Fish Room Color

[Joe Reefer]

As of right now its in primer, the color is going to be white. Finishing the room has been pretty slow lately, an hour here or there makes for the longest project in history. I will start a tank journal when the time comes.

[saltynuts]

go white in the room.but use a marine paint.
will stop water creeping in the walls!

[Joe Reefer]

Oh no, marine paint? I already bought paint.

[saltynuts]

take it back!

[Joe Reefer]

Is it really that necessary? or will regular paint suffice.

[danny zubot]

Is the room ventiliated? If not then marine paint is a must IMO, unless it's a huge room where the humidity won't effect it that much.

[Joe Reefer]

I have an exhaust fan in the room, the room itself is about 75 sqft. I am going to have the fan on a timer, what kind of interval do you think I should set it at? I was thinking 10 to 15 mins every hour or 2.

[BCOrchidGuy]

You'd be fine just doing a couple coats of Killz primer or another water proof primer. A nice neutral colour is good, red is proven to promote stress/angry feelings while softer colours promote sleep/relaxation. Good old generic white or off white is just plain non commital, it wont stress you out and it wont put you to sleep. Oh yeah, I'd go for flat, not glossy or you'll end up with glare off lights etc... just my two cents. I had my fish room done up in classy vapor barrier with pink insulation in the background, very hi tec and very trendy...

Doug

[dogboy]

Originally Posted by BCOrchidGuy

Oh yeah, I'd go for flat, not glossy or you'll end up with glare off lights etc...

You may get less glare but a flat finish is darn near impossible to wash and any water splash marks on the wall end up being super difficult to remove.

The walls in my basment were painted with a lower gloss flat finish and every time water dripped down the wall from a splash during maintenance left a mark behind--even after lots of scrubbing when i eventually took the tank down.

A little glare may be a trade off for a more cleanable surface IMO and IMWO (in my wife's opinion) who did most of the scrubbing

[mark]

When I set up the room for my sump used the green aquaboard, primed then top coat with CIL Dulux Kitchen and Bath Satin (very slight grey tint).

On the wall behind the sump near when the skimmer and returns discharge, I know I get a little salt on the wall. Just checked and see in a area the size of my palm the paint there is little rough, not bubbling but feels and looks a slightly bumpy. This is after close to a year and imagine only since it's continuesly exposed. Other areas where I know I've splashed water and wiped, no problems with marks and smooth.

Guess I'll get going on that cover.