Today, I want to talk about my favorite silicones glues cements and adhesives that I use in and around my aquariums and for my projects
So the first thing we should talk about is silicones that is the number one question that I get about
Aquarium adhesives is what type of silicone can I use and what type of silicones are safe?
Well, that's not necessarily an easy question to answer I can tell you what I use
But depending on where you're located in the world you might have zero access to these
So let's start out by telling you what I use in some recommendations
And then we'll follow it up by what you can look for in other types of silicones if you can't find these
the number one [silicone] that [I've] been using and I've been using for about ten years now is
Ge silicone one window indoor it's a hundred percent
Silicone with no additives the other type of silicone that I use which is in here right [now] is ge
Scs
1200 it's Also a great silicone
Now when I can't get to a store that sells this or I can't find it
I go to my local home hardware and get weather shield
Which specifically states that it's safe for aquariums right on the packaging. I need to be clear here
[I] find zero difference in whether I use this one or this one or [any] other types of silicone?
[I] find they have the same strengths same consistencies, and they're about the same prices
[I] paid between five and eight dollars for a large Tube like this when I'm building aquariums
this is the size that [I] use and
For smaller tubes like these I'll pay closer to three to five dollars usually I stock up on silicones when I see them go on
Sale though the big Tubes I use with a caulking gun to build aquariums
[and/or] some of the bigger jobs that I need to do
Smaller Tubes, I like to use these for a lot of smaller jobs like installing
baffles inside of a sump and or any other small little job
I need obviously this is a lot easier to get in and [around] everything then a big caulking gun with this on the end
So what if you can't find the ones that I use well the number one thing [that] you want to look for is that it?
says a hundred percent silicon then it has
additives you want to look for if it says Mildew resistant or
Mold inhibitors, or anything like that if it does stay away [from] it those are what are not safe for your aquarium?
[if] you've ever used silicone before it comes out in a very thick substance
typically taking about 10 minutes to start
Curing and by that it only starts to cure on the on the outside of it
And we call this skinning where it forms a cured skin on the outside
The inside of the silicone will not be for a bead of silicone. That's about six millimeters in diameter
It's going to take about
24 hours for that to cure for something bigger you typically need a little bit longer for [example] for big glass tanks
I'll wait three to seven days before I start a test [film] but for something as simple as a
Small tank like a Thirty gallon and or if your [riesling] in your tank 24 hours is sufficient if you're still not sure
What aquarium silicone to use ask?
join a local aquarium club join a local forum get on a
Facebook group and ask around and find out if anybody in your area knows of an aquarium safe silicone, that's commonly available to you
So like I said if this doesn't apply to you do your research and ask around locally okay on to
cements I used to build
Acrylic aquariums when it comes to working with acrylics or even
Plastics for that matter my favorite product to use is well done now
Well Dawn comes in a variety of different types including [weld-on] [4] which is water thin and [weld-on]
16 which is a more of a syrupy type of cement both doing pretty much the same thing the differences are pretty clear though
well don 4 is meant to Bond acrylic on a molecular level it works by
softening the Acrylic first and once both edges of the acrylic Soften within minutes the well Dodd 4 actually
evaporates leaving behind a
Welded Seam of acrylic that is bonded on a molecular level [well] Don 4 comes in a variety of sizes
This is actually 473 millilitres. I paid about 15 bucks for it for example [a] hundred gallon. Tank will only take me [about]
20 20 to 30 milliliters of well Don [4] to build it so
[as] you can imagine I could build a lot of aquariums with just this one pint when it comes to weld on 16
This is a little different. It's still great for bonding acrylics, but it's almost like silicone
Whereas once you apply it. It actually remains. It doesn't evaporate
Being more syrupy in consistency it means that it can also fill in gaps and bond things that are not perfectly flat
It also doesn't cure nearly as fast you can still move things around for about the first five minutes
But after ten minutes it becomes a more permanent fixture after 24 hours
It's fully cured a little thing like this will cost me about [eight] bucks which might sound expensive
But it's entirely worth it once you apply it to acrylic
It's definitely permanent now if you can't find weld on for all you need is Methylene chloride
Which is actually its main ingredient if you can't find Methylene chloride
Chloroform actually works as well both being water thin but cure a lot faster
So while you have about one to two minutes to work with your acrylics with this you only have 10 to 20 seconds to work?
With Chloroform or Methylene chloride?
Okay, let's move on to another cement
This is hugely popular in the Hobby
And it's just simple Superglue or I like to call it [krazy] [glue] when it comes to using crazy glues
This is for really small jobs
Where you simply need a couple of small things to stick together quickly the gel type is what I use the most
[this] is actually most
Popular for attaching plants to things like rocks and or driftwood [any] super glue is fine because once it's cured and since you're using such
A small amount it's harmless now why use this instead of this well? Well done 16 is typically best for
Acrylics and
plastics Whereas [Superglue] will bond to more surfaces with that said this is also a bit cheaper being 5 bucks and far more and
far more common to find a glue gun is
Extremely useful in the aquarium
Hobby especially for the do-it-Yourself hobbyist and
When you need bigger jobs done and need something to cure quickly instead of waiting 24 hours like you would for silicone
This will actually go on in the same consistency of silicone yet cure a lot
Faster with that said it's not really good to see leaks however. It is great to bond things together
So if you're building your own decorations [or] even doing some repairs a glue [gun] is perfect for it once cured
It's fine for underwater use as well
Now you be thinking that a glue gun is expensive
But I got this for ten bucks at Walmart [and] a bag full of the glue refills for about five bucks
This is going to last me for months cure times for this is typically under 30 seconds the next thing
I want to talk about is this new product called Bondic now
I'm not sponsored, and I didn't get any of this for free
I bought it at my local hardware store in fact they only cost 15 bucks [apiece]
I stocked up on them because over the last few days
I've been using this for [a] lot of different things, and I've been completely impressed so far
basically the way
It works is it's shaped like a little pen
you take the top off and you squeeze the pen and out comes a little gel now that gel will never cure until
You shine this ultraviolet light on it with about four seconds of shining the light on it
It cures now. It cures to a consistency is much like
The glue gun except it cures a slightly harder
I found now could be used to bond things together. You [can] build up in layers. You can sand it and shape it
You can use it to fill in things it can actually be used underwater
And you can cure it underwater you can even paint it according to all this packaging. I've used it for a number of things already
including using it in place of soldering
Which this actually ended up working really well for that if you made it this far in the video
You're obviously into do-it-yourself aquarium projects
Just as much as I am and if that's the case I highly suggest picking up my book the ultimate do-it-yourself
Handbook for the do-it-yourself aquarist. You can get your signed copy at the king of diy Com anyways
Hope that you guys enjoyed today's video. I certainly enjoy making them for you every Thursday
I do a topic of the week just like this and on Sundays. I do a do-it-yourself aquarium project
So if you didn't enjoy today's video join me next Sunday or next Thursday, and I'll have something totally different