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Post by kagome on Mar 16, 2011 0:14:53 GMT -5
My husband had a really cool idea and I wanted to run it by ya'll and see what you thought. My husband, Steve, wants to make DIY aquarium decor, specifically caves made from natural stone. He had the idea that we could buy some nice flat rock to make cave roofs with then seal them together permanently to the base rocks with the same silicone sealant that is used to seal aquarium glass together. That way you wouldn't have to worry about the rocks tumbling apart when you need to clean the tank.
Any thoughts?
Would the silicone sealant work for this application?
How long does it take to set?
I know these would be very heavy decorations but I still think it would be great if we could make something like this.
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Post by parker002 on Mar 16, 2011 6:09:13 GMT -5
I've had mixed results using silicone for stuff like this.
If you're using heavy stones and they fit together well WITHOUT silicone -- in other words, you're just using the silicone to prevent them from shifting if you bump them while cleaning -- I think you'll probably be fine.
The key is to make sure the stones fit together "naturally" before you seal them together. If you try to connect stones that don't, I think the silicone is just going to tear under the weight. It's not very strong from an adhesive standpoint.
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Post by Carl on Mar 16, 2011 9:52:01 GMT -5
I would add that a thin layer on a very clean surface will do best. The other key is what silicone will and will not adhere to. Silicone will not adhere long term to ANY oil based product which includes all plastics and some paints This is why silicone cannot be used for a good repair of an acrylic tank However pure rock & glass (glass is made from silica) is adhered to by silicone quite well, so keep this in mind as well as the clean dry surface See: Aquarium Silicone ApplicationsI used to make decorations for re-sale in my store and aquarium service business about 15 years ago. For this I used marine epoxy resins (which I also used to seal the wooden aquariums and patio ponds I built). The use of this epoxy might be a good option & can be purchased by the gallon Carl |
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Post by parker002 on Mar 16, 2011 10:25:28 GMT -5
I would have recommended epoxy but I wasn't sure if they made an "aquarium safe" version. Epoxy is going to give superior hold when using rock.
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Post by Carl on Mar 16, 2011 14:13:52 GMT -5
I would have recommended epoxy but I wasn't sure if they made an "aquarium safe" version. Epoxy is going to give superior hold when using rock. That is a good point, make sure that the epoxy you purchase is safe for aquatic life.  The Marine Epoxy I used was considered safe and i know from the tanks alone I build that the one I used was OK (no fish died!) Carl |
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Post by kagome on Mar 17, 2011 22:55:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the input ya'll! Marine epoxy resin, I'll tell my husband about that and do some more research. See, I knew asking ya'll would help. EA rocks!
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Post by kagome on Mar 17, 2011 23:07:50 GMT -5
I poked around and found this. I bet I could make some wicked caves with some of this stuff!
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