IN WALL REEF. HOW TO PROTECT DRYWALL ?

[427HISS]

The last time I did nothing but paint, and the salt spray ate up several inch's around the tank, but also the exposed edges.

I thought of acrylic sheet, but isn't their something cheaper and/or better or some type of real tough wall paper ?

 

[Paul B]

Can you install water resistant sheetrock or is it already up?

 

[DLHDesign]

I think what you want is to surround the area with "cement board" instead of standard drywall. That's what's used in bathrooms, kitchens, and other wet areas.

If your walls are already up, you can look into "marine board" or "marine paint". There are also sheets of thin plastic that Lowes/HomeDepot sell that you could try (sorry; can't find a link right now...).

 

[Paul B]

Cement board is used in bathrooms if you want to install tile over it. Regular water resistant sheetrock is used in bathrooms if you just want to paint it or put up vinyl. It is called Green Board.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

Proper ventilation goes a long way too. Think along the lines of exhaust fans moving air outside.

We use a lot of FRP sheet (on top of green board) in installations as well.

 

[427HISS]

Yes, the wallboard is already up, as the living room wall backed up to a bedroom, that I have change it as the aquarium room back in the 90's, and returning it back one again, this time was the office.
So, I could replace a section with one, maybe two 4x8 sheet's of green board or maybe use marine paint ?

 

[DLHDesign]

Caveat: I've never used the marine paint. I was looking to solve a similar problem and ran across that as a possible solution - but never tried it.

 

[donnievaz]

You could tile over the drywall. Would make for easy cleanup.

 

[427HISS]

Proper ventilation goes a long way too. Think along the lines of exhaust fans moving air outside.

We use a lot of FRP sheet (on top of green board) in installations as well.

What is FRP ?

 

[427HISS]

You could tile over the drywall. Would make for easy cleanup.

It would look and clean up great, but Idon't have the time, plus this is in the fish room, so function is more important than the look. For now,....anyway.

 

[427HISS]

How about the roll on or spray, rubber coating like "Flex Steel", amoung other brands ?

Or even garage floor epoxy coatings ?

I won't try it as the smell and vapor would be too much for our Cockatoo bird and the reef tanks. Regular paint was bad enough.

 

[Reef Stallion]

When I had my in wall tank, I ripped the dry wall out.

 

[427HISS]

Well,.....what did you do then ? Lol.....

 

[Reef Stallion]

I had my tank in wall under a staircase. The ventilation around the tank improved. No one saw inside that area anyway. Made it easier to fish wires etc.

 

[427HISS]

I will look into plastic or fiberglass panels.
These look interesting.

http://www.pvc2go.co.uk/bathroom-panels.html

 

[NeptuneGarden]

Plastic will crack and degrade over time. Look into a sheet of thin stainless steel like used for back splashes behind stoves if you want something that will last for years and clean easily.

 

[ReefQueen]

OT, but can I ask what kind of paint you used that was bird safe?

 

[427HISS]

We moved her night cage into another area and left the window open for several days.

"Shelby, My Mechanic Helper

"

 

[427HISS]

Plastic will crack and degrade over time. Look into a sheet of thin stainless steel like used for back splashes behind stoves if you want something that will last for years and clean easily.

That would be expensive and would not go with the room. Cool idea though.

 

[Salty1962]

I think what you want is to surround the area with "cement board" instead of standard drywall. That's what's used in bathrooms, kitchens, and other wet areas.

If your walls are already up, you can look into "marine board" or "marine paint". There are also sheets of thin plastic that Lowes/HomeDepot sell that you could try (sorry; can't find a link right now...).

I used the cement backing and it is nice. Major pain to cut