PAINT flat or gloss, toxic release?

[mth1993]

I am looking at painting the back of my 72 gal bow front prior to setting it up. I am thinking of using bin water based primer tinted black or blue. Does it matter whether the paint is flat or gloss, since it will viewed through the glass? Any thoughts on the choice of paint?

Toxic release? I am thinking of painting the top plastic area of my tank, white. Only the part that is out of the water and under the hood. My thought is that I am going to have almost 700 watts of light (2*250w mh + 2*96w cf) and do not want the black plastic to absorb heat and get soft. I am especially worried about the thin cross brace. Any thoughts? Will the same bin primer work? do I need to worry about splashes of water coming on to the paint and releasing toxic junk into the tank?

 

[keeperofthefish]

First off, the black plastic will not absorb heat and get soft. I wouldn't paint it. I know people who have even more light than that and have had zero problems. Just check on the cross brace now and again. Just be sure that if you're using HQI halides you have a lens in front of them. Otherwise, their UV could eat the plastic. I really wouldn't repaint that plastic. If you must, use a marine epoxy paint, but make sure it doesn't have any anti-fouling agents in it.

For the back of the tank, a black or blue acrylic are ideal. Water based tends to be more inert, but again it doesn't really matter on the back of the tank. People use enamel, also. It doesn't matter much if it is flat or gloss. I used flat on mine and it looks good. I've seen gloss on others and it can get more reflections in it, if that's a concern.