Type of Paint

[dbrodeur]

I'm a newbie in keeping and caring for discus. So far, I've been doing a lot of reading. My latest research is painting your fish tank. With the info in mind, I went to Lowe's today to buy paint. I asked the sale rep for a qt of acrylic or latex True Turquoise. I cannot use spray cans b/c my tank is in the house and it's too big to move around. To my surprised, the rep asked what is it that I'm painting. After I told him, he said no paint will permanently stick to glass, within weeks or months it will peel off. Needless to say, I didn't buy any paint. I don't understand it b/c other SD members have done it and with great success, especially Bill63SG. Did I asked for a wrong type of paint, or did the sale person gave me a run around? Is there special type of acrylic or latex paint that I should be asking for? Can someone please assist me. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

[jjgunshot]

I used acrylic based paint just from dollar store as it will adhere to the glass but if u scratch it with anything it will come off right away....The lowes guy is right yes that it wont stick but thats only if u scrape anything against it....Its great stuff tbh. When u want to change colour just get straight edge razor and scrape off and paint again :P takes no time at all

[dbrodeur]

jjgunshot,

Thank you for your reply. I'm going to test it out on a small scale b4 I paint the whole back, just wanted to see how easy it can be scratch off. Once my tank is painted, I'm not planning on doing any touch up or repainting b/c it's a 300g, 6K+ lbs when full ops.

[cooksa]

I painted mine with a water based indoor paint. Haven't had issues with peeling, even where the paint was chipped after the fact. The best part? If you don't like the color, peel it off and start all over!

[dbrodeur]

Stacey,

Thank you for the info, other members talked a lot about acrylic or latex. I'll definitely look into it.

[troysdiiscus]

I use to be a store manager at Lowes, the paint person is right, because it is a smooth surface, the paint has nothing to adhere to: however; I have painted my 110 gallon back and bottoms with acrylic indoor paint. Everyone here is right, be careful because it will adhere just not holding, so be careful when moving and hooking equipment to the back not to scratch it. The beauty is you can be easy to remove to repaint another color....

[Bill63SG]

Just paint it with a latex,be careful if you have filters on the back,like ac70,ac110,it will chip or scratch.And yes,when you decide on a different color,warm water and a razor blade will take it off eassy.Aftr the fact,if you chip it,just reach behind and slap some more paint on it.

[Kirbs]

I just used Behr interior Latex from Home Depot. Worked great, but it does come off really easy! I need to do a little touch up on one tank!

[dbrodeur]

Thank you all for your responses. It can be done but the key is "be careful." That's enough reassurance for me to go back and get my paint.

[Curt]

I just had a similar question. I painted mine with interior base latex paint a couple days ago. You may need multiple coats i did 5 on my tank. It will scratch and peel but makes it great to do a color change.

Curt

[Ryan]

Multiple coats is the key. All my tanks are painted with flat interior latex paint. I tape off the trim and roll it on with a roller. The first coat will be spotty but each subsequent coat will smooth it out. Let it dry for a few hours between each coat until it's dry to the touch before you start the next one. Usually if you're using a light color (most of my discus tanks were light blue) it takes maybe 5 coats to get a smooth, even cover that you cannot see sunlight/tank light through.

A lot of my tanks' paint jobs are scratched and banged up from filters and being moved around, but some of them have been painted for 8+ years and it still looks perfectly fine aside from the nicks. You could touch them up but if the scratches are not very large they won't be that noticeable.

[dbrodeur]

Curt and Ryan,

Thank you for the info. Five coats is definitely manageable as long as the paint stick around for yrs not mos or wks.