Aquarists quite often ask themselves: how to choose a reliable sealing agent for gluing a glass container? A good sealant can insulate the walls and completely protect the joints from leaks. One of the best options today is silicone for the aquarium.
What is a silicone joint sealant?
Silicone for the aquarium, the photo of which is presented in this material, has properties that make the seams plastic and at the same time extremely durable. Such tools differ in a rather complicated set of components. Silicone for the aquarium consists of a rubber base, a surface adhesion promoter, vulcanizing components, plasticizers, dyes and special fillers.
Real silicone rubber is resistant to high and low temperatures. Subject to the manufacturer's instructions and proper storage, the product retains its original qualities for a sufficiently long time.
Appointment
Silicone for the aquarium is ideal for the reliable connection of the elements of plastic and glass containers. Means of this category can be successfully used for fastening underwater scenery and fixing them on a wide variety of planes.
Silicone sealants interact equally effectively with metals, wood, and are not destroyed by contact with polyurethane foam and foams.
Selection tips
What silicone is needed for the aquarium:
- When choosing a suitable option, you should avoid buying universal funds. Sealants of this category in the vast majority contain antifungal components. As a result, such silicone for the aquarium will harm the inhabitants of the artificial reservoir due to its high toxicity.
- Quite often on the shelves of outlets you can find fake silicone products. To avoid the acquisition of low-quality goods, it is recommended to pay attention to the availability of quality certificates that confirm the true origin of the products offered.
- Before giving preference to a specific option, it is worthwhile to carefully study the information on the package. Good silicone for an aquarium is able to maintain properties when operating in a temperature range from 200 to -70 ° C. If other parameters are indicated on a tube with a sealant, you should refuse to buy such a tool.
- One of the best proven options is Den Braven - silicone for the aquarium, which has a transparent structure. If the seller claims that the black or any other shade is better, you should not believe such a statement. After all, the components that give color to silicone only worsen its physical properties.
- Going out for a purchase, you should first ask how much the sealant of interest for the aquarium costs . If the price of the goods of the desired brand in the store is several positions lower, you should be wary. Discounts and promotional offers in this case are not taken into account.
- If a fake was discovered directly during operation, it is recommended to remove the applied layer. In the future, this will allow not to re-glue the aquarium completely when choosing a more reliable product.
Silicone for the aquarium: benefits
Silicone sealants are most often used by experienced craftsmen for self-bonding containers for fish, plastic and glass terrariums. Such products are completely non-toxic. When interacting with such substances, the use of protective clothing, gloves, respirators, etc. is not required. Silicone for the aquarium does not exhale harmful fumes, does not emit toxic components even with prolonged exposure to water.
If we talk about glue bases for reliable connection of container elements, it is also worth giving preference to silicone bases. These products freeze in a few minutes. In most cases, a day is enough for the final polymerization. The seams treated with silicone glue are extremely durable. To destroy them, it is necessary to exert a force exceeding several hundred kilograms. At the same time, the frozen product retains increased elasticity. Thus, the joints are less susceptible to cracks and fractures.
How to glue the aquarium?
If you need to assemble an aquarium yourself, the priority should be to choose the right glass. Preference should be given to silicate substrates of the highest quality. It is desirable that the glass be polished. Only in this case you will not have to additionally prepare the surfaces for connection.
There are several ways to build aquariums:
- Lateral vertical walls are placed on the bottom. The specified method is not very popular, because in this case it is difficult to avoid smearing the sealant on the surfaces. Difficulties may arise in maintaining a uniform thickness of the seam around the entire perimeter.
- The second way is gluing the walls around the bottom of the aquarium. With this method, the finished design is more resistant to high water pressure.
What to do when there are bubbles in the joints?
If air bubbles were noticed in a fresh joint using silicone sealant, the following should be taken. They can be squeezed out by applying a new portion of the connecting means, followed by a wall tightening. Alternatively, to release the bubbles, it is worth walking along the seam with a rope or rubber band.
If the problem is found after the silicone has completely solidified, there are several ways to solve it. To begin with, it is worth trying to fill the voids with sealant, using a syringe with a needle. If the bubbles are large and are deep in the connection, you will have to completely re-glue the seam. Ultimately, in order not to redo the work and avoid unnecessary problems, it is worth approaching the task carefully.
Finally
To determine which silicone is best for the aquarium, it is worth testing several options before resorting to the full and final assembly of the tank. Naturally, it is better to give preference to funds from the upper price category, as well as products from manufacturers who have already managed to establish themselves in the market. When choosing high-quality material, the efforts made will certainly be justified.