Diy Glue? / Sealant

[becca320]

Hi,
Can anyone in the UK recommend a glue product which would be suitable for use in an aquarium, Basically I have decided to make by own caves out of small pieces of slate and have successfully made one so far with Aquarium sealant, However it costs upwards of £10 and I wondered if there were any cheap alternatives that I could use which would be non toxic and "fish friendly" .... Any help as always gladly appreciated.
Becks.

 

[adamgreen240]

you can get aquarium silicone for just over a fiver on ebay:

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Everbuild-Everflex-A...5.c81.m20.l1116

i use that stuff and i think its great!

 

[becca320]

you can get aquarium silicone for just over a fiver on ebay:

[URL="http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Everbuild-Everflex-A...5.c81.m20.l1116"]http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Everbuild-Everflex-A...5.c81.m20.l1116[/URL]

i use that stuff and i think its great!

Brilliant Ta vry much.
Wish I had thought before shelling out £11 this morning ... Learn by mistakes and all that .. LOL

 

[Colin_T]

wow 10pounds for a tube of silicon is expensive.
we pay about $7 AU for it here.

check out the local hardware, they often sell it cheaper than the fish shop.

 

[three-fingers]

Aquarium sealant is just re-branded regular silicone, which you can get in B&Q or any DIY store for about £3 .
Make sure you don't get silicone with added fungicides though, the pack will say.

 

[fozziebear]

Aquarium sealant is just re-branded regular silicone, which you can get in B&Q or any DIY store for about £3 .
Make sure you don't get silicone with added fungicides though, the pack will say.

not quite, you have to make sure it is high modulus sealant, it will say on the tube wether it is or not, normal silicone sealant is toxic to aquatic organisms.

 

[three-fingers]

Isn't that because the low-module stuff is the stuff with the fungicides though?

 

[fozziebear]

now that i do not know but yeah all i know is you have to look out for high modulus silicone haha might well be because of fungicides, also one of the fish shops i go to has tanks from the 1960's which are sealed using bichimin and metal frames so that is also safe for aquaria i presume.

 

[KraKen]

Actually there is a difference between Aquarium silicone and the regular stuff. Aaquarium silicone releases ethanoic/acetic acid(viniger) as it sets while normal silicone releases ammonia and methanol, the normal stuff also sets faster.

 

[Rooster]

To the OP, you can also use hot melt (as long as its the plain white sticks) or superglue (5 tubes a quid from the pound shops)

"Modulus" means the amount it 'sticks' so "high modulus" grabs surfaces better than "low modulus" its nothing to do with contents ! (can also relate to "thickness" and strength)
As long you buy ONLY silicon(e) you are OK, make sure it contains no additives, especially fungicides and its all good.
Contrary to popular belief fish shops DO NOT use "special" stuff.... all their stock comes from the real world, its all a matter of education...

 

[Rubix]

Dang I don't know what that equates to in US dollars (our dollar is so weak, who knows) but I paid $1.50 for the last tube of silicone sealant I bought [13 days ago]

 

[jgray152]

Isn't that because the low-module stuff is the stuff with the fungicides though?

Not at all. The difference is in the adhesion and strength ( how much pressure and flexing it can put up with before it breaks.) of the silicone. The fungicides are an additive. I can't get pure 100% silicone from our home improvment center since they all have the fungicides in them. I have to special order the silicone.

Here is a little info on it.
[URL="http/answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...07085106AAfmhif"]http/answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...07085106AAfmhif[/URL]

 

[raptorrex]

Actually there is a difference between Aquarium silicone and the regular stuff. Aaquarium silicone releases ethanoic/acetic acid(viniger) as it sets while normal silicone releases ammonia and methanol, the normal stuff also sets faster.

not true, sorry. the difference is simply in the curing agent, the effectiveness or where you use it is not affected. try a caravan or boat shop/dealer. high modulus silicone in 310ml tubes goes for £3.99, only the clear is aquarium safe though. i believe the company name is Hodgson sealants and it is sold as Hifix HM sealant. it works fine, takes 48 hours to cure, lol not a second longer. i just wish they did it in black. i am told hot glue, from one of those guns works well though too.

 

[becca320]

Actually there is a difference between Aquarium silicone and the regular stuff. Aaquarium silicone releases ethanoic/acetic acid(viniger) as it sets while normal silicone releases ammonia and methanol, the normal stuff also sets faster.

not true, sorry. the difference is simply in the curing agent, the effectiveness or where you use it is not affected. try a caravan or boat shop/dealer. high modulus silicone in 310ml tubes goes for £3.99, only the clear is aquarium safe though. i believe the company name is Hodgson sealants and it is sold as Hifix HM sealant. it works fine, takes 48 hours to cure, lol not a second longer. i just wish they did it in black. i am told hot glue, from one of those guns works well though too.

Hi all and thanks ever so much for all youre advise ... one thing I did do thinking it would be easier is get the Glue gun and the white stivks (Loctite) in the UK
I spent all day and sorted loads of these caves out only to put them in the water and they DO NOT STAY PUT the glue just disolves, wether this is because I am using slate I dunno ... Just a word of advise really .. I was a bit P'eeed.... LOL

So gone back to the good old £10 sealant .. hmmph..

 

[Rooster]

You may have used the "wood" sticks... err, for gluing wood. I use the white/semi transparent "general purpose" ones...