Big Oops... be careful

[DeniseAndy]

I thought I would share my horrible experience with a diy project to hopefully save other people's animals.

So, I have a little 6g tank that has a hob filter only. I wanted to add a little skimmer box so the surface would get cleaned ( the tank is a Fluval Edge, so helps keep algae issues away from top glass). Anyway. I did not want to pay the $43 for the only one I could find, so I made one.

I took some plexiglass I have used on projects before and bought some silicon 100% and was set. I added teeth to the plexiglass, made in a tiny rectangle that fit perfect. Waited over 3 days for it to completely set.

Woohoo, just got some baby clowns for this kids tank (it is one of our traveling systems) and all was going good.

I put the skimmer box in and went on with my day. About 24 hours later, I went down to feed and top off (was gone all day) and clowns dead, urchin dead, shrimp dead, corals bleached, everything horrible. What happened???

I pulled everything still alive out of the tank, and put in an emergency tank with new water and none of the rock or sand from the tank. This was Saturday night.

Today Monday, another fish dead (my Tangori goby). Corals not doing well at all. I moved what I could to my 40g to heal if they will.

So, what went wrong? After a bit of research, I discovered I used Silicon II not I. That is the only thing I did to this tank that was stable for 2.5 years.

Do NOT make this mistake anyone. Get the correct silicon as even if 100% it is very different!!!

Hope this helps someone in future.

 

[redfishbluefish]

So sorry for your loss.

Actually if you're siliconing acrylic, I wouldn't use GE I or GE II. There is a reef safe silicone specifically made for acrylic. You'll find it in the acrylic sheet department of HD....not with the other silicones and caulk in the paint department. This stuff works great, and as with any silicone, the longer you wait for it the cure, the better off you'll be. I like to wait a week. Here's what the stuff looks like...I think about $8 tube.

To give you idea how long tank manufacturers want you to wait, I just purchased a new Glass Cages tank and they want me to wait three to four weeks before it sees water:

 

[Daltrey]

This is what I use it’s $9 and made for aquariums. It says not made for acrylic aquariums though. For that I would use Weld On #3 or #4.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquarium-silicone-adhesive-clear-10oz.html

https://www.amazon.com/Weld-Acrylic...rd_wg=pJ65J&psc=1&refRID=XMPKB1CM4956WDQYS0VT

 

[TonyNguyen]

Dang that sucks! Yeah Silicone *1 is what we are suppose to used..*2 have ammonia which leak out and will kill your animals.. Sorry for your lost good tip for others!

 

[cracker]

Silicone for acrylic is interesting. I have a look next time I'm at the HD.

 

[laverda]

If the silicone for acrylic is 100% silicone, what makes it different then any other 100% silicone?

Silicone is really not the proper thing to be bonding acrylic with, unless you want to be able to easily remove the part being bonded in the future. Weld-on or its equivalent is the proper way to bond acrylic.

 

[redfishbluefish]

If the silicone for acrylic is 100% silicone, what makes it different then any other 100% silicone?.......

Formulation!

.......Silicone is really not the proper thing to be bonding acrylic with, unless you want to be able to easily remove the part being bonded in the future....

My first choice for acrylic on acrylic is Weld-On. However, items like glass sumps with acrylic baffles, this silicone is the stuff I use. Please try it, you'll be amazed. You can't pull the silicone off the acrylic....it's on there. I just used it in my tank build of attaching an acrylic support brace to the plastic tank frame/glass....it's that blue acrylic. Oh, and I'll be using it to attach the PVC return pipe you see, to the acrylic brace and glass Euro-Bracing.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Yes, I did know this is not normally used for acrylic, but was just making a tiny box to try. I was considering weld on, but had no where to do weld on cuz of fumes and it being winter. Just bad decision all around. Wanted to share to help someone else maybe. Research before even the smallest project.

15yrs under my belt and still learning. Although my hubby usually does the building, so there is that.

 

[TonyNguyen]

Yeah, even the pros make the simplest mistakes. We completely understand! I'm still learning, everyday in this hobby...That sucks that happened, was it one of those nano you posted on my thread? You had 2 of them...

 

[DeniseAndy]

Yes. The first one with the mixed reef. So far the torch and frogspawn are holding on. We will see if they make it.

 

[Mike Reef Addict]

So sorry for your loss.

Actually if you're siliconing acrylic, I wouldn't use GE I or GE II. There is a reef safe silicone specifically made for acrylic. You'll find it in the acrylic sheet department of HD....not with the other silicones and caulk in the paint department. This stuff works great, and as with any silicone, the longer you wait for it the cure, the better off you'll be. I like to wait a week. Here's what the stuff looks like...I think about $8 tube.

To give you idea how long tank manufacturers want you to wait, I just purchased a new Glass Cages tank and they want me to wait three to four weeks before it sees water:

I'm glad I seen this thread on silicones, I'm about to redo some seams on a old 40g long for a frag tank. I was going to use GE but I ordered salt from Chewy and a couple of powerheads so to get free shipping I bought a small tube of Auqeon. There is a guy on E-bay out of Florida that sells baffels for refugiums and GE is what he recommends because "it sticks to acrylic and glass" thanks for the heads up on curing time. I tool a sharp razor blade and trimmed the loose edges off yesterday, planing on doing the silicone tonight. Then I was going let it sit for about a week, now I guess I'll wait at least two now, the live rock out of the wifes tank we took down to replace with the frag tank should be fine with a heater and power head in a tote for a couple of week.

 

[Mike Reef Addict]

I thought I would share my horrible experience with a diy project to hopefully save other people's animals.

So, I have a little 6g tank that has a hob filter only. I wanted to add a little skimmer box so the surface would get cleaned ( the tank is a Fluval Edge, so helps keep algae issues away from top glass). Anyway. I did not want to pay the $43 for the only one I could find, so I made one.

I took some plexiglass I have used on projects before and bought some silicon 100% and was set. I added teeth to the plexiglass, made in a tiny rectangle that fit perfect. Waited over 3 days for it to completely set.

Woohoo, just got some baby clowns for this kids tank (it is one of our traveling systems) and all was going good.

I put the skimmer box in and went on with my day. About 24 hours later, I went down to feed and top off (was gone all day) and clowns dead, urchin dead, shrimp dead, corals bleached, everything horrible. What happened???

I pulled everything still alive out of the tank, and put in an emergency tank with new water and none of the rock or sand from the tank. This was Saturday night.

Today Monday, another fish dead (my Tangori goby). Corals not doing well at all. I moved what I could to my 40g to heal if they will.

So, what went wrong? After a bit of research, I discovered I used Silicon II not I. That is the only thing I did to this tank that was stable for 2.5 years.

Do NOT make this mistake anyone. Get the correct silicon as even if 100% it is very different!!!

Hope this helps someone in future.

Sorry about you losses man, that really sucks. But so happy you shared your experience to save others from the same mishap. I'm going send this thread to a guy on E-bay that makes refugium baffels because GE is what he recomends.

 

[Mike Reef Addict]

I contacted the guy on ebay here is his reply.

 

[graffitireef]

I thought I would share my horrible experience with a diy project to hopefully save other people's animals.

So, I have a little 6g tank that has a hob filter only. I wanted to add a little skimmer box so the surface would get cleaned ( the tank is a Fluval Edge, so helps keep algae issues away from top glass). Anyway. I did not want to pay the $43 for the only one I could find, so I made one.

I took some plexiglass I have used on projects before and bought some silicon 100% and was set. I added teeth to the plexiglass, made in a tiny rectangle that fit perfect. Waited over 3 days for it to completely set.

Woohoo, just got some baby clowns for this kids tank (it is one of our traveling systems) and all was going good.

I put the skimmer box in and went on with my day. About 24 hours later, I went down to feed and top off (was gone all day) and clowns dead, urchin dead, shrimp dead, corals bleached, everything horrible. What happened???

I pulled everything still alive out of the tank, and put in an emergency tank with new water and none of the rock or sand from the tank. This was Saturday night.

Today Monday, another fish dead (my Tangori goby). Corals not doing well at all. I moved what I could to my 40g to heal if they will.

So, what went wrong? After a bit of research, I discovered I used Silicon II not I. That is the only thing I did to this tank that was stable for 2.5 years.

Do NOT make this mistake anyone. Get the correct silicon as even if 100% it is very different!!!

Hope this helps someone in future.

Ouch!

 

[DeniseAndy]

You said it.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Update, The pistol shrimp survived. I mean this guy has survived more tank moves and two crashes (one at 90+degrees and the silicone thing). I have had him over 6 years and was someone else's prior. What a trouper!

Corals that seem to have survived so far are the torch (although it is still a bit off), frogspawn (again a bit off), some of the zoas look like they may pull through, the candycane is still on the fence. The gorgeous lobo I have had for years was completely melted, but I put in my 40g to recover anyway and surprisingly it is showing tissue response and some color. Fingers crossed!

 

[kdc]

Good luck with the lobo. I’m glad to hear you had some survivors. I didn’t realize pistol shrimp were such troopers!

 

[Wonf]

So sorry for your loss... but thanks for sharing so others can avoid the mishap... if it's one thing about this hobby, a lot of times there's not a "right" answer, but that's why we're on a forum like this to share knowledge. whether or not people listen from other's experiences is a whole different story...

 

[Sleepydoc]

Sorry for your loss - that stinks, and it's a hard lesson.

For the record, Silicone I is acetoxycure, meaning it produces acetic acid as part of the curing process. Silicone II is a neutral cure. I can't remember the specific byproduct produced by Silicone II, but neutral cure silicones generally produce alcohols. They also cure more slowly. Silicone I is a bit more forgiving, since acetic acid is not nearly as toxic to our critters as some other things, but both are reef safe when fully cured. That last part is key - the cure times listed on the tubes are for a ⅛" bead, generally thinner than we use for our applications. Most people recommend letting seams cure 1-2 weeks.

I would also echo what redfish-bluefish said regarding silicone and acrylic. The best option is not to use silicone for acrylics, and I would never advise using it to hold an external overflow box in place.

 

[T Carey]

Sleepydoc I don't think you are correct about Silicon II being aquarium safe after it has cured. Silicon II has a mold inhibitor in it which is claimed to inhibit mold for 5 to 7 years.

I believe it is the mold inhibitor that makes it toxic in an aquarium.