2 part epoxy paints before in boating applications and this was much heaver, I'm gona go back and pick up some of the thinner so my finish product will look better. the stuff is expensive and kinda hard to find (i bought mine at a paint store that caters mainly to marine shipping vessels)

the gal was $42.00 us, but i will at least have enough paint to coat my PVC return lines (the ones that are visible inside the tank)

I used the paint on a test piece of acrylic today, I wet sanded 1/2 of a 18" X 8" piece that i bummed off a glass supply house i do business with a lot with 220 grit paper, and wiped with whole thing down with de-natured alcohol then brushed it on (never spray epoxy, it could kill you)

It was dry to the touch in 3 hours, i will let it dry for 48 hours then i will see how it bonds. I had a conversation with a guy who works for a paint manufactor (i don't wanna say who until i know this works) he said that this stuff bonds to fiberglass very well so i anticipate it will hold on the acrylic as well.

I will take a scraper to my test piece on Sunday and post how well it bonds.
 
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