Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: mibwb on October 06, 2014, 06:26:11 PM
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I would like to know if anyone knows if there is a safe paint to use in an aquarium. I am lead to believe there is no safe paint for this type of application....(use inside a home aquarium). .. The water volume is not enough to keep any toxicity that will leach out due to liquid (moisture) exposure, which will cause chemical break down of the paint of any type ( including marine paints) from harming aquatic life from prolonged exposure in an closed system. Even so called nontoxic paints...most nontoxic paints are "nontoxic" after they cure....but the same problem occurs after moisture exposure. ..they break down ( peel, crack, flake) off whatever applied to. Then end up floating in the water column to be ingested by the aquatic life forms...accumulating in their systems causing health problems or death. A side point ceramic aquarium ornaments are covered with a (hopefully a non lead, but then there is no law against it being covered with lead, the same can be said for the ceramic material no law against it containing lead) glaze not paint. This glaze is then baked on at high temperatures....thus becoming inert. I hope this a not a dead topic...people put a lot of stuff in their aquariums because it's aesthetially pleasing not taking in consideration should they.
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100% Acrylic paint is a polymer and completely safe to use in aquariums. Krylon spray paint is acrylic and what most people use, I prefer Dick Blick School grade acrylic paints. The are completely non-toxic and fairly cheap.
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Any paint marked as use for Plastic is completely aquarium safe after it dries. Krylon "Fusion" and Rust-oleum "Specialty Plastic" are the two most common ones which I have been using on all my 3D backgrounds for a few years now and can be found at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot and most good hardware stores.
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while i only use paint for the inside of an aquarium when building plywood tanks.....and for that i use either Sherwin Williams Tile Clad II or Sherwin Williams Polane "B"...i believe that both can be brushed , rolled or sprayed on......Polane is a bit trickier to work with but i like it the best..it was originally designed as an anti fouling paint for piers and such....i have not ever known either of them to cause any problems..
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I used Rustoleum 2X paint......no issues.
One note: I would allow the paint to cure for an extended period (I went a week) to allow all the solvents to evaporate. The solvents will be an issue.....