# Is GE Silicone II Aquarium Safe?



## TomC

I had a pin break off my canopy hood and glued a replacement on with GE Silicone II. A google search gives conflicting information. Does anybody know for sure if this is safe?


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## mdwflyer

I am pretty sure GE Silicone I is what you are looking for, without mould inhibitors. Does the Canopy part get wet with aquarium water?


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## effox

GE silicone II isn't safe to be SUBMERGED I believe. I truly don't know if additives from a small amount, with moisture only, from a pin on a hood would make a difference.

I've only read of bad causes where it killed corals, nothing about fish or plants.

Hopefully someone else can give you a less wishy washy answer here Tom.


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## macframalama

NOPE, do not use, go to HOME HARDWARE they sell actuall aquarium safe silicone and it is $5/tube or less called...WEATHER SHIELD says in big bold letters aquarium safe i have used it for a long time with no issues , and is great stuff comes in white black and clear.
tube is green with a darker green top on the label 
Home Hardware - 300mL Clear Silicone Sealant


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## Rastapus

Tom,
I did research on this a while back. I spole with GE in the US and they told me they dont recommend any of their silicones for aquarium use. The used to have a Silicone available but I dont recall this one saying it was safe either. Now, silicone sticks very poorly to other plastics so the repair unfortunately may not last long, if plastic I would use crazy glue.
IMO, GE possibly had some sort of liability issue with the product as it was widely available before and was approved as aquarium safe. That is just my opinion because it seems strange that one of the largest Silicone companies would no longer have one.


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## TomC

Thanks everyone for your input. It pretty much confirmed what I thought. I have a tube of the Canadian Tire stuff, but the problem is that someone fixed the lid already with the GE II. I will probably undo the fix and use Crazy Glue.t


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## macframalama

crazy glue is brittle too, maybe try jb weld or one of the many other epoxy style "glues" out there, i fixed a piece on my truck engine with jb weld and its still as bullet proof as it was the day i fixed it, just saying 
good luck
Shawn


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## Reptiles&Fish

BC has pretty strict regulations on mold protection because of all the moisture out here, and from what I've been told lately most the major silicone's sold out here have the mold protection which is not what you want. Home DEpot doesn't sell very much besides small tubes, which would be okay. Home hardware on the other hand (The one in north burnaby on hastings I know for sure) has a 100% aquarium safe silicone for 5$ a big tube. Where in most LPS's you'll be paying 20$ for the same thing.

Most the pet store owners I've talked to stopped selling it because people would come back the next day complaining that their fish died, because they filled it before the silicone dried -.-. Back east it's so easy to find, our building regulations aren't as strict. Maybe thats why?


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## macframalama

did nobody read this??


macframalama said:


> NOPE, do not use, go to HOME HARDWARE they sell actuall aquarium safe silicone and it is $5/tube or less called...WEATHER SHIELD says in big bold letters aquarium safe i have used it for a long time with no issues , and is great stuff comes in white black and clear.
> tube is green with a darker green top on the label
> Home Hardware - 300mL Clear Silicone Sealant


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## sarcastickitten

I agree with what everyone posted here.. GE I used t say approved fr aquariums but because of liability they removed it... A lot of the silicons that are mold resistant are very bad fr aquatic plants and some fish... also make sure you allow the silicon to dry completely... in most cases it's about 2-3 days... if it still smells it's most likely not cured yet

Secondly don't use crazy glue on it, way too brittle and also not safe for aquatic life... I would go with epoxy or the stuff Shawn recommended... that stuff is crazy good! also used it on my car..

hope this helps


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## spit.fire

Ge scs1200 is aquarium safe and strong enough for building/repairing larger tanks


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## The Guy

*By this stuff*

I ordered aquarium silicone at A-1 Aldergrove glass it's called Nuflex 333 and the tube says aquarium sealant in big bold letters right on it. I used it and had no problems at all.


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## Rastapus

I personally have never had an issue with Crazy glue. It is used to glue coral frags in reef aquariums so I cant see how it would be harmful to fish. We sell Aqueon Silicone for small repairs to aquariums. There are GE silicones that do not contain anti mildew agents. I cant recommend any to use due to the fact that GE themselves will not recommend it. I know there are a number of you tube videos of hobbyists using GE silicone with no issues but the type is the issue. Another factor is GE distributes different silicones in the US then they do in Canada so this will have an affect on any opinions on line. GE did specifically tell me that no Silicone from GE available in Canada is approved, by them, for use in aquariums. I am sure it is due to liability.


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## Rastapus

The Guy said:


> I ordered aquarium silicone at A-1 Aldergrove glass it's called Nuflex 333 and the tube says aquarium sealant in big bold letters right on it. I used it and had no problems at all.


Now thats one I have not heard of Laurie. They likely import it from the states. That is worth looking into.


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## macframalama

I have also heard a rumor that windshield urethane is safe too and that stuff is tough as nails but have yet had the stones to try it out


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## Diztrbd1

Thought I'd throw my 2 cents in here, given it was the pin on the lid you fixed I doubt there will be any harmful effects from the GE II. as it probably isn't in the water anyway. Definitely not safe to use for resealing the whole tank, unless you give a month to cure under water. Even GE silicone I now has the mold mildew preventives , so neither is safe to use for resealing a tank.I had resealed my 50 with it and lost almost every fish in it the first week after restarting it. After doing research and finding out about the mold/mildew preventives, I removed what was still alive, I let the tank run for a month and did 100% w/c's every few days. Finally restocked it and everything was fine for the remainder of the time I owned the tank, approx 1.5 years. Next time I will use what Mac or Laurie suggested or spend a few extra bux for the stuff at the LFS. There is a sticky that has several other suggestions as well as a big discussion on aquarium safe sealants too:
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/diy-area-18/silicone-sealant-aquariums-7448/
The silicone II being used on the lids pin/hinge will probably be ok, but if it fails I would do as Mac suggested and use an epoxy glue, it's stronger and bonds plastics together much better than silicone.


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## effox

Do you ever sleep John? Jeez buddy!!!

That's what I was thinking, it's not like it's emersed let alone submerged, so I don't know if condensation\moisture\whatever you want to refer to it as would harm any fish. Hell, I used a glue gun for my biocube to secure more blue LED's in its hood, don't know what's in that, but it sure didn't kill anything.


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## Diztrbd1

lol Chris, not much lately but I do occasionally get in a few winks lol Actually woke up at 4am from a well needed 11 hour nap lol I thought that was one of the reasons they made us mods...cause we rarely sleep :lol:
Yea I don't think a lil dab on the lid could do much harm as opposed to being fully submerged. As for the glue gun stuff , I have no clue either but it must be safe as it it used alot on aquarium ornaments.


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## macframalama

yeah when i posted i only skimmed what the OP had put ... i do that from time to time and it bites me in the rear but , i missed the part about a lid fix when i first posted
but that $5 stuff from home hardware has served me well on a few tank reseals and it has big block letters that say safe for aquariums use.

I cant imagine how an epoxy could hurt anything especially if allowed to fully cure and the fact that at most it may get a drip or 2 on it being out of the water..

in addition , those lids are crap i have 2 broken ones that i have yet to fix of my own , its like those pins were made to break 
, but i kind of like the open top idea but i imagine i lose alot of heat that way too, and i guess my way may lead to more "death by jumping" than having the lids but ... as of yet no casualties ... anyways good info on that link john. 

Has anyone else heard of the windshield urethane theory?... i went to a glass shop a while ago and i asked about having a tank cut up to size and i asked something about sealing it and the guy had mentioned that windshield urethane was the best way to seal it up because it is super stupid strong .... now at the time i didnt really ask more questions kind of just got my glass and left but ever since hearing him say that I wonder if it is true or even safe or if this dude was talking out his wazoo... but it WOULD BE super strong so i have always wondered if anyone else has ever heard of this?


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## Diztrbd1

It may be strong, but I think the real concern would be if it has anything in it that may leech into the water like the GE II. On the GE II tube it actually states that it leeches a couple things due to the mold mildew preventives, unfortunately for me the print on the tube was super small and blurred, so I didn't catch that till I went back to Home depot and looked at another tube. Then I sent an email to GE regarding their crappy labeling and suggested that their QC should not let tubes like that go out as people need to be able to read that info. But you definitely want to read everything on the tube lol


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## macframalama

i have bought tubes like that too that the directions and info look smeared or blurred out and my thoughts were like how is this supposed to inform anyone lol, but then again i have had perfect instructions that didnt make any bloody sence too ....

ie my barbeque I was sooo pumped when i got my last bbq , i bought the fattest steaks and a full tank of propane after about an hour and a half of build time and trying to translate my half way shook instructions i got it beat but I had to warn the wife that our big fat steaks may be for breakfast if i could figure it out soon 

and as far as the urethane the leeching aspect is the only part of the equation that i have any issue with aswell and i dont have anything i am "ok" with using as a Guinea pig so i guess a mystery it will remain until someone else wings it first lol..
my reasoning for even thinking of it is that it is super strong .. if you have ever removed a windshield before that stuff is insane...i used to work at a junk yard and you have to cut that stuff out with a piano wire to remove the glass, i mean that would make a super seal imagine having to saw your seals off lol


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## The Guy

Here's the silicone I use bought thru A-1 Aldergove glass:


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## macframalama

no denying that its for use with aquariums lol


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## Foxtail

You could always just assemble the tank with the windsheild pu and then seal it with the aquarium sealant...

Sent from my SGH-T959D using Tapatalk 2


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## macframalama

not a bad idea, again i just dont know if that windshield stuff would allow silicone to bond to it , i dunno


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## Diztrbd1

Just my thoughts, I would think it would bond, but I'd still be afraid of the stuff your unsure of possibly leeching something thru the silicone somehow it has were to have something harmful. Better safe than sorry I always say. 
Sorry for derailing your thread Tom, especially when it really isn't about resealing lol


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## roshan

effox said:


> Do you ever sleep John? Jeez buddy!!!
> 
> That's what I was thinking, it's not like it's emersed let alone submerged, so I don't know if condensation\moisture\whatever you want to refer to it as would harm any fish. Hell, I used a glue gun for my biocube to secure more blue LED's in its hood, don't know what's in that, but it sure didn't kill anything.


I have often wondered the same thing!!


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