Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi

Could anyone please advise of a suitable wood varnish i could use to stain the pallets used in my IBC sytem.

Cheers Jacko

Welcome Action_87. Are these pallets going to be over the fishtank?

Hi Ronmaggi,

yes it will be over the fish tank, i seen your other reply of water based exterior paint thats a good idea i ddint actually think of that, but i was hoping to go with the wooden natural look.

I'd be interested to know this as well. I know most finishes are non-toxic once they've dried but what about if they are in a moist environment like a fish tank cover?

Just be careful the pallets don't come into contact with the water, they contain lots of nasties. Same applies if you're sanding them down/cutting them up with power tools, wear your gas masks.

For the wood varnish/oil, just go to bunnings, they have a large range. Look for the outdoor varnish/oil.

Oil you'll need to redo several times a year, but it's just a matter of brushing on. Varnish needs to be redone 1-2 years (depending on sun/weather), but you'll need to sand off the old layer first, which is a bit of work.

Outdoor paint can last for years, and can be easily painted over if it starts looking ratty.

I used some hard rainforest timber pallet - grows a bit of mould on it and seems to rust the screws I used. Not sure if its bad for the sump water/system but I'm going with it for now.

What nasties might it have?

What is the purpose of the varnish/stain.

Cosmetic?
Weather Protection?
Other?

Many timber pallets are treated in some way. Really cheap pine pallets may not be but then they are not very durable.

I'd be careful of any pallets even hardwood ones.

When I say careful I mean I would take care to not use them in my AP system at all.

I'd have a look at Floods Spa-n-Deck and see if it's alright to use. It's 100% acrylic so it might be fine, I know it's a great decking finish at the very least. Just keep in mind that if you do use it, the 'Natural' colour isn't natural, it's a yellowy tone and the timber has to be wet when applying the finish.

http://www.floodaustralia.net/products/ ... n_deck.php

http://www.floodaustralia.net/safety/ms ... rTones.pdf

Having a quick look at the MSDS and having used it for in the past, I'd have no problem using it in AP.

That sounds pretty good Azira. I took a glance at the deck link and they're saying it's 100% Acrylic which is what Latex paints are really made with and we use them to paint raftsl. It should be safe, my only question is what are they using for the pigment and gloss? Sometimes metals are used for these either because of the color of certain compounds or just to reflect light so the surface has a different gloss.

I wonder if this stuff is available in the USA?

It has more of a low sheen finish than gloss, I'm not sure what they use for the pigments, but I'm tempted to email them to find out. The white and driftwood finishes have a different MSDS and different ingredients, so they possibly aren't as safe.

http://www.floodaustralia.net/safety/ms ... NDeck2.pdf

I had a look and there is a US Flood company but their version of Spa-n-Deck seems different, it seems to consist of a base and top coat whereas the one sold here is just a single product.

http://www.flood.com/wood-care-solution ... /6/details

MSDS: http://www.duspec.com/DuSpec2/document/ ... tId=860535

Tech info where you can see the base coat mentioned, at a quick glance it does seem like the base coat is more of a hazard than the top coat: http://www.duspec.com/DuSpec2/document/ ... tId=860437

It might be worth looking into and finding out more about it, if it's the same product as we get here and if the base coat is needed, if the top coat is completely safe, etc.

*edit* I've just sent an email to the Flood Australia company to find out a little more about the pigments and ingredients used. I'll update if and when they reply.

There are many different types of pallets, but they are treated with arsenic, and lots of other chemicals to make them weather proof, and resistant to everything else.

I have no idea if the rainforest timber ones would be considered nasty. But I've read up on a few forums where they are using pallets for furniture, and the warning are always the same.

Not all pallets are treated from what I've heard. Another reason for treating them is to prevent unwanted hitchhikers (insect pests)

Thanks for the info Azira

I got an response from Flood regarding the Spa-N-Deck product, not a lot of information given but they did say it doesn't leach when it's dried and would be safe for the fish. I asked if the Flood USA Spa-N-Deck is the same as the Flood Australia product but didn't receive an answer to that, so you might need to compare products or ask Flood USA about it.