Painting near display tank - is this a safe plan?

[bdubble]

Next week, we will be painting the room where my 120 gal reef display tank is located. The painting will take approx. 2 days, possibly 3. We will be using a low VOC paint (Sherwin Williams Duration). When we did some test painting for color, I could barely notice any smell at all...though I'm not sure if the low VOC/low smell has anything to do with safety of the reef tank.

I have a basement sump with skimmer...no painting will occur in the basement. My plan is to seal off the display tank with plastic/tape and close the door to the basement to keep any fumes away from the sump. We will also keep windows open upstairs and ceiling fans running where the painting is being done. My thought is that the skimmer will provide enough aeration for the tank for 2 days. A few questions...

1. does this generally sound like a safe plan?
2. can I seal off the tank for 2 days, or would it be best to open the plastic in the evenings for a while to allow some exchange of air/gases?
3. regarding lighting and heat build-up (I use all T-5 lighting, but the canopy still gets pretty warm)...would it be a problem for the livestock if I leave the lights off for 2 days to avoid too much heat build-up under the plastic?
4. am I making too much of the concern? I have heard some people say it's a concern, others say if you just keep paint out of the tank, you will be fine...I would like to take the 'better safe than sorry' approach but also don't want to take unnecessary precautions.

Thanks in advance for any advice/input.

 

[HighlandReefer]

The only problems I have seen on this forum regarding paint type fumes was from polyurathane applied to floors. Definitely petroleum based paints can be a problem. The water bases have not seemed to produce problems.

As far a covering you aquarium, if you can hook up an air pump on the exterior & run it to your skimmer this can help. If you wrap the tank up tight, I would watch your occupants for signs of distress (gasping for air). Puting fans in windows to draw air out of the house would be good to get the paint fumes out as quickly as possible.

 

[bertoni]

I agree with watching for signs of oxygen depletion or a lack of aeration. The air pump from outside would be handy. It doesn't even need to go into the water. Just getting plenty of fresh air over the tank would be a good safety measure, IMO.

 

[bdubble]

Thanks, guys. I will see what I can do about the air pump. Maybe sealing the tank up tight is too much of a risk...(try to solve one problem but create another bigger problem).

maybe a better plan is to cover the tank but not seal it...then adjust powerheads for less flow and surface agitation upstairs to reduce likelihood of mixing in too much paint fumes...then add a couple of powerheads in the sump in the sump to increase aeration down there. what do you think?

 

[bertoni]

I'm not sure, actually. People have varying experiences with painting, although I agree that the oil-based paints seem more dangerous.