Paint to seal duct work in fish mechanical room

[chicago]

Need some help.. 20 years ago when I did the fish mechanical room I did not take into account the amount of moisture in the air. The room has a pretty good fan that exports air to the outside but we are talking 20 years... the ducts in his room..open ceiling so I can see them,, has some pretty good rust on the tops.. plan is to vacuum it out and then paint.. need some recommendations for paint. Rust oleum or plain acrylic. Or ? Thanks

Maybe this

BEHR 1 Gal. Red Direct-to-Metal Gloss Interior/Exterior Paint 821001 - The Home Depot

BEHR PREMIUM Direct-To-Metal Interior/Exterior Gloss Red Paint is 100% acrylic and provides excellent corrosion and flash rust resistance. Engineered for excellent adhesion to a variety of properly prepared

www.homedepot.com

 

[chicago]

Better yet. High heat.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-Gloss-High-Heat-Black-Interior-Exterior-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-32-fl-oz/1000459777?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-pnt-_-google-_-lia-_-219-_-spraypaint-_-1000459777-_-0&placeholder=null&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-4jjz5Kj7gIVR_HACh21nAJ9EAQYBCABEgLoa_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[chicago]

So came up with this plan some primer and then paint.. made for heavy duty areas and the primer adheres to rust

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rust-Oleum-Professional-White-Flat-Oil-based-Enamel-Interior-Exterior-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-32-fl-oz/3069751

Followed by this for heavy duty environments

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rust-Oleum-Professional-White-Semi-gloss-Oil-based-Enamel-Interior-Exterior-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-32-fl-oz/3078183

 

[Apotack]

make sure you have strong ventilation in the fish room for the paint fumes, oil based paint fumes can get pretty strong

 

[chicago]

ok.. that is a concern... thank you for reminding me of that issue..

now I am thinking need to find a good low VOC paint .. back to acrylic... just notice the drop ceiling framing has rust all over also... not so good.

 

[danzig]

Better yet. High heat.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-Gloss-High-Heat-Black-Interior-Exterior-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-32-fl-oz/1000459777?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-pnt-_-google-_-lia-_-219-_-spraypaint-_-1000459777-_-0&placeholder=null&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-4jjz5Kj7gIVR_HACh21nAJ9EAQYBCABEgLoa_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I am an hvac tech, no need for high heat paint. The ducts will never get that hot. Stick with a low voc latex paint, try flat black and you wont even notice the ducts there anymore.

 

[chicago]

Thanks you for the response. I ended up going with kilz 2. Kilz 2. Not the original. Kilz 2. Has no odor. I did turn off the skimmers. Too of ducts in mechanical room had heavy rust. Vacuumed as best I could. Paint seems to be binding with remaining ok and seems to adhere to the ducts. Will put on a view coats and the. Decide on a finish paint. Again not original kilz. But kilz2 which does advertise to bind to metal. And the no odor. Was a huge plus.

 

[chicago]

The next issue to make sure seals are good. Wife can smell the fish odor. The supplies run through the. Mechanical room and I think are sucking or something is gojng on.

 

[danzig]

The next issue to make sure seals are good. Wife can smell the fish odor. The supplies run through the. Mechanical room and I think are sucking or something is gojng on.

Ensure all ductwork, especially near furnace, is sealed properly. You can use metal foil tape from hardware store, or a brush with duct seal, also found at hardware store. Specifically the return duct is what you want to make sure is sealed if she is smelling the fish room in a different location. An added bonus of this is a better functioning hvac system, less leaks so more efficient.

 

[chicago]

Yep. Had to get the rust off so we move on to phase two. The duct seals. Thank you for the input. Mich appreciated. All.

 

[AlexG]

What is your plan to moisture proof the rest of your fish mechanical room? I covered my entire ceiling with plastic to contain moisture in my fish room.

 

[chicago]

yep.. I was thinking about that also.... and old dexter series shows keep popping up in my head.. LOL...

does the plastic help with your situation? I might ditch the algea scrubber.. I think this and my large skimmer might be the issue.. I have no smell. My wife on the other hand.. can smell the empty cups from across the room if I leave them out after a fish feeding..

 

[AlexG]

yep.. I was thinking about that also.... and old dexter series shows keep popping up in my head.. LOL...

does the plastic help with your situation? I might ditch the algea scrubber.. I think this and my large skimmer might be the issue.. I have no smell. My wife on the other hand.. can smell the empty cups from across the room if I leave them out after a fish feeding..

The plastic keeps the moisture from absorbing into the rest of the house. I create a negative pressure in my fish rooms to also help with containment and force the air to be vented outside or run through a dehumidifier before it can recirculate in the house. For my new build I am starting off with a ducted whole house dehumidifier dedicated for the aquariums and skipping the outside ventilation for now unless it is needed down the road.

 

[Trey]

Squirrel fan with a carbon filter would work well.

 

[Stephensx04]

if you had access to the duct work. Why not just replace that rusty section with a new one. Not that hard to do. Then you have a new piece you can paint vs a rusty one that will just continue to rust.

 

[chicago]

Sounds great .. but not that easy.. I will post some pics and you can see why.. basically its all above the QT tanks and large sump. You are right and yep.. rust is a fight..