MINIMAL
Aquarium Advice Freak
So I have an acrylic 125g SeaClear System II that I bought and jsut finished resurfacing due to a ton of deep scratches. I only had one issue left to solve, the fact that I am using it for a planted freshwater, and it has a bright blue background that is where the internal sump is housed. Sure I thought about Krylon Fusion, then was skeptical because of possible flaking and scratches down the road, not to mention the risk of overspray. Then I thought about a foam/concrete rockwall for the back, but since this is a flat back hex, the angles would be hard, not to mention the tank has small openings at the top which would limit the sizing of the pieces I could make outside the tank, then the risk of concrete leeching and raising the PH when you have several hundred dollars of discus threw that idea out as well.
Then I got to thinking.... I have used plasti dip for a 1000 things around the house like cell phone cases, laptop cases, many things on my car, etc.
I mean it’s just rubber with aerosol in it, as krylon fusion is just paint with aerosol in it. So once it dries, there is nothing left except rubber, and since rubber is aquarium safe, this should be as well right? So I sat out to melt my brain on google to find stories of first hand use. Of course I found a plethora of skeptics discrediting the product, only to later say they have never tried it, but wouldn’t advise using it. Then several people saying they have used it on spray bars, overflows, and coating of electrical cords. However nobody mentioned a large area of usage inside the tank, so I was still cautious. So I went to the plasti dip site, and right there just left of center, it says for aquarium use, animal cage use, etc….again me being overly cautious, I wanted further verification and validation of what the company meant by aquarium use, because this could mean outside, along the edges, etc. So I contacted them, and explained to them exactly what I wanted to do, and questioned the leeching and inertness of it after it has cured. Below is a screenshot of the e-mail from plasti dip. Not only does this make things a whole lot easier because overspray literally peels off, but if I want to change colors, or simply remove it, I can just peel it off. No worries about scratches, flaking, etc. either.
I have about 100 more ideas of ways I could use it inside the tank too, as I am sure most of you do now as well. Post your ideas and photos below if you actually use the product, and I will do the same. I think this really opens the door to some great possibilities.
Then I got to thinking.... I have used plasti dip for a 1000 things around the house like cell phone cases, laptop cases, many things on my car, etc.
I mean it’s just rubber with aerosol in it, as krylon fusion is just paint with aerosol in it. So once it dries, there is nothing left except rubber, and since rubber is aquarium safe, this should be as well right? So I sat out to melt my brain on google to find stories of first hand use. Of course I found a plethora of skeptics discrediting the product, only to later say they have never tried it, but wouldn’t advise using it. Then several people saying they have used it on spray bars, overflows, and coating of electrical cords. However nobody mentioned a large area of usage inside the tank, so I was still cautious. So I went to the plasti dip site, and right there just left of center, it says for aquarium use, animal cage use, etc….again me being overly cautious, I wanted further verification and validation of what the company meant by aquarium use, because this could mean outside, along the edges, etc. So I contacted them, and explained to them exactly what I wanted to do, and questioned the leeching and inertness of it after it has cured. Below is a screenshot of the e-mail from plasti dip. Not only does this make things a whole lot easier because overspray literally peels off, but if I want to change colors, or simply remove it, I can just peel it off. No worries about scratches, flaking, etc. either.
I have about 100 more ideas of ways I could use it inside the tank too, as I am sure most of you do now as well. Post your ideas and photos below if you actually use the product, and I will do the same. I think this really opens the door to some great possibilities.
