Aquarium Silicone

K

kellee

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How long does it usually take for the vinegar odor to go away? I've let it cure for 24+ hours, should I wait longer before adding water?

And to clarify, I used the silicone to adhere some rocks to tuperware which will be used as a little pond going inside of my tank. I point this out because I believe you need to wait longer if you've installed a shelf or built a tank right?
 
thanks, that's what I thought, but figured I would poke around here for any additional wisdom!
 
Ive just had to re-silicone a filter box back into a new tank, well second hand tank... ive waiting 24hours and will hopefully be filling it up tonight.

(Message edited by jigglypuff on January 18, 2005)
 
One word of caution when building structures with silicone - silicone is designed as a "sealer" not an "adhesive." It does have some adhesive properties, and as long as there is very little weight or shearing forces you should be OK. In general, and especially with heavier/larger structures it is more advisable to use epoxy as an adhesive.
 
I'm not sure what you are trying to adhere the plexiglass to, but I have found it very difficult to get a strong reliable seal between plexiglass and glass, and I don't really recommend it. If you do, make sure you rough up the edge of the plexi with coarse sandpaper.

If you are adhering plexi to plexi, get the specialized plexi solvent which will be a very strong chemical bond.
 
If you contact Sika (www.sika.com) they are manufacturers of adhesives and sealants and produce a product range called sikaflex, i think the animal friendly one is 11sc, or at least it is in the UK but check with your closest information line it comes in grey and black and sticks virtually anything. i've used it a lot in zoo exhibits with fish, amphibians and reptiles and never had any problems, definitely sticks stuff better than silicone acetoxy sealant.

Ben Baker
 
Any of the gel superglues will make a permanent bond to plexiglass. The regular superglues can be used to glue plexi to plexi but you need to work fast.
The plexiglues are usually a solvent that evaporates quickly leaving the plexi bonded together.

Ed
 
i talked to our plexiglass supplier for our labs-he said that the solvent used to fuse plexiglass together will bond it but not create a reliable seal-he said for his installations he will use silicone on top of the area bonded (once dry)to create a leak proof seal.

i have a question though about commercial salers-many on the tubes say 'not for aquarium use' so im guessing they might pose a toxicity issue. i recently traded a hex tank for a 90 gallon set up-the guy who owned it recently siliconed it and im pretty sure he didnt use the expensive aquarium product...how safe is it?
 
Paris,
I can't tell you for sure about your case... I think one of the problems is that silicone intended for sealing windows etc can have mould inhibitors or other nasties that you don't want in your water. However, I refuse to pay ridiculous pet store prices for 2oz tubes of silicone ... I found a GE product at my local hardware store that is a clear silicone, says it is safe for aquariums, and costs ~$3/ full size tube - about the same as the other caulking products.

I'm sure others can recommend good products as well.
 
Not all stores carry the product Keegan found but when ever I find it I always get a couple of tubes (I'll use it to coat fiberglass windowscreen to seal it to make a flexibile stream system).

In addition to the mold inhibitors, most of the silicone manufacturers don't want to be liable for any damages if someone seals a tank with thier product and it springs a leak ruining floors, ceilings as well as any other furnishings or appliances.
Unless the plexi is a thick plexi and you get a perfect join, then it will need to be sealed with silicone.
I have used silicone to adhere a number of items to the sides of glass and fiberglass tanks. I just use a lot of silicone and let it cure with that side of the tank flat on the ground before I stand the tank backup.

Ed
 
Any commercial silicone that has an "FDA" approved for kitchen surfaces, etc... will be safe to use.
 
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