Ghengis Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 One for the tank builders... Will be setting up some new barracks, soon. They'll be a decent size, probably 300x300x300mm-ish in a row of four together. Now, whilst CLEAR Aquarium Silicone is readily available, and I have a tube already, I want to know which brands are BLACK. Obviously, there is Sikaflex, a product I am familiar with (it's great for all things automotive, from filling surplus holes to keeping passengers in place during high-speed traffic light duels), but I'm not sure of it's Aquarium friendly-ness. I am quite keen for the black rimmed look; I just think it's classier than the clear and my other tanks have this look, so it'd be good to keep the theme. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted September 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 ...ummm, bump??? :balloons: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canfeleq Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 Apparently Bostik Glazing Silicone is aquarium safe and comes in translucent and black. Not sure where you can get it from though, try Mitre 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted September 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 I'm glad you mentioned Mitre10. I sooooooooo don't want to have to ask some Bunnings gimp (apologies to the Bunnings gimps, no offence intended) which product I should be using.... Who knows what I'd end up with. Cheers for the response, anyway, I'll see what I can see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted September 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 Went and had a look at that Bostik gear today. Not too sure if it'll do the job... Reading the label, I see it is not recommended for use "below the waterline", which, one would have to assume, would include aquariums. Nevermind, I'll keep looking around. If anyone is aware of any other possibilities, feel free to share :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canfeleq Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 not sure if this is any help to you but This is the one they recommend for aquarium use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted September 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 Lovely work! Thanks so much for that. I think the product referred to in that sheet is different from the one I was looking at yesterday... But this will be a great help in tracking something down. Cheers!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted September 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 ...so, I printed off that sheet and went 'round to Bunnings (yes, yes, I know, but it was the nearest...) at lunch. Looks like the stuff I was looking at is the same stuff... At least as far as the matching barcodes can attest. Picked up the glass for the new tank, today and I begin a weeks holiday tomorrow arvo. Yay! No prizes for guessing what I'll be doing!! :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canfeleq Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 Good luck with the project, you'll have to let us know how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 I know this might sound odd, and it could just be the way it is done, but I've always found black silicone to be much weaker than the clear. Dalbarb uses it in all of its tanks and, although they do have some odd shapes and don't run it onto the glass, all of their tanks that I've had always needed repair work, and stripping that black stuff off seemed much easier than stripping off clear. Just thought it might bear mentioning before you started in case you wanted to trial I personally would have just cheated and gone for black capping pieces, though I'm not really sure where you'd get those either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted September 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Those black corner pieces are readily available at plastics outlets, they also sell the cappings and jointers... There's a tanks maker/LFS up here who uses the corner pieces on his tanks. TBH, I really don't like the look of them, y'know, and it's actually one of the reasons I'm making my own tank. Just couldn't find the right size and look anywhere. I hear you on the bond strength, though, and I'm actually worried what will happen regardless of colour or brand of Silicone used. I'll be putting the whole thing together with tape, using spacers so the silicone can get right into the joint. I'll then run a second bead inside the tank-corners to provide (I hope) extra grip. I've read that anything up to about 30gal (120L) should be strong enough thru the joints with regular (or black??) silicone, and no need for bracing. My proj will run out to about 24gal (90L), so I'm hoping for the best. Stay tuned for a pictorial DIY thread!! ...oh, and thanks everyone for the input. :thumbs: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Ok i might be to late but dont use stikaflex. You can use (stikasik) im not sure if ive spelt it right. But you would have to flush the tank out very well. Or there is stuff you can get from Bradfast thats made for tanks and it comes in clear white and black its not cheap. I dont know if you have one in cairns? Heres the townville number 47747688 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted October 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Michael, yeah, a little late mate, but not to worry, I didn't use Sikaflex (the one you were talking about, I think, is Silastic). I ended up using the Bostik Glazing silicone, as recommended by Canfeleq. I haven't done a leak test, yet, but it seems like the goods...although, I should say, if there were any leaks, it'd be more a testament to my (lack of) silicone skills, than the quality of the product. I have the tank together, now, looks pretty sweet with the black rimming...I'll put up some progress pics in my other thread tomorrow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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