Spray Paint

[mr.maroonsalty]

I want to make black the 3 1/2" glass sides for a terrace Im building for sand loving fishes. People say Krylon "seems like it is ok." Any opinions? I've also seen the idea to use a layer of black silicone. Whatever I use it will be on the sandbed side.

 

[blanden.adam]

I've used krylon on PVC with no ill effects, but I don't know if it would bond the same way to glass. I don't think it would be any more toxic simply because it's on glass, but I don't know if it would stick well enough to be under water in the long run.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

How about thin black acrylic panels? Or black static-cling vinyl on the outside of the tank?

Paint always seems like a poor solution to me for things like blacking out glass. If it doesn't stick well enough it'll look bad. If it sticks TOO well you'll be swearing at yourself if/when you change your configuration and need to scrape it off.

 

[qadaemon]

I'm not sure exactly how you are intending to make the parts you want to paint, as I'm new to the idea of a terrace (a drawing would help me) but if there is a way to paint the "exterior" (the side away from the water and inhabitants) the results will usually be much better, as the imperfections will be masked by the light reflecting through the glass, and the scratching will be minimized. The Krylon fusion works well for painting plastics, including acrylic and PVC, and after it dries, all reports I have seen, and my own experience shows it to be harmless to the inhabitants.

For painting glass, I use the regular Krylon (or other "regular" spray paint), as it is a bit more durable than the Krylon fusion, but fusion will stick, if that's all you have available. It will take several more thin coats of paint to cover a transparent/translucent material than wood, metal, or the like, so make sure you get enough.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

Picture a trapezoid: the back of the tank between the bulkheads is the long side, 2 12" sides are the diagonals and a flat 12" front side (the angle sides extend from the center of the overflow boxes, but it doesn't change a the idea) the trapezoid will hold 3 1/2" soft sand, at least 3/4 of the tank will be barebottom. The tank has a black back, black overflows, and I painted the bottom black from the underside; the terrace sides will look great black. I like coralline; it is a great indicator of water quality. Sooner or later only the three viewing panels will be clean. I plan to only color the inside so whatever the coating it won't see abuse from the outside.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

I could care less if it Krylon or something else; I just want it safe! Maybe I'll stick with the silicone plan I'm not rushing to get water in so what if I give it a week to cure.

 

[SkiFletch]

So wait, will this be placed under water? And will it be subject to any kind of sand/scraping/cleaing ever? Once the paint is dry and all it's VOC's are gone, it's fine to use, but it doesn't stick well to glass at all. Even pretty poorly to most plastics. So if you're ever scraping it, it's just going to flake right off. If we're talking the outside of the tank on the back, go nuts. If you want something black and submerged, I always reccomend using a piece of black acrylic.

 

[qadaemon]

Sounds pretty cool; I'd be interested in seeing it once complete. I'd agree with SkiFletch, if it's going to be in-tank in a manner that substrate, or something else can get to it, black acrylic would be the better way to go, though likely more expensive.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

I had the wood stove cooking today so I baked on three coats of enamel and caulked them in. I've seen a few sandbeds through the glass and most of the time they don't move around very much. Silicone doesn't fix very well to acrylic; this being a short nearly free standing structure pretty much ruled it out unless I was going to bend it and use only one piece. Placing acrylic behind seemed an ok solution, but how would I keep the very fine sand sand diving wrasses enjoy from getting in between? Last and perhaps the best choices was simply keeping it clear. For maintenance sake clear glass would be the best choice. I used black spray; I have plans to run my tile blade and try slicing lr and large rubble pieces so I can sg them to the terrace panels. I don't know how well the rocks will hold up to rhe saw. I wish I had a band saw that could handle the work.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

 

[qadaemon]

That's gonna be pretty cool looking, nice work!