Will Painting Kill My Fish?

[ThePipingSheriff]

It's Murphy's Law for sure. I just get a new salt tank runnung and my wife wants to change the color of the living room. A few years ago I read a post of a guy that was having problems with his tank. I seem to recall it came down to him being a heavy smoker. The air filter was taking the smoke filled air from the room and pumping it into the tank and messing things up.
When this painting takes place, and it will, my air filter will be pumping odors and fumes from the room into the tank. Are today's interior paints harmless enough or are tropical fish hearty enough to handle this? Can the air that is being put into the tank be purified cheaply?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[ajs2294]

It's Murphy's Law for sure. I just get a new salt tank runnung and my wife wants to change the color of the living room. A few years ago I read a post of a guy that was having problems with his tank. I seem to recall it came down to him being a heavy smoker. The air filter was taking the smoke filled air from the room and pumping it into the tank and messing things up.
When this painting takes place, and it will, my air filter will be pumping odors and fumes from the room into the tank. Are today's interior paints harmless enough or are tropical fish hearty enough to handle this? Can the air that is being put into the tank be purified cheaply?

Thanks for any advice.

Im not sure the effect of air borne toxins in water, but you could just turn the air pump off for a few days while the fumes are in the air

 

[shelaghfishface]

women eh!

ive seen this question quite a few times, but for the life of me i cant remember the advice that was given.. will the job wait till the summer when you can fully ventilate the room?

im sure a few of the boys have the answer for you so heres a bump up

 

[kribensis12]

It can put toxins into your tank. Every time my mom paints my room (seems about every 2 years), I have to take the tank(s) down and move them into a different part of the house. Speaking of painting, my mom wants to repaint AND put new flooring in the two rooms in the house that have fish tanks in them.

 

[juggernuts]

Personally, I would simply follow AJS and just turn the air pump off, if its oxygen your worried about just raise your filter slightly to aggitate the water for the time being. Only a couple of days it saves having to move anything etc

good luck regardless

 

[Tolak]

Interior latex paint, a water based product, produces little fumes. Provide some room ventilation, turn off any filters, and cover the tank with plastic to be on the safe side. A few hours being off won't cause any problems with your nitrifying bacteria, if you are heavily stocked keep an eye out for any low O2 problems such as gasping at the surface.

I've painted around tanks with no problems many times, as well as having used pvc cement, and paint thinner to remove tile adhesive. Ventilation is your biggest thing, fresh air in the room means fresh air to the fish.