i just found out why [i think] why my tank crashed i think. when i built the sump i used used a silicone '' two'' from lowes. all wrong you need one that says silicone 1 beside it.'' not two'' i hope that wrong .i can only hope. i have to get the phosphate checked i think .i am hoping underwater world can do that. or i have to start all over again i did not know that at all . boy what a huge mistake . thanks
Silicone
- Thread starter mcf6188
- Start date
cilyjr
Chris
All silicone is reef safe and not reef safe at the same time. Once fully cured they are reef safe. Silicone II is an neutral cure silicone and requires over a week to become fully cured. So if you didn't give it around 4 days to set then it could easily wipe a tank. Silicone I is an acetoxy cure basically means it has an acidic additive to speed the cure. That's why there is a strong vinegar smell to it.
so are you saying it is good it was 2 to 3 weeks be fore i used it as a sump. it is @ 6 weeks old now. and do you thing that might be the cause of it crashing. one thing it is very hard to know what caused the tank to crash .thanks for those inspiring words it makes me feel 100% better .so thank you cilyjr
J
jokersplayground
Guest
He is saying if the tank was not dry for at least a week then yes it can be the cause. It could also be other factors as well. Your tank is still really new and that it was not cycled the right way would not be able to handle a bioload very well. Another thing that could have killed everything is when you used your old sand with out rinsing first all that nastiness was placed into your tank then did not give it enough time to cycle through. This is not your fault you did not know these things it's apart of the learning process.
Owen386
Non-member
I crashed my tank with silicone once. I knew it was silicone cause I put my sump together then plumbed it up dohhhh! I knew it was the silicone because in the curing process it releases ammonia a mature tank might be able to Convert this ammonia quick enough in my newly established tank it wiped out mostly everything. I knew it was this cause I tested during this crash. Be careful with silicone!
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Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
so on june 20th i started to set up the 40 i took @10 cups of sand from the 28 gal bio. then i took out @ 15 to 20 cups and put it in the refg. so some were @ that time i started the 40 up. i bought @ 40 lbs of new sand . so i was told you do not have to cycle you have 40 to 50 lbs of l/r and l/s .with that said i jumped in to it 100% . so i messed up... trust is a huge thing ????.. so should i take every thing out and do the sump over and take all the sand out and rinse .i check all the perimeters all the time and so far so good... thanks
I would just let everything stabilize as it is. As Chris said, it's highly unlikely that the silicone has anything to do with this as long as it cured for a week before being used.
If LR/LS is well cycled and stable, they you can more or less add livestock without much if any cycle. Chances are the LR and LS were not so well cured and stabilized, but leaving things alone for some time will fix that.
If LR/LS is well cycled and stable, they you can more or less add livestock without much if any cycle. Chances are the LR and LS were not so well cured and stabilized, but leaving things alone for some time will fix that.
cilyjr
Chris
Ammonia is only 1 thing it will realease it will release alcohol and depending on the type it will release certain acids. That's why it is so important to give silicone at least 4 days cure time. I recommend a week.
As I said before any silicone (last I did my research) is inert once completely cured. Completely cured is usually more then a week.
I would not tear down and start over. You have a few stuff that's alive correct? Then keep a close eye on them.
That little overflow thing is just to add some surface skimming. It's probably ok for that but looking at the design I can tell it's going to be noisey unless the water flow through is very low.
as of now i am waiting for the overflow to come .i have a pair of clowns , a fire fish, a aphasia shrimp, a fire fish, a feather duster,[ that was the first coral i bought]. a pom pom, Kenya tree and a brown button coral ....i done 2/ 20 gal water change[ you know the smell of bad rock] that been gone for a good week or longer.so it is a waiting game. i am retired ironworker so i have time .i do not know if thank you is enough to say for all the help you reefers done stepping up to the plate and help . i now so a huge thanks chris
as of now i am waiting for the overflow to come .i have a pair of clowns , a fire fish, a aphasia shrimp, a fire fish, a feather duster,[ that was the first coral i bought]. a pom pom, Kenya tree and a brown button coral ....i done 2/ 20 gal water change[ you know the smell of bad rock] that been gone for a good week or longer.so it is a waiting game. i am retired ironworker so i have time .i do not know if thank you is enough to say for all the help you reefers done stepping up to the plate and help . i now so a huge thanks chris
