[Brian317]

Hey all !

Quick question for anyone that can help. Due to recent fights and WWE choke holds by my largest female leuc, I had to split up my group of 4 leucs into pairs. Now I did not have any extra room, so I split their existing 55 gallon tank into 2 parts....to make a long story short, the entire setup is completed as it was gs and siliconed (GE II and fresh cans, not expired) yesterday morning and put everything in the tank last night, I also left the top off to vent the tank and kept my lights on for the plants. I woke up today and it still had a mix between fresh wood/leaves/and hint of some other odd odor (not as strong as yesterday, but still a hint, which I'd assume would be the silicone).

Will the silicone cure in a vented and damp condition? I mist my plants a couple times a day still so they will not dry out, but planned to wait till the silicone cured to add my leucs, who are in pairs in seperate 10 gal holding tanks (and by the look of it, dont appreciate ) I planned to wait till possibly monday/tuesday to add them back as long as I did not smell any silicone, but that all depends on the smell. I rubbed my finger on some spots and it is hard and rubbery, does not come off on my finger, which is a good sign...

I think I'm on track, but let me know,
Thanks

 

[beefyg]

Silicone needs humidity and heat to cure properly. It also needs access to air. It sounds like to me that you did everything right. The silicone will skim over but it takes longer for the deeper portions to cure. A day or two should be plenty.

I work in the oilfield and we use silicone to glue down parts, harnesses, etc. When I worked in Alaska we had to lay damp paper towels over the silicone because the shop was so dry. It still took nearly a full day to cure enough to seal it off. I've had tools that were sealed off too early turn out to be gummy messes when removing the harnesses.

Good luck!

 

[EvilLost]

Depends on how wet exactly...in my experiences silicone will not bond to WET surfaces

 

[Brian317]

Sounds great, thank you both. I took a smell tonight and smells more like peat moss and wood over the silicone. I think another day or two and it should be good.