Silicone poisoning...

nicenakago

nicenakago

Member
Did some sump repairs this weekend. The silicone obviously didn't have enough time to cure before I reinstalled the sump... water is all cloudy and the tank smells like silicone. corals are all dead or dying... and I am stuck at work.
Question... Does anyone know if the silicone will eventually cure underwater?
I know water changes are neccesary to fix this problem. Curious about if what damage is done is done... or if it will always continue forever?
 
robofish

robofish

Member
Silicone is made not to diminish in saltwater or any other organic based solution. It may have damaged more... As it may be nec.. to replace filtration system and so on....
 
jarvis

jarvis

Member
There is a diffrence on the types of silcone. Some silicone has fungisides (sp) that can poison the water. What type of silicone did you use? I have never had a problem using silicone that has cured for about 10 min before putting it in the system. It will take longer to cure. Did your sump have any form of filtration like a wet dry? If so did you take to sump of your system slowly? It sound like you did use the wrong type of silicone. I would think the safest route would be to replace everything. However its alot of cash. You might want to take everything back to the pet store that is still alive. Redo your sump with the proper silicone and keep doing a series of large waterchanges to get all of toxins out of the water and then give it a trial run with a damsel.
 
oscardeuce

oscardeuce

Active Member
Run plenty of carbon, some of the silicons use acetic acid as a solvent(thus the vinegar smell). Carbon should scavenge the toxins. Also check the pH of the water. I use silicon specifically formulated for aquariums and have had no trouble.
 
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