sugarloves
Aquarium Advice Activist
I want to divide a tank and i need to use silicone. Can i use regular silicone or does it have to be aquarium safe. It seems to me that everytime you put aquarium in the name of a product, the price triples.
Can any silicone work?
- Thread starter sugarloves
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
revhtree
Aquarium Advice Addict
I dont know about the silicone, but I do know about this:
So very, very true!!
So very, very true!!
oh yeah, i totally know. as aquarists we get robbed everyday on everything from fish to the tanks, ESPECIALLY on tanks themselves. and all these people on the net are like oh man save sserious cash by DIY'ing your tank.
NO
DIY tanks are barely cheaper like maybe $10
lets see here where i live and the surrounding 50 miles the cheapest it got for a 48x13x20 standard 55 gallon size was
8.88 for the sides @
and 35 for the front, back, and bottom @
thats without any grinding, etc on straight normal plate glass, not counting silicone, hood, support glass, lights, and other setups
heck i can get the tank pre built with black plastic edgeing and a filter and net, and light at wal-mart for 158.88
and dont get me started on yardsales, like the 55 gallon i went to look at and was 500 cash bare with nothing not even lights. etc etc
rant completed.
oh well... i just get frustrated
NO
DIY tanks are barely cheaper like maybe $10
lets see here where i live and the surrounding 50 miles the cheapest it got for a 48x13x20 standard 55 gallon size was
8.88 for the sides @
and 35 for the front, back, and bottom @
thats without any grinding, etc on straight normal plate glass, not counting silicone, hood, support glass, lights, and other setups
heck i can get the tank pre built with black plastic edgeing and a filter and net, and light at wal-mart for 158.88
and dont get me started on yardsales, like the 55 gallon i went to look at and was 500 cash bare with nothing not even lights. etc etc
rant completed.
oh well... i just get frustrated
shawmutt
Aquarium Advice Addict
Although I always try to find things without the "aquarium" word added, silicone would not be one of them. Play it safe and go for the aquarium sealant.
grimlock3000
Aquarium Advice Addict
There is some aquarium safe silicone that is not labeled as such. All-Glass silicone is actually a relabeled GE silicone. There are some detailed threads over at www.cichlidforum.com about this topic. There is also a lot of non aquarium safe silicones as well.
One aquarium safe type is GE Silicone I for Windows and Doors, in the clear color. This is the same stuff All-Glass uses. GE Silicone II is NOT aquarium safe, and Silicone I for bathrooms and kitchens is NOT aquarium safe either.
One more thing, if you go to Home Depot, in the adhesives section (not with the rest of the silicone), you can find a pretty big tube of aquarium safe silicone for about $5. It says "For Aquariums" right on it. A tube of All-Glass silicone at a per store is about the same price, and you get about 1/10 of the silicone than if you bought it at home depot.
One aquarium safe type is GE Silicone I for Windows and Doors, in the clear color. This is the same stuff All-Glass uses. GE Silicone II is NOT aquarium safe, and Silicone I for bathrooms and kitchens is NOT aquarium safe either.
One more thing, if you go to Home Depot, in the adhesives section (not with the rest of the silicone), you can find a pretty big tube of aquarium safe silicone for about $5. It says "For Aquariums" right on it. A tube of All-Glass silicone at a per store is about the same price, and you get about 1/10 of the silicone than if you bought it at home depot.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
Great info, grimlock3000! 
jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sugarloves, since you are in Canada, go to Rona (Revy) - look for the Rona brand 100% pure silicone without mildewcide (in the window sealent section) - on the tube it states: perfect for use in aquariums. This is what I used to reseal my 80 gal <& no problems after 4 mos>.
This stuff cost around $3 for a big tube, something like 10 times less than the stuff from pet store. I believe this is the same thing as the original GE 100% silicone I, but I heard on the net <this may be an urban ledgend> GE can't label it as aquarium safe (because they make the aquarium silicone also & has a non-competitive contract ... or something like that). But in Canada, the contract does not apply, so GE can label aquarium safe on stuff they make for house brands in Canada.
I have also been told that Canadian tire has a house brand labeled for aquarium use as well ... prob. all these are made by GE.
This stuff cost around $3 for a big tube, something like 10 times less than the stuff from pet store. I believe this is the same thing as the original GE 100% silicone I, but I heard on the net <this may be an urban ledgend> GE can't label it as aquarium safe (because they make the aquarium silicone also & has a non-competitive contract ... or something like that). But in Canada, the contract does not apply, so GE can label aquarium safe on stuff they make for house brands in Canada.
I have also been told that Canadian tire has a house brand labeled for aquarium use as well ... prob. all these are made by GE.
