Silicone crash

[Proteus]

I built a sump using GE. silicone. Which before was fine. Now I find out that they put mildew inhibter in the mix. I plumbed
In sump and went away for weekend. Came home to a partial meltdown. I did a water change and changed carbon.

Will the tank be fine or should I pull the sump and rebuild

[daplatapus]

If for nothing else than peace of mind, I think I would re-build it. If you lose anything or have any issues even years down the road, you'll always be wondering....
I've been using this stuff with good success and it's cheap at home hardware. Even says aquarium safe - you wont find that on any GE product I know of

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Pull the sump and rebuild.

It'll keep leaching that mildew inhibitor and kill more corals & fish. Nasty stuff.

[Proteus]

Thanks. I'll do so tonight

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I would shut off the return pump and close the sump off from the display to prevent any more leaching. Also, NOTE to self (actually I mean OP & everyone else): You should never do anything major to your tank just before taking off on holidays. That's just asking for Murphy to come visit and bleep with your tank.

[ScubaSteve]

The mildew inhibitors are petroleum distillates. The only thing that will remove them is aspiration by a skimmer (basically "undissolving" them) and big water changes. They don't stick to carbon. The silicone may also be leaching ammonia if it didn't cure long enough. Add an ammonia absorbing pad.

Pull the sump and rebuild it. Sorry you got bitten by the GE silicone problem. Seems to be getting pretty common and it's a pretty easy mistake to make. GE didn't even list the petroleum distillates in their MSDS until recently as they were a trade secret.

[The Grizz]

Originally Posted by Bblinks

I am not being a smart a$$ but just can't understand why not just use aquarium silicone? Is it that much of a difference in price that you would risk time and effort just to save a few bucks?

That's a good question & for me it's simply because every where I have seen actual aquarium silicone it's a very tiny tube priced anywhere from $9.99 - $16.99. SCS1200 is around $6 and 3 time the size.


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[FragIt Dan]

+1 on using this stuff. I and everyone I know uses it, it specifically says it is aquarium safe on it, it works great, and a 3 pack (contractor size tubes) is about $10 or $12 from Home Hardware.

[/quote]

[Wayne]

Yup from Home Hardware its around $11 plus tax for 3 tubes (they sell singles for like $6). Used this on my euro bracing and I know some tank builders that use it... Sounds like a done deal.

Originally Posted by FragIt Dan

+1 on using this stuff. I and everyone I know uses it, it specifically says it is aquarium safe on it, it works great, and a 3 pack (contractor size tubes) is about $10 or $12 from Home Hardware.

[/quote]

[Bblinks]

Wow, that is a big price difference. Good to know. Thanks for the reply guys.