Did I make a major uh oh?

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OTp1144

OTp1144

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Oct 7, 2013
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Swimmin' with the fishes
By chance I happen to come across a discussion of which silicone to use for resealing aquariums. The consensus was RTV 100 series and GE silicone 1 are the better aquarium safe silicone, while GE silicone 2 is not.

Well...turns out I've been resealing my tank with this stuff. It says GE silicone 2. Did I majorly **** up? Please tell me now before I decide to fill this 425g with water and lose my fish.

http://i.imgur.com/MyOVcmX.jpg

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heretix said:
By chance I happen to come across a discussion of which silicone to use for resealing aquariums. The consensus was RTV 100 series and GE silicone 1 are the better aquarium safe silicone, while GE silicone 2 is not.

Well...turns out I've been resealing my tank with this stuff. It says GE silicone 2. Did I majorly **** up? Please tell me now before I decide to fill this 425g with water and lose my fish.

http://i.imgur.com/MyOVcmX.jpg

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Click to expand...

You did mess up. The reason for NOT using GE silicone 2 is because it has mold inhibitors you see the label mold free.... that means it has things that stop mold in it (mold inhibitors) which will harm fish. Go and buy GE silicone 1 window and door and wait for the silicone to dry that you already laid down and strip it out and reseal with GE silicone 1. You can't leave it as it is.

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There are people who have used GE II and claimed their fish are fine. Then there is also the rumors that GE I actually also has mold inhibitors. So, the jury is still out. One definite fact though is that a lot of, lot of people have used GE I (including myself) for years and years without any noticeable issues. I would highly recommend you strip out the GE II and replace it with GE I or safer yet aquarium safe silicone. GL
 
heretix said:
Would I be able to keep the silicone 2 on the outside and just redo the inside where the water will actually touch?

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Click to expand...

Yes
 
I used the wrong silicone once years back on a 150g. Yes, ashamed to admit it but I killed 30 baby bowfin. Still feel terrible and like an idiot over 10 years later.

Reseal it and rest easy. Great job noticing before you filled the tank.
 
Dieselhybrid said:
I used the wrong silicone once years back on a 150g. Yes, ashamed to admit it but I killed 30 baby bowfin. Still feel terrible and like an idiot over 10 years later.

Reseal it and rest easy. Great job noticing before you filled the tank.
Click to expand...

Definitely what I'm gonna do. I'm not happy about it. I was ahead of schedule to finish before thanksgiving. But I'm still gonna be way under budget for the whole build and really none of that matters so long as the fish are healthy and safe

Honestly I only noticed off pure dumb luck. Someone posted on reddit about of their silicone was safe. It made me look at mine because I wasn't even paying attention. Lo and behold, I done messed up big time. Got very very lucky

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heretix said:
Another quick question. Will the chemicals from the silicone 2 leak through silicone 1 (or other aquarium safe silicone)? So if I have a gap filled with 2 and completely cover it with at least two coats of safe silicone, would I still be okay?

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Click to expand...

I think you got your answer to this on your other post, but you cant silicone over other silicone once it has skinned over. You need to remove the silicone put down previously. Take up the old stuff and redo it for the best possible seal.
 
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