# siicone



## Flame Angel (Oct 13, 2010)

Please advise which silicone product I can use for repair an old tank? do you have the brands which I can buy at home depot?


----------



## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Good question. I also need some and planned to get a tube from AI. If HD has it cheaper it's all the better.


----------



## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

GE silicone 1 for window and doors. Blue tube. or house brand from HD or Home Hardware or Rona if it says safe for aquarium. Make sure it doesn't have any mildue prevention, etc.










or maybe the packaging has changed...


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Could have sworn there was a post regarding the brand of silicone to use recently...

GE Silicone I is fine.


----------



## rich (May 22, 2010)

*silicone*

home hardware sells silicone for aquariums for under $4 a tube ...its what i use ..100 % aquarium safe 
http://homehardware.ca/en/rec/index...n/Ntk-All_EN/R-I2034444?Ntt=aquarium+silicone


----------



## Bwhiskered (Oct 2, 2008)

GE silicone 1 all purpose. You can get it in a regular plastic tube in Walmart for the best price. A calking tube of it is too much and only goes to waste unless you have a very big project.


----------



## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

Bwhiskered said:


> GE silicone 1 all purpose. You can get it in a regular plastic tube in Walmart for the best price. A calking tube of it is too much and only goes to waste unless you have a very big project.


This silicone is now labelled not for aquarium use. IMO, this is something that we shouldn't have a problem spending $10 to get the right stuff.

Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


----------



## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

J_T said:


> This silicone is now labelled not for aquarium use. IMO, this is something that we shouldn't have a problem spending $10 to get the right stuff.
> 
> Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


The "right stuff" is about $4 at Home Hardware, for a caulking tube, or 3 for $10. A caulking tube, with gun, is much easier to use than a tube you have to squeeze, even if you don't use it all. The cost is about the same the last time I looked.


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Based on the experience I've been having the past couple days with fixing two small tanks, I would sure vote for the caulking gun over a squeeze tube. You can get neat little gadgets now that don't cost much, to keep unused caulk from curing. They have both a piercing tip and sealing cap for caulk tubes that will keep the contents fresh for a long time, so if you don't use a whole tube, hopefully it won't be wasted sitting around. I got a squeeze tube first, and there was not enough in it to reseal a 5 gal tank all around, so I ended up having to get the big tube anyway. If you use tape to get nice straight lines, be sure to remove it before the caulk has a chance to start skinning over, which is not very long at all. Ask me how I know  !


----------



## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

BillD said:


> The "right stuff" is about $4 at Home Hardware, for a caulking tube, or 3 for $10. A caulking tube, with gun, is much easier to use than a tube you have to squeeze, even if you don't use it all. The cost is about the same the last time I looked.


Still prefer to buy my aquarium silicone at an aquarium store 

Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


----------



## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

J_T said:


> Still prefer to buy my aquarium silicone at an aquarium store
> 
> Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


You do , of course, have the right to pay more for the same product, if you wish. The Home Hardware product says aquarium safe on the tube, as does the Rona house brand.


----------



## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

Right. It is a basic silicone. They didn't add a mold inhibitor. Or fast dry abilities to it etc.

The stuff you buy at a fish store was actually designed to hold a fish tank together. There was R&D to make sure it is safe. Also that it can hold with the pressure of the water trying to push the glass apart.

$10 is a small amount to pay for a large tube (caulking gun cartridge) of safe silicone. 



Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

I fail to see how silicone that is bought at the aquarium store would have undergone R&D to ensure that it would be safe.

Note that silicone is silicone. A tube of silicone bought at the aquarium store will not hold any better than silicone that is bought from the hardware store.

This is similar to the argument that "natural" vitamin C is better than one that is not labeled as "natural". Chemically, they are the same, and cannot be differentiated by scientific tools, nor is treated any differently by the body.

But, as BillD mentioned, you are free to purchase whatever brand of silicone you like.


----------



## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

Why do tank builders (Nafb, miracles, perfecto etc) all spend more on silicone then? They use what the fish stores are selling. Not what the hardware store sells. 

Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


----------



## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Tank makers may or may not use what the stores sell. There are only a few actual manufacturers of silicone, all the various brands not withstanding. The use of silicone to hold together 5 pieces of glass, to form an aquarium, was stumbled upon by a local individual, who was using silicone in his work. From that, the first all glass aquarium , Crystal Aquarium , was born. There are differences in silicones, in terms of strength and flexibility, but for the inner fillet that is of no consequence. GE Silicone I has been used to build and seal thousands of tanks. For a stronger joint, GE SCS 1200 is significantly stronger, and is rumored to be the one manufacturers use to build tanks, especially large ones. It costs less than $10, also.The last tanks I built were done in 1992, 4 identical 48" x 12" x12" 30s, and I used Canadian Tire's house brand, which stated on the label "Ideal for Aquariums". All 4 tanks have held water for 20 years now.


----------



## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

From what was explained to me by the manfacturers rep the silicone at the local fish store is the same as GE1200, the other silicone the is produced was a warning on it that states no for aquarium use is so they can not be held liable in case of failure of the joint that may or may not have been done properly.


----------



## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

What Bob said. The only reason GE is telling you not to use it on aquariums is liability. I just resealed that 40g breeder with a nice bead of silicone and the label says 100% silicone so there's no difference between this and the old stuff. 100% is 100% and after a 48 hour water test it didn't leak at all.

I don't now many hobbyists out there that need the GE SCS 1200 since we're all repairing tanks under 100g usually. Most of the time we're just repairing 10g or 20g tanks and there isn't crazy pressure coming out of those.

If you're repairing a 150g then I would say get an expert to do it since nobody wants to take the risk of having that much water on the floor.

GE Silicone I works just fine in my opinion.


----------

