Silicone issue...

Diddle822

Cleaner Shrimp
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
I built my original sump and thought the silicone I had in the basement was the same but it is not. So I had the sump running for 2 days well almost 3. Didn't lose any coral... yet. But things have not been fully open etc. So anyway I got the sump out tonight and now I'm wondering how to deal with the problem. So I'll be doing a 50%+ water change tomorrow and then another one the next day or two. Got some pretty nice corals and I'm worried what should I do get them out in someone else's tank? Getthem in clean water till I do water change? Or ride it out and just hope nothing happens ?
 

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
I would plug the overflow and run the tank without a sump for a bit until you fix the sump. Probably a lot less stressful than a move and all you really need to do is manually top off and maybe throw an extra powerhead in the tank.
 

TheRealChrisBrown

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#3
I agree with zombie, take the sump off line, re-silicone the sump, give it several days to cure, and bring it back online. In the mean time, do the big water change in your display.

What's your total water volume?
 

SynDen

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#4
Ya that will just continue to leach toxins into the tank and slowly kill everything. Gotta remove it all and do a full reseal of the sump. The sooner you do it the better.
I have an empty 30g you could use as a temporary sump if you want. It doesnt have any dividers or anything, but might work for a few days
 

neil82

Sting ray
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#5
What kind of silicone did you use? And can someone remind me... what is the correct type of silicone for aquarium use?
 

kchristensen8064

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
RTV 100 series is what I have read. It's what I used to reseal my 40b and what I used to build my 20g seahorse tank. You can't find it at a typical hardware store. I had to order it online from granger.
 

SynDen

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#7
What kind of silicone did you use? And can someone remind me... what is the correct type of silicone for aquarium use?
Most silicons are fine as long as they dont have the mold inhibitor ingredient. Most Kitchen/Bath silicons have this in them so dont use those.

Easiest way to be sure though is to just buy stuff that is specifically listed as aquariums safe. I bought like 10 tubes from BRS awhile back and price wise they were pretty much the same as the hardware store, with clear or black.
 

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
What kind did you use? It could be the silicone, but it could also be other things and you could stress the corals more by jacking around with stuff.

If you post the kind, somebody will be able to tell you for sure.
 

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#9
The rule of thumb I go by is it must say 100% silicone on the package or specifically mention aquarium use. The bath and outdoor stuff is the dangerous stuff.
 
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