cbrian2 Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Hi Does anyone knows what type of paint to use for aquarium ornaments? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Miller Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Do you mean 'ornaments' for inside the tank? I wouldn't use any paint inside the tank, I only use natural objects, but that's just me. (Although I have been tempted by those little wishing wells with the 'No Fishin' signs - how cute!) Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colfish Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 no paint of any description should be used inside the tank. if you require coloured ornanmants?? be sure that they are glazed clay/china Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Colfish, What about a clear coat of epoxy or fibreglass resin over the paint? Will that be safe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Epoxy or fibre glass resin over paint is fine Ed. I played around a lot with paints/sealers etc. a while ago when trying to design a particular look for a customer. Every clear sealer that I tried turned milky white after emersion except the resins. merjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Thanks Merjo, I was hopeing for that answer for my next project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Merjo, How many days to cure epoxy resin for safe aquarium use? cbrian, sorry to hijack your post. Just PM me if you want me to split and start a new thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmick Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 You can also use a two pack epoxy pool paint or one pack chlorinated rubber pool paint both are suitable for total emersion and they contain an anti algae component. They use this stuff at featherdale and at the reptile park and sydney aquariums.HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roo Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Be very careful with using actual epoxy, polyester or vinylester resin over any type of paint. While it may hold and provide some protection, it will NOT stick and bond correctly. You would be better using pigment in the actual resin, a wide range of colours is available. Also epoxy gets milky if you work it too much. A good idea is to heat the resin by placing the container in front of a fan heater ( DO NOT PLACE IT IN FRONT OF A BAR HEATER OR GAS HEATER, unless you dont mind the house burning down ) till it goes really runny then mix harder in, and brush on, this avoids the need to pull and push excessively with the brush. The milkyness is a result of too much oxygen in the resin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Hi Ed, I left the tank empty for a couple of weeks before adding water...I don't know for sure what the actual curing time is but I'm sure it will be on the tin somewhere. All of the sealers called "Pond Seal", "Clear Seal", "Dampex" etc. smell, act and look like watered down PVA wood glue...they ALL went milky even after several weeks curing time . The advice given about adding colour to the epoxy are good...I also added sand for a textured finish. You can use the dye that you buy from the supermarket (I forget the name at the moment ) or the powder used to colour mortar. As roo has already pointed out, don't smoke etc. near the stuff whilst you are mixing it or applying it merjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roo Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 just a short note, once Epoxy based stuff goes milky, it stays millky. Hence why you need to avoid it happening in the first place. It is normally only a problem when using it clear. I would agree that Sand sprinkled on the epoxy is the best option as it looks awesome when hard. You can use food colouring also. ( cheaper than buying the actual pigment, however the get the richness of colour you will need a fair bit, in some cases more than is good for the resin.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrian2 Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 cbrian, sorry to hijack your post. Hi Fins, that's all right...I actually liked the topic u r talking about... Besides I wanted to find out whether a paint could be used for a rock background as I am thinking of making one. Background that is made of styrofoam and cement. BTW do u have to glue the rock background to the glass? Is the weight of cement heavy enough to make the styrofoam sink? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roo Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 I would silcon the whole thing to a large piece of slate, as it mostly flat and will hold it down, while still allowing you to move it around when it takes your fancy. Just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Thanks for the advice guys and gals. Food coloring sounds good, I think I'll try that. I'm only going to use it for the base color, and then overcoat it with sand. I may have stuffed it though because I already used one layer epoxy then one layer paint. I was about to start the layers of epoxy and sand, when I came back to read this post... it was too late.. I already layed down a layer of paint... What do you think I should do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Merjo or anyone else who might know, 1. Do you know if scoria is inert? 2. What's the best/quickest way of crushing scoria? I tried useing a hammer, but it will take me forever.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roo Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Do you know what type of paint it was? If it was Enamel paint , then you are kind of stuffed. The best you can hope for is to scuff up the surface with 40 grit sandpaper to try key the surface so that the epoxy can hold on. ( really give it a good going over) While it may not happen straight away, water will get in between the layers and lift the epoxy. For other paints follow the same procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Hi Ed, Scoria is basically inert...it may have some inclusions (salts) from its volcanic origin or secondary mineralisation (depending on its source - scoria is porous and may soak up mineral in liquid state). As for crushing it....a hammer and a sack is the only thing I can think of... merjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Ok thanks roo, Now I'm really crying yes, it was some kind of enamel. I think I will start over this will be my third attempt (don't ask about the 1st attempt. I may write up an article on what NOT to do ) Scoria sounds good Merjo, I think I might go and hammer a sack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Ok before I attempt it again, how's this sound? styrofoam layer of epoxy with tint (maybe multiple layers) layer of epoxy with crushed scoria (maybe multiple layers) will this be ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Hi Ed, I can't see any probs. with that method...if it were me I'd try to find some reddish sand to throw over the final scoria levelto add authenticity. As has been mentioned, polystyrene is really buoyant....the slate idea should work. merjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Yes, I had thought about the boyancy issue. I don't really want to use slate, due to weight, ease of working etc... What about perspex/acrylic sheet instead of styrofoam? I know it's relatively expensive, but it's only for one tank. Will epoxy bond ok to acrylic sheet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roo Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Ok where to start Heres what I would do, rather than start again get some paint stripper ( not the really caustic stuff, get the stuff that can be removed with water.) Strip of the paint , it will come of really easy. Just let it bubble and scrape off. The epoxy should be ok. After this scrub the thing with heaps of water and a sponge. ( i mean heaps) make sure all the excess strripper is off. Let it dry ( and again I mean dry) then recoat with epoxy. When you use epoxy you need to to sand between coats. ( only a light sand is required, maybe 120grit or even 240grit) After this has cured 24 hours min. Recoat and apply all the outside stuff you want ( including colour) As for you question of whether Epoxy will stick to acrylic sheet , I am assuming you are refering to perspex, then the answer is NO. It may hold on to it, providing you scuff it up and provide something for the epoxy to hold. But as for actually sticking it is a NO. If you dont like the Slate idea, you could always buy some fibreglass woven mat and actually glass the sculpture first then dig all the polystyrene out , so that you are left with a hollow structure that will sink. You could even leave a flange on it and place rocks on it to hold it in place. Just some ideas. Ps: If it is big enough you could just hollow out the foam so it is about 25mm thick and fill with water then silicone a flat sheet of polystyrene foam to the bottom. This will sink providing the inside volume containing the water is a lot more than the surface area of the polystyrene. Which shouldn't be a problem in most cases. As I have no idea of the size you are talking about, so it is hard to tell if this method would work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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