Siliconing a tank half full of water and livestock.

[tyler1503]

Hello everyone!
I've got myself in a frustrating situation. My over flow doesn't have teeth on it, so my fish can easily go down the drain. I built a plastic grill thing to keep fish in the display and attached it to the glass. It worked really well and held up for quite a while. But now it's come loose and I don't want to have to keep attaching it if it's going to keep coming loose. The tank already has live stock in it.
So my question is if my tank is only half filled, can I use silicon to attach the teeth/grill thing to the glass while there is water and livestock still in the tank? Or will the gas it produces still be dangerous?
Thanks

 

[Eienna]

As long as you don't drip any in he water, you're probably OK, but it will need to cure for 24 hours before getting wet....

 

[tyler1503]

Thanks for the input eienna. My silicon says to leave it for 7-10 days before it's aquarium safe :S
I'm just worried about the gasses it produces when it cures and whether or not my water could absorb any of the nasty stuff from the air.

 

[Eienna]

Well, the longer you can leave it, the better....
It can absorb the stuff from the air....the key is, really, to ventilate the area like crazy. I'd probably even add a large fan, just to keep the gases "diluted"around the aquarium.

 

[reif119]

I probably wouldn't if I were u. If there is any moisture at all on the two things being siliconed it will just break again. You could try superglue gel as it will cure quicker and the Internet apparently says it safe but I'd still look into it a little more

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I probably wouldn't if I were u. If there is any moisture at all on the two things being siliconed it will just break again. You could try superglue gel as it will cure quicker and the Internet apparently says it safe but I'd still look into it a little more

+1 I'd superglue or try some kind of epoxy (or a combination of the 2).

I would probably superglue it and then epoxy over the glue...

 

[tyler1503]

The fan for ventilation idea is a good one keep the air moving and it could dissipate the gasses before the water can soak up any.
I can dry out the two sides and let it dry for a few day before siliconing it, so hopefully moisture won't be much of an issue. I have no problem leaving the tank half full or a while. I used super glue on it the first time and it held for a few weeks (super glue is reef safe, it's what most people use to attach frags to plugs). I may just have to suck it up and continually super glue in on
This is what happens when you rush into something without a solid plan first lol.

 

[tyler1503]

Ooooooh! Light bulb! I should just epoxy it.

 

[Reefpharmer]

Like others, I would try to epoxy it. Since it's not a load bearing side; you basically just need for it to hold and not support a lot of weight. You can also superglue it w the gel for a quick set time

 

[wildcrazyjoker81]

I have used waterweld numerous times as well as superglue. The waterweld holds and cures really fast too.
WaterWeld | Specially Formulated Epoxy Putty

 

[Milmikee]

I have used waterweld numerous times as well as superglue. The waterweld holds and cures really fast too.

WaterWeld | Specially Formulated Epoxy Putty

+1

 

[cope413]

Silicone off-gases acetic acid (vinegar). The amount you're talking about is small enough that it likely won't matter. If you're running carbon, you shouldn't have any issue at all. People dose vinegar in their tanks, after all.

 

[xsetmygoalsx]

Get super glue gel!

 

[daytripp01]

Go buy a piece of that plastic stuff that they use to put between the glass tank lids they gives him the ability to open up and still be connected . I did that to put a glass wall extension on my overflow up to my canopy to stop fish from jumping into it.

 

[reif119]

Can we have a pic of what broke?

 

[tyler1503]

I ended up supergluing it again and it held up. If it came loose once, it probably will again though.
I don't have the pics anymore, but they're at the very bottom of the first page on my build thread https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/sho***read.php?t=155158

 

[reif119]

Ohhhh ok

 

[reif119]

If it brakes just epoxy it