How to black out glass refugium baffles?

[aquaman30k]

I've painted drain piping that was fully submerged for over two years using plain old Rust-Oleum with no issue to the livestock or tank in general. I will say that the paint did become brittle and was easier to flake off after a few years.

 

[RedoubtReef]

question I have is, why paint them?

 

[Ducky0129]

Why not use the silicone baking black mats that you can buy on-line since we know silicone is safe in salt water tanks?

 

[Iceman001]

If your tank is running, I would cut a piece of black acrylic and use a magnet to secure it in place.
If not I'll silicon the acrylic to the baffle

 

[aquaman30k]

question I have is, why paint them?

The manufacture had external overflows on a clear back panel. A little hard to get in the overflow to put any kind of backing to hide the inside of the overflow.

 

[RedoubtReef]

you could check with a local acrylic supplier to see if they can provide you a thin panel that you could then attach with silicone.

 

[BigJohnny]

Why not use the silicone baking black mats that you can buy on-line since we know silicone is safe in salt water tanks?

Interesting concept, my only concerns would be 1. I don't think silicone bonds to silicone so not sure how I'd attach it to the glass and 2. I believe those are used for heat insulation and could possibly raise the temp in the refugium area.

 

[reef_junkie]

Quote from krylon:

"Thank you for contacting Krylon.

Unfortunately, we do not recommend any of our products to be applied below the water line. None of our products are immersion-rated or waterproof. Our products may last for a time under water, but there is no guarantee as to how long the will hold up.

Additionally, we have nothing that is FDA approved, which is important in terms of ingestion. Our products may harm the aquarium life.

I wish you the best of success with your search for a compatible product. Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Regards,

Daniel
Krylon Product Support"

GE also clearly states that none of their silicone is aquarium safe but we all know better. It's a liability thing.

 

[BigJohnny]

GE also clearly states that none of their silicone is aquarium safe but we all know better. It's a liability thing.

Where do they clearly state that? Also some of it is not, #2 for example.

 

[peterj66]

An option would be to use black silicone as "paint" . I think thats the most common way to paint underwater aquarium surfaces here in Sweden at least.