GE Silicon 2 poisoning

BlakeK.

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Hi everyone. I just posted a couple days ago about an emergency I was having with my tank. All my fish were dying after switching to a new sump. I thought it was because I switched the sand, or because the heater was up too high which killed off the bacteria; however, I found the culprit. I thought I was using GE silicon 1 when making the new sump, but I was using GE silicon TWO. It killed everything except for the crabs and mantis shrimp (I'm not sure why... anyone know?) So my question is, how do I get the poison out of my system? Obviously I'll be switching the sump out, but how do i make sure there is no remaining chemicals in the water column/rock-work? Or do I not need to worry about that after taking out the main source?
 

Erica-Renee

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What makes you assume its the GE Silicone . I have and seen many post where others have said they used ge 2 silicone and had no issues , Did you not let it cure long enough. Is there a chance it was something else?

Just asking because i have seen Quite a few people post they use GE Silicone 2 with no issues. But only a few who actually Coordinate a issue with the use of it . Not Doubting what your saying . Just Curious
 

lapin

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GE silicon TWO
If it said kitchen and bath you made an error. If you do think you have the wrong kind, It prob has arsenic as the additive to kill mold. Carbon will not remove this. You need to either run the water thru an RO membrane and or use granulated ferris oxide GFO. One filters it out while the other absorbs it.
For futher solutions you might read this
https://www.911metallurgist.com/arsenic-removal-water/
I wish you the best.
 
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BlakeK.

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What makes you assume its the GE Silicone . I have and seen many post where others have said they used ge 2 silicone and had no issues , Did you not let it cure long enough. Is there a chance it was something else?

Just asking because i have seen Quite a few people post they use GE Silicone 2 with no issues. But only a few who actually Coordinate a issue with the use of it . Not Doubting what your saying . Just Curious

If it said kitchen and bath you made an error. If you do think you have the wrong kind, It prob has arsenic as the additive to kill mold. Carbon will not remove this. You need to either run the water thru an RO membrane and or use granulated ferris oxide GFO. One filters it out while the other absorbs it.
For futher solutions you might read this
https://www.911metallurgist.com/arsenic-removal-water/
I wish you the best.

No worries! Not offended, I love the input! I don't think I let it cure long enough. I only let it cure for 24 hours, and for one small section even less than that. I'm almost positive it was the silicon because this is my second time making the mistake. When I first got into the hobby, I used the same silicone to make my first sump. At the time, I could not keep anything alive. All fish would die within days even if ammonia levels were in check. I just thought I was experiencing what all newbies to the hobby experience (to this day I thought that). I let the tank cycle and everything, but all fish would still mysteriously die. After about and month and a half to 2 months, the tank started thriving. Fast forward to last week, I switched out the old sump with the new sump with the same GE silicone 2. I went through the same exact thing all over again. So, the only thing I can think of is that it was the silicone. All of the fish showed the same signs. Snails died first then all fish started acting odd and lethargic even though all of the parameters were normal. Another odd thing is that all of my crustaceans (except shrimp) seemed unaffected. Decorator crab, hermits, emerald and even my mantis shrimp did not seem to be affected. Another reason I'm almost positive it was the silicon is the fact that I moved all of the animals in the old sump (2 damsels and the peacock mantis) to the new sump for a couple hours while I was reconstructing the pipes. The damsels were immediately affected. They started acting very strange and were dead within 2 hours (mantis shrimp was fine). Anyway, I don't know what else it could have been. Since then, I have added a generous amount of carbon and everything seems back to normal with the exception of a small cycle that seems to be taking place. I'm getting a diatom bloom in my sump. I added a couple snails (which seem to be the most sensitive) today and they seem to be doing fine SO FAR. I'll let you know if they're dead in the morning.

I should also mention that I read a post by a guy on here who had the same exact experience as me except he had let his cure for over 36 hours I'm pretty sure.
 
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BlakeK.

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If it said kitchen and bath you made an error. If you do think you have the wrong kind, It prob has arsenic as the additive to kill mold. Carbon will not remove this. You need to either run the water thru an RO membrane and or use granulated ferris oxide GFO. One filters it out while the other absorbs it.
For futher solutions you might read this
https://www.911metallurgist.com/arsenic-removal-water/
I wish you the best.

The bottle says "MOLD-FREE"; however, the small print on the back says "Mold-free product protection- Cured sealant is resistant to stain causing mold and mildew. Regular cleaning of the cured sealant is required to avoid secondary mold growth." Which I assumed meant there was no "anti-mold" chemical.

The chemicals on the back included:

hexamethyldisilazane
methyltrimethoxysilane
petrolium distillates

(Methanol and ammonia released while curing)
 

Erica-Renee

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Curing Time will definitely make a difference . I Have a 150 gallon sump in my basement Curing Right now. I used Black rtv on the tank itself (complete tear down and reseal) and Ran out so put baffles in with GE .I have my old sump down there with the same ge silicone . and its been in use for atleast 6 years.. Now this does not mean ge has not changed things and is now not as safe or as safe.
Since reading this post i went over all the GE 2 silicone with some Ge general purpose ge 1 silicone for piece of mind as A Just in case. I will also not be changing out this sump for another week ..

I have to still build a new Weir/ over flow box The new tank i splurged and Bought a Synergy Reef Shadow over flow , It was THROWING AWAY 160.00 . The way there teeth are cut caused under current right below the water surface and pushes debris back away from the over flow NOT PULL IT OVER .. TOTAL FAILURE . I am going to build a new one but super busy ..
 
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BlakeK.

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Curing Time will definitely make a difference . I Have a 150 gallon sump in my basement Curing Right now. I used Black rtv on the tank itself (complete tear down and reseal) and Ran out so put baffles in with GE .I have my old sump down there with the same ge silicone . and its been in use for atleast 6 years.. Now this does not mean ge has not changed things and is now not as safe or as safe.
Since reading this post i went over all the GE 2 silicone with some Ge general purpose ge 1 silicone for piece of mind as A Just in case. I will also not be changing out this sump for another week ..

I have to still build a new Weir/ over flow box The new tank i splurged and Bought a Synergy Reef Shadow over flow , It was THROWING AWAY 160.00 . The way there teeth are cut caused under current right below the water surface and pushes debris back away from the over flow NOT PULL IT OVER .. TOTAL FAILURE . I am going to build a new one but super busy ..

But would the curing time make that much of a difference? It seems like the only reason you need to wait for it to cure completely is because of the ammonia byproducts the silicone makes during the curing process. I ammonia tested zero. It really seemed to be something else that was killing the fish.
 

Erica-Renee

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But would the curing time make that much of a difference? It seems like the only reason you need to wait for it to cure completely is because of the ammonia byproducts the silicone makes during the curing process. I ammonia tested zero. It really seemed to be something else that was killing the fish.
Uncured Silicone is Toxic in any Variety. The Recommended 24-48 hour curing time is based on a Small bead as you would use say around a Sink or window sill . Not the Amount often used on the seams of a Aquarium , between baffles. 1 week would be my Recommended Min curing time . But then again what do i know This is just based on my experience NOT Any True testing or knowledge otherwise..
 
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