Safe Paint/Foam

Hello all. I'm preparing to do some work on a vivarium for T. marmoratus and was wondering what paint would be safe to use. Also, I have seen people use the "spray foam" to fill in gaps and so on. Can I find this in a Home Depot or other home store like that? Thanks very much in advance...

Yes.

Brand Name is "Great Stuff".

After a bit of experimentation, I feel the "waterfall and pond" version is best. The foam is black and is definitely safe for animals. The regular honey colored foam WILL shrink when submerged or partially submerged. Unless it has been properly painted and sealed...


As for paint, I personally prefer Acrylics, of the brand name "Basics" from Liquitex. Avoid any paint colors made with copper or copper oxides, like most greens and blues.

Thanks very much. I can't wait to get started...

I tend to be somewhat suspicious of paints. I found a link to Liquitex's description of its "Basics" line:

http://www.liquitex.com/Products/paintcolorcharts/BasicsColorChart2007.pdf

They specify the pigments here, which should be helpful. My chemistry background is not adequate to pass judgment on the environmental toxicity of most of these colors, but I think I would avoid the cadmium based ones as well as the copper based ones. Perhaps there is a chemist who could comment.

-Steve Morse

Steve hit it on the head.

I totally forgot to mention cadmium and cobalt. It is best to check any pigment out before buying it.


I only use the Mars Black, Titanium White, and Raw Umber colors. With those three I can mix up just about any "stone" color I need.

as an illustrator, I use acrylic paints a lot and have talked to representatives of both Liquitex and GOLDEN acrylics. After acrylic has dried fully, chemicals are stuck within the polymer. however, extended submersion in water does eventually break down the polymers. the "basics" line is Lquitex's lower grade paint and I tend to avoid it because it has inferior consistency and coverage... but it's cheaper. Also, many acrylics are transparent or translucent and are designed for glazing not coverage... look at the labels, they usually let you know what the transparency of a color will be and whether or not it has any heavy metals.

the problem with any paint is that many of the pigments are derived from heavy metals. I don't even use cadmium based paints for illustrations because they are just too toxic.

Agreed. I ran into similar issues as a watercolor painter.

Given my paranoia with my pets, I coat all painted surfaces with a few coats of a submergance rated clear epoxy resin...even for non submerged surfaces. It takes a bit of research to find these. Different laws (VOC laws) in different states make it hard to really suggest one outright.

There are aquarium safe epoxy based paints available, however I found the minimum purchase amounts and cost to be prohibitive.

Any epoxy requires a minimum of 7 days curing time to meet EPA non-toxic standards. Even them, quite a few of them will have a "surface reaction" with water. All epoxy resins degrade in the presence of UV light.

Paints:
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/3048/Sweetwater-Epoxy-Paints-1-Gallon/Paint/0


Epoxy Sealers:
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/3051/Sweetwater-Epoxy-Gel-2-Gallons/Paint/0 (this is the one I use...)

It appears Krylon Brand Epoxy Enamel Spray Paints are safe also, depending on the pigments used.