What kind of silicone is safe for aquariums

That said, you might find that if you have a lot to remove, this method can leave a lot of little bits behind. Use either a heat gun or a hairdryer to blow hot air along the seam. Once the silicone is warmed up and more flexible, use a razor blade to scrape it off. You can use a utility knife to split the corner if you are taking the whole thing apart. It can tolerate both fresh and saltwater. Remember to make sure you give it enough time to cure.

There are a lot of great choices for aquarium silicone in our reviews but the best one is Clear Aquarium Silicone Sealant. I am facing some challenges and need your help and advise. Only what I have seen in. If not then kindly advise me what shall I use. Other than small tubes, I have below options only for Caulk Silicons in my local market and this is what I have seen our local.

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Aqueon Silicone Sealant 3. Aquascape Black Silicone Sealant 4. Loctite Clear Silicone Waterproof Sealant 5. How to Use Aquarium Silicone Sealant?

How to Remove Aquarium Silicone from Glass? Comments Good information! Dear Sir! Good Morning. Only what I have seen in local stores are DAP and Loctite Aquarium safe small silicon tubes BUT they have clearly written that I can use for maximum for 30 Gallon and aquarium maximum height should be 45cm. Other than small tubes, I have below options only for Caulk Silicons in my local market and this is what I have seen our local Petshops also using below to make their Aquariums.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. This sealant holds together your fish tank by securely binding glass parts. This includes fastening any damaged areas or leaky spots in your aquarium. Instead, it goes through a process called curing where it usually takes about one week for silicone to completely cure as it slowly dries. You can recognize if your silicone sealant is still curing by being wet to the touch and smelling like salt and vinegar chips.

While both products offer similar performance in creating strong bonds for sealing and repairing leaks, cracks, or other damages, regular silicone is meant to tackle an array of applications in building and household projects. That being said, if you notice the terms Mold-Free, Mildew-Resistant, Anti-Microbial, or Bacteria Protection on your tube of silicone, do not use it in your aquarium.

Such products contain fungicides and bactericides that may end up killing your fish and aquatic plants. Aquarium safe silicone is an excellent solution to fix minor leak issues or attach objects to the glass of your fish tank.

But what makes it better than other sealant types on the market? It works great for both freshwater and saltwater tanks. It resists cracking, shrinking, sagging, or drooping.

It resists ultraviolet radiation, ozone, and airborne chemicals. Then, are aquarium safe silicones simply perfect? Although there might be slight variations among the different brands of aquarium safe silicone, the application process is generally the same.

More on the removal process later Prepare the area to be sealed by cleaning it up and smoothing it out with sandpaper.

This roughens the surface a bit to ensure a stronger hold. Make sure all the surfaces are completely dry. Here, you can use a caulking gun or the applicator that comes with the tube. Use fortified duct tape to make sure all corners are tightened. If you own an aquarium sized more than 75 gallons, then wooden clamps are a better option to hold everything in place while the sealant cures.

Using your finger, smooth the silicone along the seams to remove excess product and create a sleek surface. After that, you just need to wait until the curing process is finished. If you are looking to reattach a center brace or attach something to the wall, or something similar there is no need to drain your entire tank. Acetic acid is the chemical off-gassing as the material dries. Is that something that should be considered poisonous to the fish? My experience has been that it is really not.

MSDS on your product will help you decide for yourself. My experience with SCS has been very positive on my tank builds of gallons or more. I currently have 2 aquariums built with it. I was also impressed with the knowledge of the technical support staff I spoke to when I was deciding on a product. While this is not an issue for an aquarium, it may allow for some flexibility in the joints of an aquarium sitting on a crooked stand. ASI is one of the few companies stating their product is designed for aquarium use.

I was planning to try their product based on the recommendations of my supplier. With a little research their product was looking pretty good and was attractive in that it claims to bond most acrylic.

Their website states that their product was tested on a gallon tank and held for months. Looking a little deeper, I was not as impressed. Without knowing the dimensions of the gallon tank the information is not very useful. Today upon speaking to their technical support department, they were unwilling or unable to give any details as to what companies use their product, who built the gallon tank to test their product, how the product should be applied to aquariums, or any other details like, joint thickness specific to their product.

I was told to read some blogs and see what other people are doing. The representative did say that a generally thicker joint would be weaker but that they did not have any specific information.

An additional concern about the product is that their technical data sheet only offers one ASTM test method in one category, compared to 7 and 14 from GE so it is very difficult to compare their product directly to any other. If anyone is considering using their product it may be wise to call them for details first.

Can you? Sure, I have read stories were people have used GE 1 for resealing. Should you? It will be much less effort to get a new tube of silicone then it will be to clean up the mess left behind of a leaking tank.

Depending on the size of your tank, you may need more than one tube anyway — so if you have to get more, why not get some stronger silicone? Has this product changed recently? You mention to avoid such sealants in your article. I appreciate you being thorough and asking though! Good Morning.

I am facing some challenges and need your help and advise. If not then kinldy advise me what shall I use. I have below options only in my local market and this is what I have seen Petshops also using below to make their Aquariums. Unfortunately, I cannot give further advice as I have no experience with the Silicone you have listed. Do you have an aquarium manufacturer in your country? Or even an aquarium club? I wish I could be of further help.

Located in Chennai …India…. We have been in the business of aquarium manufacturing for over 20 years… we use WACKER Elastosil … professional aquarium grade silicone… sourced from Singapore… I can strongly recommend this brand and product …. Do I tear the tank apart and redo it? Or does this mean not to apply it underwater? Given how common it is for aquarists have actually used GE Silicone 1 on their tanks, issues would be widely recorded by now.

Is silicon dry enough after 4 days if I can smell inside my tank. I glued a tank background with it. It would depend on the silicone and how humid the environments is. Humidity can drastically slow down the curing time. If in doubt let it dry for longer. I have used acetic cure silicone sealant for aquarium construction….

Does it harm microbes? I have a large bowl shaped ceramic planter — not glazed On the inside that I want to use as a small pond. Do I need to seal the inside?

If so it seems like a tube of silicone is not going to be the most effective application. What do you recommend? Generally for clear coat, you can use a 2-part epoxy resin. For more info on using pots in your aquarium, check out my Aquarium Terra cotta pot guide.

I have a 40 gallon slate bottom I tried to seal with GE Silicon 1 without success. Do you favor one over the others for adherence to the slate? To be completely honest with you here, I have no experience with them. In the old days, they used to seal slate bottom tanks with ashphalt, but that develops leaks over time.

If you think silicone sealant adhere to slate, then I would go with any of the above three you listed. They are industrial grade silicones that many commercial tank builders rely on. SCS used to be my go-to silicone. My oldest tank at the moment is going on 7 years and was sealed with it. Anecdotally, I have chatted to many other fishkeepers who also use it without issue.

Based on this I would suspect that the bigger issue is people sealing their tanks properly rather than the the adhesive qualities of either silicone failing. In your opinion do you think this is ok?

That of these silicone. If their qualities are similar, then I would consider still using it. You should be able to get this data from the manufacturers website or contacting the manufacturer directly.

In some cases they license the GE name to sell those products e. Momentive produces silicone adhesives used to hold windows on the worlds tallest skyscrapers — they are surely adequate for the pressures we see in fish tanks, even large very tanks. While these adhesives may not be easy to find they exist for industrial applications. Wow, you sound really knowledgeable on the history of silicone. That GE story sounds fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing, I love to learn new trivia like this.

D4 leaches into water and bioaccumulates, limits fish growth, reproduction, etc. If you look online, you are able to get a I mistakenly used the GE formulation to bond layers of foam for landscaping, which contains Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane.

Plan is to cover the foam with a cement coating and wait for it to fully cure and cease pH swinging. Should I scrap and redo or will frequent water changes be sufficient to reduce the impact? Thank you for the helpful post. I am wondering if the silicone you recommended for sealing tanks is appropriate for larger tanks gallon or do I need to search for something stronger.

I am planning on sealing the bottom and using strips of glass for reinforcement on the inside perimeter. These are the same silicones that many aquarium builders that sell to the public use. I have a small chip and hairline crack in my 70L aquarium. I was thinking of using a sealant just to give it a bit of strength, do you think this would be ok? My advice is to always get a new tank. Hello, thank you for all the info. I just build my G aquarium, x85x80cms, 2mm gap, with Momentive rtv.

One of the two you advised. Is it true? Can frequent water changes for the first month take out the major amount? Or, is it simply not true? Which of the silicon would fit best? The mesures, xxcms, I planned the gap to be 2mm. Direct injection system. How long will It need to cure, the ready g, and the future g considering a joint gap of 2mm.