I have recently aquired a 135 gal tank, I am trying to make it work in my house, so far I have sewn a lovely new skirt for the metal stand, and I have cleaned, sanded, and repainted the stand.

So now I am working on the canopy, right now it is a hideous color and needs to be refreshed, I wanted to know if paint fumes from a recently painted canopy will cause any problems for my babies? It will probably only have a day or two to dry before I put it on. Should that be enough or should I just try to have patience and wait a little longer to set everything up?

My guys did fine with Fabri-Tack fumes, which I think are worse than paint fumes, since it's glue. I think I was closer to passing out than they were

using a fast-dry enamel canned spray-paint should do nicely to assuage your concerns...

I agree - the paint that you use as well as the conditions that it has to dry will be very important as to how long it takes to dry. The type of paint is also very important - for many have semi-toxic fumes and many do not.

How the air in your home is circulated as well as how it is used in your tank can also make a difference.

In general, 2 days should be plenty of time for most paints in most conditions to dry adequately.

Thank You muchly for the replies,
I am using a roll on not spray type paint as the home depot guys said it would be the best for the type of wood I am covering.
As it turns out my handi friend who was going to come help us reinforce our floor Thursday can not come until Saturday now so the canopy should have four days to dry now instead of two. The house is pretty dry so I hope there will be no lingering fumes by then
Does anyone else have a bugger of a time waiting to set up a new tank??? I just want to do it now so I can see how gorgeous it will be, but keep having to wait and wait and wait

There is nothing that fishkeeping teaches better than patience. It takes patience to set up a tank. It takes patience to cycle that tank. It takes patience to find the right fish. It takes patience to grow that fish to a large and impressive size.

Then, if you want to breed, it takes patience to prep and groom that fish for successful breeding. It then takes patience for the eggs to hatch, the fry to grow!

Patience, Young Grasshopper. It will all be done in its own time.

Thanks Daryl, My inner two year old was getting the better of me again Patience has never been my strong suit, I just have to keep reminding my self that it will all be well worth it in the end