Canopy Mold! Help

[myklein2]

I built I wooden canopy for my tank and it has mold growing on the inside of it. I have painted the entire inside of the hood but mold is growing on top of the paint.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to prevent mold from growing?

Is there a paint that will prevent mold from growing?

How about thompsons water seal on the interior of the hood?

I suppose I could keep my plastic cover on under the wooden canopy but it would be nice to have to open the wooden hood then the plastic to feed my fish.

Thanks for the help.

 

[paintballingajs]

Its done make a new one then treat it with thompsons or something like that. Once mold has grown its hard to get rid of.

 

[bob965]

Try some Kilz primer.

 

[KAWAMIKIE]

Bleach will kill the mold.
Vent the hood and use a glass top/cover on the tank.

 

[daveydoodle]

Agreed. Take the canopy off and bleach it lightly, but covering all surface areas. Let it completely dry (the bleach into the wood), and then while it's dry you could try resealing it. Importantly, find ways to vent the hood (small hole saw, pre fabricated vents look nice, etc). You could also add a small pocket fan to increase circulation and air flow which would decrease the moisture in the air from evaporation.

 

[Toby_H]

I just built a new canopy and had the same issue...

Try some Kilz primer.

My canopy is painted with several coats of Kilz and still has mold growing on it... I built a fishroom several years ago and painted the floor, ceiling and walls with Kilz. I feel this did impressively reduce the threat of mold, but I still got some in the corners that didn't have air flow.

Kilz is not the cure all end all to mold/mildew problems...

Vent the hood and use a glass top/cover on the tank.

This will work... But the reason I made this particular canopy was to reduce evaporation from the tank, to hold in heat and to reduce humidity in the house. Venting makes this canopy less effective at all fo those things.



My next attempt is going to be to scrub the canopy, bleach as recommended here, allow ample dry time (sun dry)... then coat with DryLock.

I've used DryLock to seal reptile enclosures and have found it can easily seal a wooden box to be 100% water tight. Thus I am extremely confident it can seal the canopy to prevent moisture from ever making it to the wood, thus preventing mold, mildew or warping from ever being a concern.

It will still be possible for mold to form on the Drylocked surface, but I'm not sure it will. I have Vivariums with 90%+ humidity and the DryLocked surfaces in it are not forming any mold, mildew or other growth.

 

[KAWAMIKIE]

Bleach will kill the mold.
Vent the hood and use a glass top/cover on the tank.

My canopy is painted with several coats of Kilz and still has mold growing on it... I built a fishroom several years ago and painted the floor, ceiling and walls with Kilz. I feel this did impressively reduce the threat of mold, but I still got some in the corners that didn't have air flow.

Kilz is not the cure all end all to mold/mildew problems...
This will work... But the reason I made this particular canopy was to reduce evaporation from the tank, to hold in heat and to reduce humidity in the house. Venting makes this canopy less effective at all for those things.

My next attempt is going to be to scrub the canopy, bleach as recommended here, allow ample dry time (sun dry)... then coat with DryLock.

I've used DryLock to seal reptile enclosures and have found it can easily seal a wooden box to be 100% water tight. Thus I am extremely confident it can seal the canopy to prevent moisture from ever making it to the wood, thus preventing mold, mildew or warping from ever being a concern.

It will still be possible for mold to form on the Drylocked surface, but I'm not sure it will. I have Vivariums with 90%+ humidity and the DryLocked surfaces in it are not forming any mold, mildew or other growth.

Mold grows on almost everything, regardless of coatings. Kilz (primer) is for painting over existing mold not for keeping it away. It then allows it to be paint able and keeps the mold from bleeding through the paint.
If the underside of the canopy cant breathe you will never stop mold from growing in there.


A glass top will reduce evaporation and heat loss.

 

[chemicall]

MY canopy is a wooden frame, with glass sitting on the wooden frame. When I first set it up there was moisture buildup, So I used a old power pack off a dlink router and a 80MM pc fan blowing out of the canopy. Now no moisture sits or builds inside my canopy