silicone use

michika · #1 09-01-2005, 04:38 AM

What happens when silicone gets into your system?

What does it do exactly in your tank chemically and physcally to your fish and water. Obviously it impacts water quality but how?

What would you see behavior wise in your tank?

Taking any chemicals out would be to run carbon and your skimmer correct?

I'm curious as I'm planning to use silicone on a future project.

mr_alberta · #2 09-01-2005, 05:01 AM

Silicone can change the pH I believe and releases something while curing...what that "something" is escapes me at the moment (I want to say Ammonia, but I'm not 100% sure). Sorry I can't be more help!

Just remember that that stuff sticks to everything....

michika · #3 09-01-2005, 05:04 AM

So if I let it cure until its no longer tacky is it then okay to put water over it to leak test, or should I be waiting the full 24 hours?

How would you repair a leak in an existing and running tank if your need to let silicone cure for the full 24hours?

Are there other alternatives to silicone?

So the compound X (the one you want to call Ammonia) that leaks into your system if water comes into contact with it to early, would that be taken out with basic carbon running? If that is the case would it then be suggested to immediatly run carbon when the tank is first up and running?

Aquattro · #4 09-01-2005, 05:17 AM

Once silicone has a skin formed, it's fine. I once tried to silicone a leaking seam years ago, and what ever the silicone released caused the fish to jump out of the tank!! This was a 12 inch knife fish, so it was tough to find a temporary bucket!
I'd say don't let wet silicone come in contact with your water.

michika · #5 09-01-2005, 05:19 AM

Your fish jumped? Was it a jumpy fish to begin with or was the jumping related directly to the silicone?

Aquattro · #6 09-01-2005, 05:24 AM

As soon as the silicone touched the water, the fish went nuts. A couple of smaller fish did the same.

michika · #7 09-01-2005, 05:41 AM

something to note.

Thanks for that Brad, I'll definatly make extra sure not to put silicone into contact with my system!

reeferaddict · #8 09-01-2005, 09:05 AM

I believe curing silicone evaporates copius amounts of a type of acid, thereby the burning of the nostrils when you smell it... airborne I would suspect this would disperse easily as a gas... and probably not even be able to accumulate to toxic levels via surface gas exchange, but waterborne an acid like that I imagine would create some quite powerful chemical reactions to an already precarious ionic balance... some species reactions would be stronger than others... but yeah.... things can go pretty screwy pretty quickly when the wrong things are introduced to your tank...

ron101 · #9 09-01-2005, 05:03 PM

It's acetic acid. Hence the smell of vinegar when it cures.

reeferaddict · #10 09-01-2005, 07:04 PM

Thanks Ron.... it was in my brain somewhere... probably the mushy part....