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Home Depot GE SIlicone (1 Viewer)

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RR-MAN

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Hey Guys,

Do you know if HD or Lowe’s still sell GE Silicon safe for aquarium use. It’s been years since I used that stuff.

I have a little project I’m working on.
 

decimal

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That topic just came up over here


I guess GE is not the way to go.
 

sneezebeetle

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They have it, but I've always gone to get my silicone from Grainger, I prefer RTV and HD (and Lowes) don't carry it.
 
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Basically all silicone is reef safe (even the silicone with MOLD INHIBITORS) as long as it’s cured. It’s the un-cured silicone that will give you issues. I built a sump out of Silicone II before.

The one you’re referring to at Lowe’s is called GE 1 Window and Door. The manufacturer is Momentive and they have changed their product and on the new tube it says on the front... “7-YEAR Mold Free.” However, the formulation remains the same. They have NOT added any “dangerous” Mold Inhibitors!! LOL :)

They merely rebranded their product. Silicone itself is inherently mold resistant as it is an inorganic substance.

The new silicone model number is GE012A. It is reef safe. This is the one you’re looking for @RR-MAN

19FF5D0B-187D-4867-B450-868453008C14.png 3BA9B758-A485-470E-B2A0-5D3D1F2649AD.png 21D08392-BB79-404A-9431-995589BF146F.png


Here’s the old product below:

1651EEB4-8613-4070-ABB1-E9D02348481D.jpeg
 
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That topic just came up over here


I guess GE is not the way to go.


You can use GE 1 Window and Door, but not a good idea for tank building. It’s doesn’t have the tensile, tear, shear, or peel strength needed for building large tanks like that 265/G in the other thread. You saw what happened and being it happened that quick just goes to show that the builder didn’t know what he was doing at all. GE 1 is great for building sumps though. Specifically for setting baffles, not the actual building of a sump unless it is small. 40 gallons or under maybe. :)

Example of Shear and Tear strength:
Shear strength is the lateral force required to tear or break the bond and Tear would be the vertical force.

60BBF4F3-C230-4C7E-A723-4CC2BD88F222.jpeg
 

BigRick

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GE1 only.. if it says mildew inhibitors, that is what you want to stay away from.
 
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GE1 only.. if it says mildew inhibitors, that is what you want to stay away from.
I guess I’m gonna need to build my new sump (on video) with GE II with mold and mildew inhibitors. I already built one with it. Here’s what we know. This is from one of the best tank builders I’ve known. See below:

For the record: All silicones are reef safe-once they are fully cured. The enemy is uncured silicone, not some mythical ingredient for controlling mildew.

That said, GE Silicone I is cheap junk that should only to be used for sump baffles or the like. It is the aboslute barrel bottom of all materials (and many silicones are right there with it.) For our projects we really should move up to a higher quality product. Dow Corning makes several that blow GE Silicone away, but are not as hefty as the RTV100 series or SCS1200, however for small projects they are fine. DC 735, DC 999A to name two.

The MSDS for Silicone II does not indicate that there are any additions other than siloxanes, of which there are literally hundreds, (polymers) common to all silicones, without getting to complicated about it, The MSDS also does not indicate any proprietary additives either. Where such is present, the law requires that they be included in the MSDS. This raises serious questions as to the validity of the advertising.

What differentiates Silicone II from Silicone I is the latter is an acetoxy cure silicone, and the former is a neutral cure silicone.

Silicone II does not take longer to cure; published cure times are about the same. However the cure times pertain to a specific amount of silicone, usually given in a bead size, generally 1/8" or 1/4". Hardly have I ever seen an aquarium application use that little. As the amount increases the cure time increases, a week, two weeks...RTV100 series' 7 day full cure time is for a 1/4" bead!

I would say that neutral cure silicone is a bit more toxic in its "uncured" state than acetoxy cure silicone, but that is as far as it goes. It is better to malign a product for what it does not do well, rather than internet rumor.

Acetoxy cure silicone excels at bonding to glass and ceramics; acetic acid is corrosive, so it is not suited for metals, and it does not bond well to other materials (acrylic included.) Neutral cure excels at bonding metals (non-corrosive) and other materials (acrylic not included.)
 
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Here’s some more:


Co-polymers, are another category (not 100% silicone).

Within the two general categories, there are several sub-categories: sealant, adhesive, high temperature, etc. Obviously we are only concerned with sealants and adhesives. the choice of which to use, really takes little thought. Sealants seal, adhesives hold stuff together.

GE Silicone I (Momentive) is, easy to work with, but is a bargain basement low end sealant. RTV100 series (Momentive) or SCS1200 (Momentive) are high end adhesives, not so easy to work with. In between there is a plethora of formulations, that will drive the most studious nuts.

A short list has been publised at least a 100 times. Not that they are the only choices, but everytime some off the wall silicone is asked about, or mentioned, it just adds to the confusion (and rumors.) In similar fashion "what is safe and unsafe" has been published at least the same number of times, over the past several years.
 

BigRick

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No worries man. I just don’t want you to think that all silicone or adhesives are out to nuke your tank. Till this day people still believe Silicone II is a tank killer!
I just used flex seal glue on an underwater fitting... it says mildew inhibitor =)
 
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RR-MAN

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I found some BRS RTV in the fish room closet but all dried up - wonder how long it’s good far. It was unopened. I think I ordered it beginning of last year.

I got some clear silicone from petco - it was a very minor job.
 

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