Painting inside an overflow

[lastlight]

My tank builder gave me the remaining paint from when he painted the back of my tank black. It is an acrylic latex. I used this inside my external overflow to hide all my plumbing but after a few days of water circulation it started to peel in several lrge sheets.

Can someone recommend a material/piant to do this? I'd prefer a paint so the space looks the same as my tank back. A piece of acrylic plastic would work but def look quite a bit different from the rest of the tank.

- needs to be marine safe when it's dried
- not peel off glass
- prefer something i can brush on. getting in the overflow now is by brush only. spray paint would be VERY tough.

Thanks folks.

[sus]

I had the same thing happen to me. I used krylon fusion spray paint, and after a few days it started peeling.

I ended up riping the overflow out and using black acrylic...

[Bunifa]

Is there any reason you would need to paint it? Personally I wouldn't trust paint inside an aquarium.

[lastlight]

purely aesthetics.

I'd like the overflow not to stick out too much. I intend to clean the back of the tank to keep it nice and black. I've even considered coating the interior with black silicone. Good to know the Krylon won't work as I was considering it.

[Bunifa]

on my old 90 i painted the outside of the back, that way no paint comes in contact with the water, only the glass

[lastlight]

Just so it's clear:

the tank has an external overflow. The back of the tank is already painted black. The outsides of the external overflow are also painted black. I'm trying to paint/finish the back of the tank that is inside the overflow so you can't see into it. It should look as close to the rest of the back panel as possible...

[NanoReefWanabe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14814415#post14814415 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lastlight
Just so it's clear:

the tank has an external overflow. The back of the tank is already painted black. The outsides of the external overflow are also painted black. I'm trying to paint/finish the back of the tank that is inside the overflow so you can't see into it. It should look as close to the rest of the back panel as possible...

you might have good luck with limo black window tint...at the very least it is only plastic and shouldn't be all that bad in the tank...(not sure though) but would certainly trust it over any paint in my tank..cut and stick it and allow it to dry...

[jb61264]

Is there a reason your tank builder did not paint the entire back of your tank before adding the external overflow? Is the overflow an entirely separate "box" from the tank?...if so, couldn't the tank builder just remove the external overflow "box" and paint the surface and then reinstall the overflow box?

If the external overflow box uses the actual back of the tank for one of its walls, then I guess having the tank builder rebuild a box that has a separate piece that sits against the back of the tank may be a better choice? Yes, your bulkhead would have to go through two thicknesses of glass, but I think this would be MUCH better than exposing your reef to any short or long term paint degradation that will pollute your system with harmful chemicals.

Haven't had much experience with external overflows, but it seems like mounting a true "box" (versus three sides and using the tank as the fourth side of the box) would make more sense to allow the entire back of the tank to be painted so the box couldn't be seen

[lastlight]

Yeah that'd be a great idea (regarding the doubled panes).

The tank is 85% done being setup there is no chance to make such mods. I'm thinking a black piece of plexi is my best bet at this point. I'm sure it was built this way because you can't silicone an overflow box to a painted surface.

I wouldn't mind using the same paint again but coating over it with a marine epoxy to seal it in.

[jb61264]

Who is building your tank? The black plexi sounds like a really good option...anything will be better than exposing any surface of your reef to any paint :)

Don't know that much about paint surfaces...I'd be interested to hear if you really can't silicone something to a painted surface...seems like it really wouldn't matter much if a surface was spray painted black and then had another pane of glass siliconed to it, but I could be completely wrong.

Very interested to hear from someone in the know on that topic.

[hebygb]

I have a similar tank. I left the panel inside the overflow clear but painted all of the PVC black. I used Krylon Fusion as well and have had no peeling at all. The only difference may be that I have let this build set for over two months before getting it wet (I cant believe my patience on this build). The other part of the plan is that the clear part of the overflow will be mostly covered by LR wall.

pictures in gallery.

[jb61264]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14815651#post14815651 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hebygb
I have a similar tank. I left the panel inside the overflow clear but painted all of the PVC black. I used Krylon Fusion as well and have had no peeling at all. The only difference may be that I have let this build set for over two months before getting it wet (I cant believe my patience on this build). The other part of the plan is that the clear part of the overflow will be mostly covered by LR wall.

pictures in gallery. Just curious...do you actually have places in your setup where the Krylon Fusion is contacting your water then?

[hebygb]

Not on the wall (painted outside). But all PVC on the display side, as well as in the overflow has been painted with Krylon Fusion. Like the OP, in pursuit of aesthetics, I wanted all PVC in the tank to blend in with the background. Since the outside, as well as the components in the overflow are black. It is hardly noticeable. And most of that clear below the teeth) will be covered by a front to back sloping rock wall (a horse shoe tide pool).

[lastlight]

Yeah for me this is all about looks.

At this point I'm considering 2 options:

1) repaint with same paint on back of tank, silicone glass right up to it to seal the painted surface.

2) apply black silicone to the entire surface so it at least matches the existing silicone.

The way the tank was, you could see the silicone but it wasn't obvious at all.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/wet1.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/wet2.jpg

[jb61264]

This may seem a bit radical, but what about a thin piece of black acrylic mounted to the inside of the tank, one piece covering the entire back wall?

[lastlight]

Yeah I had that on my last tank. What I didn't like about this was the panel having very slight warp to it as it's not perfectly flat. It created some very ugly distortions. I also plan to keep the back clean so a razorblade will be used.

Thanks for the ideas thus far.

[hebygb]

Or maybe, since it looks like you are already running... I thin piece of black acrylic cut to fit in the overflow. You can choose to mirror the teeth of the overflow or just have the black piece stop at the bottom of the teeth. If you can dry out the overflow you can use weldon to join it with the clear. You would have to be REALLY careful to avoid bubbles.

[hebygb]

I would reccomend not using a razor on an acrylic tank. No matter how careful you are, you could be setting yourself up for a disapointing mar.

[hebygb]

Can you share some details about the skin for your stand? As you can see from my gallery that that is one of my next steps. I purshased a butt load of magnets to hold panels... but havent made a decision yet on the panels themselves.

[lastlight]

Guys it's a glass tank =)

My stand is just a plywood shell with tile on it.

[LooseHip]

a piece of black acrylic cut to the size of you overflow would probably be the easiest way.