Losing Corals fast...question about GE Silicone II

Carrera75 · #1 12-29-2011, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkelly

I just had a big crash and lost all my SPS after re siliconing my sump and letting it cure for over 24 hrs using the same GE II silicone. I am not certain it was the silicone or just a kill from having to pull my sump for 2-3 days but all my SPS except 2 pieces died my LPS suffered but not as bad. I had done reading on line and found most posts were saying THE Blue/white tube of GE silicone II was reef safe. Either way killed everything.
I put tons of carbon in my reactor and did water changes till the town was out of salt - for the first few weeks i was changing nearly daily as much as i could do. ITs been 2 months i guess, the tanks better, and starting to support itself with less water changes. And its supporting SPS again.
If your seeing signs id frag whats still alive best you can and that into a diff system to hopefully have something left , .
My crash drug on for a weeks thats what leads me to think it was poisoned. Nothing survived it , my parameters werent out of wack from what i could recall although you could smell the death.
Hope you dont get it as severe but if you want to be safe id recommend doing some quick fragging.
All the best Brent

What's interesting is that the reefer that helped me out (and recommended to use GE Silicone II) had a major crash after setting up his new cube tank. He used GE Silicone II to build his cube too and he lost 90% of his livestock. It's just now that his tank is slowly bouncing back.

Borderjumper · #2 12-29-2011, 07:08 AM

I always thought that GE11 had mold and mildew inhibitors and shouldn't be used in aquariums. A quick google kinda confirms this?
Do you still have the solona? I would fill that up with new salt water and get all my livestock into it ASAP. Might want to keep your rock in a bin for a few days tho separate and do a few water changes on it.. To leach out the chemicals.

Carrera75 · #3 12-29-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borderjumper

I always thought that GE11 had mold and mildew inhibitors and shouldn't be used in aquariums. A quick google kinda confirms this?

That's exactly what I found out tonight after doing some research on the net. It's my own fault for trusting too much in other people and not doing my own research and yes, I still have my Solana but right now is full of water and lots of Vinager. I would hate to take the new tank apart because I built an amazing minimalist aquascape :-(
I am running Purigen and ROWAphos and doing daily water changes. Would I be able to keep the tank going if I continued with the water changes and running Purigen and ROWAphos?

Borderjumper · #4 12-29-2011, 08:13 AM

I would call GE tomorrow.. There must be a number on the silicone tube. Ask them what's in it, and how long it would take to dissipate.

I was googling and found a post on some chiclid forum.. It mentioned that recently GE changed their formulas so that all of their products now contain mold/mildew inhibitors. I don't know if this is fact or not.. If this is true don't be too fast to blame your bud.. Maybe it used to be reef safe?

Water changes certainly won't hurt!

Carrera75 · #5 12-29-2011, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borderjumper

I would call GE tomorrow.. There must be a number on the silicone tube. Ask them what's in it, and how long it would take to dissipate.

I was googling and found a post on some chiclid forum.. It mentioned that recently GE changed their formulas so that all of their products now contain mold/mildew inhibitors. I don't know if this is fact or not.. If this is true don't be too fast to blame your bud.. Maybe it used to be reef safe?

Water changes certainly won't hurt!

I think I read the same post. Thanks for suggesting to get in touch with GE. It's a great idea.

Aquattro · #6 12-29-2011, 02:17 PM

I used GE II on my tank and have had no issues at all. I did let it cure longer, but 48 hours should be more than enough time to seal it chemically.

Aquattro · #7 12-29-2011, 02:20 PM

However, this was over a year ago, so if the formula changed, you might be affected by it. Last year your buddy was right, GE II "was" reef safe...

fishytime · #8 12-29-2011, 02:32 PM

Really sorry to hear about your losses.....I guess the moral of the story is.... Don't cheap out..... It's amazing to me how many folks look for cheap alternatives for things in this hobby..... Only silicone I've ever used is All Glass aquarium silicone..... Way more expensive than GE or any other brand, but at least I KNOW that it is aquarium safe...... GEs products are not formulated with the aquarium hobby in mind and small changes in formulation can obviously have a big effect..... Again sorry for your issues

Skimmerking · #9 12-29-2011, 02:24 PM

Wow man I'm so sorry to hear about this. Your tank was so flourishing with life

Seamazter · #10 12-29-2011, 02:26 PM

Do like 5% water changes every 2 days, and use alot of carbon.
This is a sad thing to see happen, if you cannot move your corals out of the tank try the advise above.