Silicone

SFish · 06/21/2017, 02:13 PM

What's safe to use inside the tank? I mean stuff I can find at the hardware store.

Sacohen · 06/21/2017, 04:56 PM

Anything that is 100% Silicone.

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SFish · 06/21/2017, 05:14 PM

Thanks

ericarenee · 06/21/2017, 05:39 PM

Do not use the stuff made for tube , bathrooms or has anti mold mildew properties...

I am not totally sure , and actually do not think any knows for sure but it could cause issues long term in our tanks...

GE1 IS PROB The best of you can find it... also if it says Printable its not Idea to use

Sacohen · 06/21/2017, 05:51 PM

You mean Paintable.
Yeah m, if it's paintable then it has latex in it.
No good for us.

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SFish · 06/21/2017, 05:59 PM

No I mean to silicone rocks to glass.

Sacohen · 06/21/2017, 06:01 PM

Same stuff, but depending on the weight of the rocks it may not hold.

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SFish · 06/21/2017, 06:03 PM

These are made to bond to glass. It's a 3D rock wall. Maybe I'll just spend the extra money and get the aquarium stuff. It's $10 a tube.

sleepydoc · 06/22/2017, 09:25 AM

GE Silicone I works fine. Not the best silicone, but will work fine for what you need. Momentive RTV series is better quality and worth it for tank building uses.

Note that whatever you get, you need to allow adequate time for curing. The times listed on the tube are generally for a ⅛" bead. Most of our uses have thicknesses that are significantly thicker than that and require more cure time.

mcgyvr · 06/22/2017, 10:28 AM

I will not talk about bond strength (structural properties/tensile/shear strength) ,etc... but rather address the mold issues and types of silicones here.. When a g

In general there are 2 types of silicones..
Neutral Cure (which is what GE Type 2 is ) and Acetoxy cure (which is what GE Type 1 is)..
The acetoxy kind smells like vinegar when its curing.. The other is more of an alcohol smell..

Neutral Cure takes longer to cure and by default is more "mold resistant" vs the vinegar cure (acetoxy)..
There are NO additional "mold specific" additives added to the neutral cure but by nature it just is and thus the "marketing text" added to the tubes takes advantage of that and announces that to customers as a selling point over the vinegar/acetoxy type..

The "rumors" around here about the mold additives are really because of the longer cure time and have nothing to do with "additives".. People were not allowing it to cure sufficiently and thus the by products of curing were causing problems.. Had they let it cure long enough there would be no issue..

The "best" of the 2 types to use is the Acetoxy/Vinegar cure (GE Type 1) because of its much quicker "cure" time (thats really the only reason its "better".. because we are all impatient)..

ALL silicone must be FULLY cured before being used in our applications..

Again.. Both types are totally fine to use provided fully cured.. But Type 2 takes FAR longer to cure.. (weeks vs days sometimes)

Also.. One thats listed as "for aquarium use" is no different vs the others.. Its just the company spent extra money on "certifications" to be able to put that on the product.. Or they didn't and just marked in on there anyways..

SFish · 06/22/2017, 01:56 PM

Thanks
Mcgyvr

SFish · 06/22/2017, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepydoc

GE Silicone I works fine. Not the best silicone, but will work fine for what you need. Momentive RTV series is better quality and worth it for tank building uses.

Note that whatever you get, you need to allow adequate time for curing. The times listed on the tube are generally for a ⅛" bead. Most of our uses have thicknesses that are significantly thicker than that and require more cure time.

Thanks

Lsufan · 06/22/2017, 05:04 PM

I think mcgyver post needs to be a sticky. No matter how many times it gets posted there is that many more posts that say the mold inhibitors will nuke your tank. When infact it is not letting it cure properly that nukes the tank. People buy ge silicone & see that it says that it cures in 48 hrs to cure but they overlook that it says that it takes 48 hrs for a 1/8" bead of silicone. So if u use a 1/4" bead of silicone it takes atleast twice as long to cure.
Edit: I somehow missed sleepydocs post which says the same thing.

I didn't look it up but I do believe that the Dap aquarium silicone that most big box stores sells is a little stronger in our cases then the ge1 or ge2. Again, I didn't look up the strengths & mcgyver said they are the same so I could be wrong.

sleepydoc · 06/22/2017, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsufan

I think mcgyver post needs to be a sticky. No matter how many times it gets posted there is that many more posts that say the mold inhibitors will nuke your tank. When infact it is not letting it cure properly that nukes the tank. People buy ge silicone & see that it says that it cures in 48 hrs to cure but they overlook that it says that it takes 48 hrs for a 1/8" bead of silicone. So if u use a 1/4" bead of silicone it takes atleast twice as long to cure.
Edit: I somehow missed sleepydocs post which says the same thing.

Yes, but strong the power of urban legend is

06/21/2017, 02:13 PM	#1
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	Silicone What's safe to use inside the tank? I mean stuff I can find at the hardware store.

06/21/2017, 04:56 PM	#2
Sacohen Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Davie, FL Posts: 1,778	Anything that is 100% Silicone. Sent from my SM-G928P using Tapatalk __________________ Steve Current Tank Info: 55 Gallon Mixed Reef

06/21/2017, 05:39 PM	#4
ericarenee Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Louisville Kentucky Posts: 3,110	Do not use the stuff made for tube , bathrooms or has anti mold mildew properties... I am not totally sure , and actually do not think any knows for sure but it could cause issues long term in our tanks... GE1 IS PROB The best of you can find it... also if it says Printable its not Idea to use __________________ 240+G Mixed BB Reef tank.. 350 G Marine Pond. And the expensive stuff that runs it. Chic's are for Chic's You silly men Go Fishing or something... Current Tank Info: 240= gal Reef /550 Gallon Saltwater pond 72 G Bay front Tropical aquarium

06/21/2017, 05:51 PM	#5
Sacohen Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Davie, FL Posts: 1,778	You mean Paintable. Yeah m, if it's paintable then it has latex in it. No good for us. Sent from my SM-G928P using Tapatalk __________________ Steve Current Tank Info: 55 Gallon Mixed Reef

06/21/2017, 06:01 PM	#7
Sacohen Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Davie, FL Posts: 1,778	Same stuff, but depending on the weight of the rocks it may not hold. Sent from my SM-G928P using Tapatalk __________________ Steve Current Tank Info: 55 Gallon Mixed Reef

06/21/2017, 05:14 PM	#3
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	Thanks

06/21/2017, 05:59 PM	#6
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	No I mean to silicone rocks to glass.

06/21/2017, 06:03 PM	#8
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	These are made to bond to glass. It's a 3D rock wall. Maybe I'll just spend the extra money and get the aquarium stuff. It's $10 a tube.

06/22/2017, 09:25 AM	#9
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	GE Silicone I works fine. Not the best silicone, but will work fine for what you need. Momentive RTV series is better quality and worth it for tank building uses. Note that whatever you get, you need to allow adequate time for curing. The times listed on the tube are generally for a ⅛" bead. Most of our uses have thicknesses that are significantly thicker than that and require more cure time. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

06/22/2017, 10:28 AM	#10
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	I will not talk about bond strength (structural properties/tensile/shear strength) ,etc... but rather address the mold issues and types of silicones here.. When a g In general there are 2 types of silicones.. Neutral Cure (which is what GE Type 2 is ) and Acetoxy cure (which is what GE Type 1 is).. The acetoxy kind smells like vinegar when its curing.. The other is more of an alcohol smell.. Neutral Cure takes longer to cure and by default is more "mold resistant" vs the vinegar cure (acetoxy).. There are NO additional "mold specific" additives added to the neutral cure but by nature it just is and thus the "marketing text" added to the tubes takes advantage of that and announces that to customers as a selling point over the vinegar/acetoxy type.. The "rumors" around here about the mold additives are really because of the longer cure time and have nothing to do with "additives".. People were not allowing it to cure sufficiently and thus the by products of curing were causing problems.. Had they let it cure long enough there would be no issue.. The "best" of the 2 types to use is the Acetoxy/Vinegar cure (GE Type 1) because of its much quicker "cure" time (thats really the only reason its "better".. because we are all impatient).. ALL silicone must be FULLY cured before being used in our applications.. Again.. Both types are totally fine to use provided fully cured.. But Type 2 takes FAR longer to cure.. (weeks vs days sometimes) Also.. One thats listed as "for aquarium use" is no different vs the others.. Its just the company spent extra money on "certifications" to be able to put that on the product.. Or they didn't and just marked in on there anyways.. __________________ Who me?

06/22/2017, 01:56 PM	#11
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	Thanks Mcgyvr

06/22/2017, 05:04 PM	#13
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	I think mcgyver post needs to be a sticky. No matter how many times it gets posted there is that many more posts that say the mold inhibitors will nuke your tank. When infact it is not letting it cure properly that nukes the tank. People buy ge silicone & see that it says that it cures in 48 hrs to cure but they overlook that it says that it takes 48 hrs for a 1/8" bead of silicone. So if u use a 1/4" bead of silicone it takes atleast twice as long to cure. Edit: I somehow missed sleepydocs post which says the same thing. I didn't look it up but I do believe that the Dap aquarium silicone that most big box stores sells is a little stronger in our cases then the ge1 or ge2. Again, I didn't look up the strengths & mcgyver said they are the same so I could be wrong. Last edited by Lsufan; 06/22/2017 at 05:11 PM.