Rutland rtv silicone aquarium safe?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
The sure fire and the right way is to remove the glass panel, clean off the old silicone and glue it back with new silicone. AFAIU and IME, the shortcut wherein one silicones only on the inside of a joint is a temporary band aid.

My guess is it is the technique, not the silicone failure. GE Silicone 1 is safe and I think any silicone might be safe if it says what the Silicone 1 bottle says - safe for accidental food contact followed by a long code name of that Standard.

Aquarium-safe silicone at LFSs is also, well, safe but usually 2x or more expensive.
 
thebiggerthebetter said:
The sure fire and the right way is to remove the glass panel, clean off the old silicone and glue it back with new silicone. AFAIU and IME, the shortcut wherein one silicones only on the inside of a joint is a temporary band aid.
Click to expand...


This is what I did 4 months ago. Maybe I made a mistake, but emptied everything scraped used alcohol and re did silicone.
Here is the gap I am talking about.

image.jpeg
 
Have you removed the glass panel?

AFAIU, all "100%" silicones have the same strength and adhesion. Hence, to answer the OP question, I don't think a different silicone would be the way to go.

I imagine it could have been an inferior batch of GE 1. This can happen to any material, surely, but it's very highly improbable compared to the technique aka "human factor".

The crucial difference-maker is the surface preparation and application of the silicone. I'm sure you have noticed that silicone, which is properly adhered to glass, is exceedingly hard to pry off. It gives each and every way but holds on to the glass as if for its dear life.

Perhaps you have not given it enough time to cure, or the panels shifted during curing, or air was trapped, or some old silicone was left, or some grease was left (I'd propose acetone, not alcohol for cleaning), etc.

It's hard to tell but the gap looks large - there is a limit to what gap silicone can safely fill.

Or the cause is altogether different, e.g., unleveled stand, or the floor boards caved in a bit too much, etc. Were there any earthquakes as of recent? Construction-related explosions near by? Did your little brother play flag football in the living room when you were away? :) Kidding. Good luck, mate!
 
Will have to try again paying close attention to cleaning. And will try acetone instead. Thanks. Maybe I didn't let it cure long enough.
 
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