How to remove silicone poisoning from tank?

[RLG2182]

Hi everyone!

This is a new thread linked to my last one. I believe we narrowed it down to poisoning from silicone I used to seal my sump/overflow (GE Silicone II Window & Door). I only let it cure for 24 hours and think this may have been the cause for my fish to die within a short 12-20 hour time span.

NOW... how do I remove this? Besides removing all traces of the old silicone & applying new correct silicone + proper wait time, what else is needed?

100% water change? Frequent partial water changes? Rinse LR in RO/DI water, or in mixed saltwater? LS rinse? Tank cleaning with rubbing alcohol/vinegar? (acrylic tank with acrylic overflow, glass sump with glass baffles)

I'm headed for a long week I think. I was planning this tank upgrade for months.

[RLG2182]

Just curious... would the silicone finish curing while underwater? How about using carbon and many water changes to help dilute & eventually remove any toxins?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Jimbo7]

Do you have an RO/DI unit?

[RLG2182]

Originally Posted by Jimbo7

Do you have an RO/DI unit?

Looks like you're the only one responding Jimbo... thank you

Yes, I have an RO/DI. Water sits in food grade holding tanks in my garage. 1 55 gal tank for fresh, the other for mixed saltwater.

[Jimbo7]

You have an abnormal question otherwise I think people would help more.

I'm PURELY shooting in the dark here, but maybe pump water out of tank/sump through the RO/DI and put it all right back into the tank, waste and clean hose line. If its going to filter it out, it will get caught in the filters, and since it was already filtered once, the waste line is going to be pretty clean as well. This is a complete guess, its the most advanced filter I can think of off the top of my head.

Concerns:
Will it filter out the salt?
Check the tank salinity, and then the salinity coming out. you might have to top off with some super saturated saltwater or just add straight salt somehow.

Anyone have anymore thoughts? I'll get Pat and see if he has anything.

[Jimbo7]

Or maybe just add a DI filter compartment somehow? I know they sell just DI resin, but Im not sure if it has to be pressurized to work?

Carbon for now is a good idea while we try and sort this out.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...-canister.html

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...nization-resin

lol sorry I keep adding stuff and editing.

[pat8you]

I assume you don't have any fish in the tank right now. I would suggest just emptying all the water and starting with fresh mixed saltwater once you replace the silicone.

This is a new thread linked to my last one. I believe we narrowed it down to poisoning from silicone I used to seal my sump/overflow (GE Silicone II Window & Door).

Not sure if this is a typo but i believe that GE selicone II is the window and bath stuff. This has a mildew prevention chemical in it that will poison your tank for sure. You need to use GE silicon I. Also to answer your other question the silicon may finsih curing under water but i strongly suggest that you let it completely cure before you add any water. Often when something like silicon or glue is drying it releases things you really don't want in your tank. It can only be trusted to be inert once it has completely cured.

The liverock you can rinse in saltwater. I would take it out and put it in a container with fresh mixed saltwater and some high flow. This will help flush out all the water in the rock. I would say use RO/DI water but it would be hard to rinse it will without loseing all the bacteria from your cycle.

You can leave the sand in the tank and rinse that well with RO/DI water. Fill it so that the water is a couple inches over the sand and then get in there and dig it up real well. I would flush it again if you have the patience after it settles.

I'm sure it is tempting to try and reuse or clean the water you have in the tank now but i think it would be very difficult to properly clean and the risk of putting in more live stock and having it die again would be somewhat high if i had to take a guess. It just isn't worth the frusteration of losing more fish.

After you have finished all of this i would run a good amount of carbon in the tank for a couple days just to be on the safe side. Also put in another shrimp for a day or two and test your ammonia to see if your tank is still cycled after this ordeal. You do indeed have a long week ahead of you. I am very sorry for your troubles.

EDIT: sorry for repeating a few things you already knew. I just went back and read the other thread you linked to trying to figure out what the problem is. I have found that clowns are some of the most durable fish out there which is the only reason i can think of that they would survive and the rest wouldn't. Do you have a QT tank you can put them in for a while?

[pat8you]

Also i'm not positive on this but i believe filtering saltwater through your ro/di unit is really hard on the filter. I wouldn't suggest it unless you are willing to replace the membrane and resins and all that afterwards.

[Krypt]

Originally Posted by pat8you

Also i'm not positive on this but i believe filtering saltwater through your ro/di unit is really hard on the filter. I wouldn't suggest it unless you are willing to replace the membrane and resins and all that afterwards.

Yeah, don't do that, that would be bad.

[Jimbo7]

Haha, hence why I prefaced that post with purely shooting in the dark. Someone had posted a thread awhile back that their "friend" was doing that in him sump to prevent water changes.

What about just running it through a separate DI cartridge and resin?

[melosu58]

I would just do 30-40% PWC`s and employ some good GAC to draw out the impurities.

[Elaystone]

Hello!
My husband and I have experienced the same fish kill (all dead within 12 hours) problem with our newly divided 30 gallon FW guppy breeding tanks and have narrowed the issue down to the GE Silicone II. Darn it!

Since you experienced this back in 2010 I'm guessing you have long since resolved the issue. I have a few questions I'm hoping you can assist with.

1. how did you remove all of the bad caulk? razor blade? chemical spray <I shudder to think adding another chemical is a good idea>?
2. We have airline tubing and nice foam filters in these tanks that I'd rather not re-buy. Did you have to replace all tubing or filters, media? or were you able to save these with some sort of cleaning? If so, how?

If you have any other thoughts or comments to share on this topic, I'd love to hear them!

If anyone else wants to weigh in on this, please do!

Thanks ever so much,
Lisa

[Retired_AF]

You will need to remove ALL the old silicone. A razor blade works well and you can pretty much get it all off the glass. Then I would wash the area with vinegar to make sure all chemical residue is removed. Rinse everything well to remove the vinegar, then use the GE Silicone I to replace the bad sealant. Rinsing the tubing with vinegar and then fresh water SHOULD remove any contaminants, but I'm not sure about the sponges. If there is any doubt I would replace them.