Aquarium safe RTV or silicone?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
So where do I get aquarium safe RTV? I've read alot of articals regarding silicone and RTV, but no one ever says where they got or what type they actualy use. GE was bought out bye momentive, I think! So it's hard to find good stuff to use!
 
I'm glad people listened when I tried to help the first time, that really worked out well. However, just because I hate to see you with huge amounts of water on your floor, I will be nice. You need to get rid of all the silicone on there, then take some acetone to clean the glass. You can get RTV in black here-

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/PROSEAL-RTV-Silicone-1FBH8

or clear here-

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/PROSEAL-RTV-Silicone-1FBJ1?BaseItem=1FBH8

I'm sorry if I sound like an ass, but I keep warning people not to cheap out, but no one listens. At least here is some proof. Hope this helps a bit.

Edit- While you can get away with a week, I would give it a two week cure time.
 
It does not look too good. From reading this post, I guess I am not going to buy GE 1 silicone. I would spend a few extra dollars and buy the aquarium silicone.
 
I'm a little gun shy about even mentioning RTV108 (clear) or 103 (black). I put a few topics up to include product data sheets, and people jumped all over it like I kicked their dog or something. The truth of the matter is this - GE produces a lot of silicone, and there are different formulations for different applications. Dow also produces some amazing silicone for different purposes. I can only speak to my experience with RTV.

RTV is an industrial grade, adhesive silicone that is FDA approved for food contact. It is meant to be safe. It has a sheer rating of 40lbs/sq in. It is the only thing I reseal tanks with because it isn't going to keep me up at night. Can you use GE1? Sure... why though? It's not as good for this application (as you can see in the pics). I would never use GE1 in a structural seam...

The DIY forum is meant to be a forum to express ideas and creativity. It shouldn't be a place to tout unsafe practices as a standard.
 
Clay;4322779; said:
I'm a little gun shy about even mentioning RTV108 (clear) or 103 (black). I put a few topics up to include product data sheets, and people jumped all over it like I kicked their dog or something. The truth of the matter is this - GE produces a lot of silicone, and there are different formulations for different applications. Dow also produces some amazing silicone for different purposes. I can only speak to my experience with RTV.

RTV is an industrial grade, adhesive silicone that is FDA approved for food contact. It is meant to be safe. It has a sheer rating of 40lbs/sq in. It is the only thing I reseal tanks with because it isn't going to keep me up at night. Can you use GE1? Sure... why though? It's not as good for this application (as you can see in the pics). I would never use GE1 in a structural seam...

The DIY forum is meant to be a forum to express ideas and creativity. It shouldn't be a place to tout unsafe practices as a standard.
Click to expand...

Feel free to post your thoughts. If people are slandering you because of it report it and the mod team will deal with it. Plain and simple. Many people have used GE1 with great success. This is but one example of it not working. There are still many examples of it being just fine. There are a lot of factors that go into it as to why the seam may have split. I have seen no proof that shows where it will not work and it is not safe. Is it the best choice? Probably not, but that is not the issue. People should feel free to use what they feel comfortable with. Trial and error is an integral part of the DIY process.

I have been thinking a lot about putting tanks together and the RTV 108 has come up a lot as a viable option. Although the shear strength seems high, what is the tensile strength? That can come into play as well depending on what particular seam you are addressing.
 
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