silicone for building tanks

[stephen bland]

halo folks

its me again i have been useing aquarium silicone.
to make up some tanks can anyone tell me can i use normal silicone.
or is it toxic to the spids

till next time

steve

[Mark Pennell]

Steve
I have always used normal but good quality clear silicon, unibond etc.

All you have to do is makes sure you leave to set a good few days, then wash out with warm soapy water - job done!
Never lost a spid yet

Cheers
Mark

[Stanley A. Schultz]

... can anyone tell me can i use normal silicone. ...

What's "normal" silicone?

Given the cost and trouble of building custom cages, I'd only use aquarium type silicone. Ultimately it's still a low cost, long term sort of thing. Save money by cutting corners elsewhere.

Best of luck. Enjoy your tarantulas!

[Ray Gabriel]

Hi Stephen,

As Mark said use good quality sealant. DO NOT use the stuff which comes out of the tube white and "dries" clear it goes back to white and pliable with warm humidity. If you are paying less than £4 a tube (unless you are getting it trade) it wont last as long and will probably give you problems from the start.

What we used to do when building tanks was soak the tanks (after the silicone had dried) for 24hrs in the bath (or a larger freshwater holding tank) a process called "leeching" this helps remove the excess chemicals from the sealant.

Ray

[Mike_Strick]

I have often wondered if there is any real difference between the silicone sold as Aquarium Sealant and that sold as Bathroom Sealant, other than the price.

[J M Clegg]

I have just built 2 tanks as an experiment. I purchased my aquarium silicon on line, along with a silicon gun - including delivery it was less that £10.00 and with me in about 3 days.

http://www.absealants.co.uk/product_13-2-8_Aquarium-Silicone.htm

I found the silicon easy to work with and pretty strong on contact. It also cures quite quickly. A word of warning though, mask off every joint as even though it's clear, overspill does show up along the edges. This can easilly be removed using a stanley knife blade and a little vinegar.

[Stanley A. Schultz]

I have often wondered if there is any real difference between the silicone sold as Aquarium Sealant and that sold as Bathroom Sealant, other than the price.

The bathroom sealant almost surely contains a mildewcide to prevent the growth of mold around sinks and such. The mildewcide is absolutely guaranteed to kill your tarantulas. If it doesn't, take the tube back to the merchant and demand your money back. The stuff is defective!

[Mike_Strick]

That certainly makes sense and I can't argue with the authority, but I do wonder why my bathroom supports a thriving Pholcus colony and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of healthy-looking Tegenaria, despite being adequately sealed and mildew free?!

The bathroom sealant almost surely contains a mildewcide to prevent the growth of mold around sinks and such. The mildewcide is absolutely guaranteed to kill your tarantulas. If it doesn't, take the tube back to the merchant and demand your money back. The stuff is defective!

[Mark Pennell]

I forgot to add that some may have fungicide in them but these are normally the cheap ones. Unibond clear silicon sealant has worked for me for over 20 years, without loss on any tarantulas.

However I stress, you must allow the sealant to be fully cured and the tank washed out before placing your spider inside, this is just good old common sense.

One other great tip for building tanks, tape the tank sides together then run a bead of sealant up the inside, don't worry about trying to add it to both pieces and then join together, a single bead up the inside will hold the class together.

when slightly cured use a wet soapy finger to smooth up.

Repeat this process until all sides are complete.

Also worth a mention is that got this info for building tanks from a person who builds tropical fishtanks for a living... nuff said.

Cheers
Mark

[Stanley A. Schultz]

That certainly makes sense and I can't argue with the authority, ...

Distrust ALL authority! I was wrong once, too, you know.

... but I do wonder why my bathroom supports a thriving Pholcus colony and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of healthy-looking Tegenaria, despite being adequately sealed and mildew free?! ...

Pholcids are web dwellers and would seldom come into contact with the mildewcide in the silicone rubber.

Tegenariads are wandering spiders and, likewise, probably wouldn't contact the mildewcide often enough to make a difference. Besides, as soon as one died from it, another 2 would march up from the basement or crawl space to take its place.


Tarantulas trapped in a cage put together with mildewcide laced silicone could never escape it. Every time they touched one of the corners they'd contact it. Not only that, the crickets that they eat would not only have come into contact with it, but may have actually tried to eat it!
Sooner or later the mildewcide would get to them.

It's still better to be safe than sorry.

[Ray Hale]

From a personal point of view I have always used building silicone to build my tanks. The danger here is that there are many types and brands of silicone sealent available both here and in the States. Some contain insecticides others mildewcide. The truth is that you should check the label before using it and as Mark P says always let the sealent cure completely before use. I have been making tanks for my own use for years and have never had a problem with the silcone I use. On another note some years ago I had a spider with a fungal patch on its abdomen and I took the advice fro a young lady in the States who recommended a substance called BENLATE to remove the fugus. After some searching I found the substance at a local garden centre and it was an "insecticide free" powder. It worked. My point is, that next to it on the shelf was a UK brand called "BENNILITE". This was an insecticide/fungicide and would have undoubtly killed my spider. The moral is simple. Be very careful when using any substance as brand names here and in the states may be similar but are not the same.

Ray Hale
BTS COmmittee