Mold, Moisture & Rust in Canopy/Hood - HELP!

[Miles]

Okay so I thought it was just the previous owner's mistake.. but I can't seem to stop it from getting worse? The tank is a 60x18 acrylic TruVu, and has openings on the back for HOB filtration. I use canister, and left these slots open. I also run a big bubble disc so obviously that is creating the humidity.

I've tried Plastic Saran Wrap, but it gets nasty after a while and sometimes the condensation will build up and leak over the back of the tank causing water streaks.. (I don't really care but still this isn't good practice) ..

Does anyone have ideas for what they use to keep the canopy dry? I don't use lots of bright lighting because I am QT'ing some juvie rays in it..

Should I install a tiny fan of some sorts?

Should I use a rubber lining in the canopy?

Should I paint/seal it with something.. ? I am especially worried about the rusting hinges, as they will flake off rusty particles into the tank

 

[Miles]

Bump for ideas?

 

[brianp]

The hinges will have to be replaced with either stainless steel or plastic hinges. Go to TAP Plastic and get a two-part liquid epoxy and a can of acetone. Combine epoxy components and mix well. Then dilute with acetone to form a low viscosity epoxy for saturating the wood. Apply two coats to wood and allow to cure. The guys at TAP can tell you how to do this. Basically, you are following a procedure to restore rotted wood. Alternatively, I guess you can simply mix the epoxy components together and apply to the canopy w/o the acetone. Either approach should work. After the epoxy cures, the canopy will be fully waterproof. If you don't like the gloss finish, you can either add a deglosser to the epoxy or finish off with a coat of satin polyurethane spray.

 

[chesterthehero]

or since its the inside of the canopy and you cant really see it you can just "paint" it with silicone.... i did the top of my stand like this.. i found a creditcard works best to get it mostly even then i just used a three ring binder to smooth it out one last time... so far so good..

 

[ITHURTZ]

coat it with some fiberglass resin

 

[LiuHsi]

no canopy for me... its a qt tank right?

 

[WyldFya]

Polyurethane will do the job, so will fiberglass resin, or epoxy paint. I prefer the polyurethane.

 

[Miles]

I think I am going to go with the Poly Epoxy stuff that we used on our countertops.. and get some heavy duty stainless steel hinges.

Thanks guys.