Aquarium Decor Materials?

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Pepito

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 3, 2008
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Phoenix, AZ
There is a ton of information here on building tanks and filters themselves, but I was wondering about the decor itself. Building tanks is definitely something I wanna do in the future, but for now...

I have some ideas for making interesting decorations, backdrops, etc. Obviously acrylic would be a good material as most of the giant tanks made around here are acrylic. But what about painting it? What sorts of paints would be waterproof and safe for the tank's inhabitants? I've heard "lead-free" is all I should worry about, but I want to make sure.

I'm wondering if there's anything I should worry about concerning other plastics (urethane), vinyls, concrete, resins, or any other materials. Would these materials leech bad things into the water? Would they possibly alter the pH? Would certain materials behave differently in saltwater as compared to fresh?

Thanks in advance, guys!

Last time I've logged into this account is over a year ago. Right around the time I lost a lot of my excess spending money. XD
 
Krylon Fusion is aquarium safe paint... and from I can tell, is lead based. I have Krylon Fusion painted PVC parts in my tank and its been holding up better than I would have ever expected. Really awesome paint.

I don't know much about what plastics are ok, or resins, or anything like that. But I do know a bit about the wood types that are safe. Basically, if its a sappy wood like pine, then it is not safe.
 
I can't actually find any info as to whether or not it's lead based, but if it's worked for you it's definitely something to look into.

I hadn't considered wood, so that's handy to know! I might not use any, but it never hurts to know about it.

I'm going to be making molds and filling them with my chosen material and painting them. Mold making is something I know, but water and fish safety is something I'm still a newbie to.
 
Just thought I would mention I am using krylon fusion paint on one of my DIY decor items now.. I also used a hot glue gun for the adhesive but heard it didn't last when submerged so I painted the glue with krylon fusion paint also... so far it has been holding up great. Might be something to painting over the glue to keep it all together
 
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