Overflow Covers....just made them

[gnashty]

My overflows are slowly getting nasty stuff including hair algae all up in em...

Finally decided to make some overflow covers out of some scrap acrylic. I used some krylon rustolium black spray paint to darken them so no light gets thru. do you think they are safe to use since i used spray paint? I plan to let them dry for several days before I put them in place and dont PLAN on getting them wet but wanted to see what yall thought about the spray paint aspect....thoughts?

I was going to use black clip boards but after looking for them (lazily) locally I didnt find any so I went DIY..

 

[gmpolan]

I use krylon all the time, durso pipe, drains, etc and never had a problem with the water chemistry thus far

 

[gwhiz]

gmpolan;599581 wrote: I use krylon all the time, durso pipe, drains, etc and never had a problem with the water chemistry thus far

yep...have a Krylon painted acrylic cover over my overflow right now....

 

[misu]

gmpolan;599581 wrote: I use krylon all the time, durso pipe, drains, etc and never had a problem with the water chemistry thus far

I did this too on some of the pipes that touch the water

 

[jhutto]

black clipboards work and they keep the algae down big time.

 

[gnashty]

these were free! well not free, just leftovers from anothe project. just put a 3rd coat on them so they are nice and dark.....im gonna stomp out this algae situation dang it!! just switched out my carbon/gfo - cut the daylights off for a couple days (not actinic) and am getting ready for a 70 gal water change.

 

[crewdawg1981]

Mayhaps a stupid question... but what'd you cut them out with? How did you get the curve right?

 

[gnashty]

Amici;599650 wrote: I know that its confirmed Krylon FUSION thats made for plastic is ok. Something with anti-rust agents makes me worried if its in water but I would think that you should be ok on the cover.

so Ill need to use more GFO? :lol2:

Crewdawg1981;599653 wrote: Mayhaps a stupid question... but what'd you cut them out with? How did you get the curve right?

my overflows are rectangle, no curves

 

[tgriffin]

Crewdawg1981;599653 wrote: Mayhaps a stupid question... but what'd you cut them out with? How did you get the curve right?

I cut mine (curved) with a jigsaw and used a blade that was for metal/plastic. It was very fine toothed

 

[acroholic]

Actually, the black plastic clipboards from OfficeMax are cheap, solid black, and cut great with a Dremel. No painting required. And they don't degrade under 400 watt halides. I made mine about 2 1/2 years ago.

 

[cr500_af]

I have one in use currently (out of black acrylic) that a member was kind enough to make for me. It does exactly what I hoped it would do... no more toothbrush for the overflow slots!

 

[jef4y]

I went way ghetto with mine. Cardboard cutout on top of my glass top =) works GREAT.

 

[acroholic]

Here are a couple pics of the covers I made a few months ago for my Marineland Deep Dimension tanks. The Marineland overflows are like a quarter of a circle, so the covers can't simply sit on the overflow itself, like they can with AGA or Oceanic overflows, so I bent the small acrylic piece you see on it to the top trim profile, and attached it to the rear facing part of the overflow cover, and it stabilizes it. You can only make a 1/4 pie shaped cover and it will work without the clear acrylic piece, but it leaves a gap along the top of the overflow, and fish can get in. The small acrylic piece solves that issue.
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[markl]

Acroholic;599719 wrote: Actually, the black plastic clipboards from OfficeMax are cheap, solid black, and cut great with a Dremel. No painting required. And they don't degrade under 400 watt halides. I made mine about 2 1/2 years ago.

I made mine after seeing your post a while back. clipboard and a Dremel worked great.