# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Resealing An Aquarium! Silicone that is safe?



## Crazygar (Apr 27, 2005)

I am currently resealing a 53GAL Aquarium that has been exposed to the sun and rain for an entire season. The silicone on the tank looks pretty rough, and rather the hassle I have decided I should place a brand new bead down... only one problem... what type of silicone should I use without nuking my fishes, inverts and plants that will live there later on?

I need something that;

1) Will not kill Aquatic life
2) Available in Canada (lets face it, we are limited over here)
3) Can handle the capacity of the larger tank!

Gary


----------



## Crazygar (Apr 27, 2005)

I am currently resealing a 53GAL Aquarium that has been exposed to the sun and rain for an entire season. The silicone on the tank looks pretty rough, and rather the hassle I have decided I should place a brand new bead down... only one problem... what type of silicone should I use without nuking my fishes, inverts and plants that will live there later on?

I need something that;

1) Will not kill Aquatic life
2) Available in Canada (lets face it, we are limited over here)
3) Can handle the capacity of the larger tank!

Gary


----------



## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

Last year I was looking for some silicone to reseal one of my tanks too. What I found was most silicon sold around me here in TN US, are not recommended for using underwater. What I ended up doing was e-mail All Glass about buying some silicone. All Glass was the brand tank that had the leak. After talking with them they sent me a large tub at no charge. What ever you get, make sure its for underwater use. After is cures and sets the smell will dissipate in a few days. Other then that I don't think you will have any problems with keeping fish or plants.

Hawk


----------



## Crazygar (Apr 27, 2005)

I might try the Allglass avenue first. If not, I will go to Big Al's. I was hoping for a "cheaper" (I think its Silicone II) form. Let you know what happens.

Gary


----------



## cheesehazard (Mar 2, 2004)

I went to Home Depot a few weeks ago looking for some epoxy and I found some silicone that was for aquariums. It was labeled for aquarium use. It was not that big of a tube. Maybe enough to do one corner. It wasnt that much money though. I did a search on google and found a bunch of sites selling aquarium safe silicone. http://www.northcoastmarines.com/SILICONE.htm


----------



## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

Andrew
That is the exact same stuff All Glass sent me.

Hawk


----------



## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

When a silicon is marked "not for underwater use", I always thought it was more of a curing issue rather than a toxicity issue. It wont cure underwater, but will be waterproof once dry. I used regular clear window sealant many years ago with no problems.

You shouldn't need to reseal you tank unless the seal is damaged. Sun and rain really wont hurt it. Silicon has been used on windows for a good long time. If you are resealing your tank, I recommend you scrape out all of the old silicon with a razor blade. You will have a much better seal if you start from scratch. New silicon doesn't stick to well to old silicon

You might consider asking a (plexi)glass shop what kind of sealant to use. Many of them have made custom aquariums. Pond shop may have hints as well. If it can be used for drinking water containers, it can used for aquariums.


----------



## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

I have talked with people that used clear silicon sealant in their aquarium. It worked ok for a while. After a year or so it started to brake down under water. They had to redo the tank. It might be just one of those things but if the tub doesn't say for aquarium use I wouldn't put my time in resealing a tank thinking I might have to do it all over again in a few years.

Hawk


----------



## Margolis (Sep 22, 2004)

this is all you need:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3963&N=2004+113159


----------

