please help me to fix a tank...

[Mrs N1ntndo]

Heres a question for u all. I was talking to Rod(hubby) and he was wanting to make the tank good enough to hold water and we need to redue the caulking or silacone in the tank. Now heres the question, what chemicles in those should we stay away from. We have some but we dont want to use the wrong kind and hurt our babies. Do you have any suggestions for what kinds to use that wouldnt cost very much. I need enough to redue a 30 gallon tank.

[guidofatherof5]

Clear silicone caulking should do just fine.
Just make sure it has completely cured before you introduce the babies.
I don't think latex caulking will do the job on an aquarium.
Just my thoughts.

[dieselbaby]

years ago i had to repair the seal on my old tank, and i bought aquarium silicone, its supposed to be non toxic to fish, so that would be my recommendation. I used regular silicone on a waterfall, and it killed my pond fish, so i wouldnt recommend plain silicone.

I dont know where you would buy it where you are but I bought mine at a hardware store. It wasn't expensive, maybe $1 more a tube then the regular stuff. Hope this helps.

[guidofatherof5]

years ago i had to repair the seal on my old tank, and i bought aquarium silicone, its supposed to be non toxic to fish, so that would be my recommendation. I used regular silicone on a waterfall, and it killed my pond fish, so i wouldnt recommend plain silicone.

Good point to bring up;)

[d_virginiana]

If it's labeled either 100% silicone or aquarium silicone you can use it (they're the same thing). If not, stay away from it, because it has added chemicals that can kill fish/frogs really quickly.

[brain]

years ago i had to repair the seal on my old tank, and i bought aquarium silicone, its supposed to be non toxic to fish, so that would be my recommendation. I used regular silicone on a waterfall, and it killed my pond fish, so i wouldnt recommend plain silicone.

Ditto
I killed a pair of breeding Angles once for this very same reason. From then on I read carefully safe for fish, for snake I am going with my leason learned.

Hope this helps :cool:

[Mrs N1ntndo]

thank u all very much. I am going to be getting some in a week or 2.

[kimbosaur]

If you have trouble finding aquarium silicone at the hardware store, try your local fish/aquatics store. They sometimes carry it.

[Mrs N1ntndo]

we have 2 hardware stores in town so hopefully 1 of them have it. the closest pet store is 20 minutes away. but thank you. i will look ther if they dont have it at the hardware store.

[count dewclaw]

If I read you're original post correctly, it sounds like you want to have a built in water area in the tank. If that is so, just keep in mind that those areas are hard to keep clean. Are you willing to clean out the whole tank when the snakes poop in their water? I find a large water dish works easier.

[Mrs N1ntndo]

I just talking about the edges like it wwas when it was new. cause it leaks everywhere and we just want to fix that so that the glass is more secure for the encloser.

[guidofatherof5]

Dual(wet/dry) enclosures are full of inherent problems and many can lead to poor health for the snake.
Just my opinion.;)

[dieselbaby]

chances are you will have to strip the old silicone off and redo it, if its leaking now, probably all the silicone is dried out, or bad. Silicone is cheap, its not expensive. I think i paid like $4 or $5 a tube for it, and a tube goes a long ways depending on how thick you put it on.

But if you do just patch it, one tube should do you, but you will be doing it again later since the new silicone wont stick to the old stuff that great.

[Mrs N1ntndo]

I dont want to make it so I can hold water I just want it to be as if I could. The old siacone or what ever it is is dry and all needs to be replaced. So before I used it Iwanted to redue it all to secure it better( make it like new) I am still going to use a bowl for water like I am now and everyhting will be the same as now but A LOT bigger. I am also looking for a cheap cheap lid. Hard to find and it sux.

[ConcinusMan]

If it doesn't need to hold water, why bother? Tanks made for reptiles don't hold water even when they're new. Or at least, the glass isn't rated to hold the pressure.

I wouldn't use anything but clear silicone that is specifically for "aquarium" use.


Dual(wet/dry) enclosures are full of inherent problems and many can lead to poor health for the snake.
Just my opinion.;)

Definitely. It's just a bad idea.