Silicone

[jakey]

can you use normall silicone on a fishtank or do you have to buy it from a petshop?

 

[geo7x]

You have to either use a 100% silicone sealant or a special aquarium sealant. Any other sealant may have things in that are toxic to fish. If your lfs has aquarium sealant then obviously use that, if not then you can buy it off the internet.

 

[Evad]

I saw 100% silicone sealant at the home repair store but after calling the company they couldn't confirm it was aquarium safe. I wasn't convinced it didn't have some sort of additive in it.

Since you don't usually use much silicone - I would reccomend getting the aquarium-safe stuff. If you need more than they usual amount - you can order the big tubes that fit in calking guns. Its much cheaper that way. That is what I used to re-seal my 180 gal.

 

[hondadal]

Most DIY sealants have fungicides in them that will be detrimental to your livestock. Always use aquarium sealant

 

[geo7x]

If it is 100% silicone then it is safe as it is silicone and only silicone, if it had fungicides then it wouldn't be 100% silicone would it.

The company won't confirm because they want to be able to cover themselves, plus they have no reason to investigate whether it is safe for fish tanks.

 

[rdd1952]

Go to the pet/fish store and get a tube of aquarium sealant. It's not worth the risk of buying something at the home improvement store and not knowing if it's safe. This is the type I used.

 

[CageUK]

Aquarium sealant has to be high modulus (for constant immersion in water) and not low modulus. As already has been said it should not contain any fungicide or germ killers etc.

Item 370038993258 on ebay.co.uk is the stuff that I ordered...cheaper than a lot of the diy ones as well!

It's best to get the right stuff for the sake of the lives of the fish!

Cheers