# Facts and fiction: the secrets of silicone



## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

100% silicone, aka silicone 1:

If it says not aquarium safe on silicone 1 its GENERALLY a liability thing, silicone 1 is fish safe if it is 100% silicone but not a structural adhesive.

Normal silicone 1 is just a sealant so I wouldn't suggest it for glueing panels together on anything over 55g.

I have yet to find silicone 1 in black


structural silicone:

Ge Scs1200 is also aquarium safe and structural so good for bigger tanks and comes in black and clear, I know a few of the bigger custom tank builders use it, only downside to it is its hard to find if you don't know where to look and is more expensive than normal silicone 1 (15-25$ per tube compared to 4-10$)

I know of a other structural silicones out there that are aquarium safe but they changed the name of the company and I don't recall the name

Silicone 2:
Is poisonous, kills fish, don't use it for aquariums or terrariums or anything of that sort


All silicone: 
For building a tank from scratch, or just resealing a tank, I always suggest waiting a minimum of 48hrs before putting water in the tank and also always leak test the tank in a bath tub or outside for a comfortable amount of time before setting it up

And last but not least this thread is for reference only, don't get mad at me if your tank blows out or your fish die. This information is all from my personal experience building tanks, resealing tanks, and building sumps for fresh and salt water

Ps: oceanic corals and animal house both generally have scs1200 in stock

Ill update this thread with more info and a list of silicone 1 products that I have personally had success with as I find old tubes laying around my garage.... Time to clean the garage


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Another major point is to read the VOC on the tube, it should be 32-36, anything lower than it wont be silicone, anything higher than it can be poisonous to your fish.

also rtv 103 works great aswell.

i prefer to let my silicone cure for around a week before water testing


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## Sliver (Apr 19, 2011)

so you're NOT supposed to do leak tests in your garage? ;-)


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

Sliver said:


> so you're NOT supposed to do leak tests in your garage? ;-)


I have a floor drain in my garage


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## jkcichlid (Apr 21, 2010)

Just to add a few notes
Home Hardware has their own brand of aquarium safe silicone $4-5 per 300mL tube (clear)
Nuflex 333 is also an aquarium safe silicon. Can be ordered at Speedy Glass but I am sure more places can get it in. (black)


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