Killed Coral with Silicone

[bringman]

I am pretty sure that the silicone did it, but I was wondering how I can tell when the water is good again.

Did a 25% water change and added all the carbon I have.

Moved what corals were left to another tank.

All water parameters are good and holding.

Anything besides carbon that I can run to clean out possible toxins??

Thanks for any help.

[bringman]

Bumping myself cause I need some help.

Thanks again guys.

Wont bump again today

[gulfsurfer101]

Just out of curiosity, what type of silicone did you use. I have used kitchen and bath, window repair, 3hr rain ready, and have never had problems so long as I let it cure fully for at least 24hrs before adding anything. I would just like to know so I can stay away from whatever brand your using.

[bringman]

GE 100% silicone, Let it dry for 24 hours+, Put in media rack I made and overnight two heads of lobo melted. Other corals were pissed and took them out. The silicone had no odor when I put it in so I thought it was completely cured. When I pulled the rack out the silicone smelled. If I use silicone again I will let it cure for weeks. I am just glad the tank is only a few months old and I havent thrown in any big corals. Only tiny frags. One fish looks good and inverts are all moving. Feather dusters arent coming out. Any thoughts on other media to run to clean out toxins.

Thanks

[gulfsurfer101]

Wow, I've used that brand too, never had that problem. Carbon maybe chemipure elite (not shure how this will help but is is definately good stuff) and if you have a skimmer that might help a bit along with a massive wc to remove anything that might be lingering in your water that you can not test for.

[bringman]

Thanks, I am going to go pick up some more activated carbon this evening and do another water change tommorrow, I think I will stick with super glue when making anything to go in the tank from now on. I hate problems that you cause yourself.

[kthehun89]

Thanks, I am going to go pick up some more activated carbon this evening and do another water change tommorrow, I think I will stick with super glue when making anything to go in the tank from now on. I hate problems that you cause yourself.

 

doesnt sound like the silicone, I've used the same stuff and flled the tank 4 hrs later to no ill effect

[gulfsurfer101]

doesnt sound like the silicone, I've used the same stuff and flled the tank 4 hrs later to no ill effect

True that, try looking for other possible problems. Possibly coral warfare or some other malevilant forces involved here.

[Deleted User 6]

Was it GE Silicone I or II?

[bringman]

Cant think of anything else that might have made everything mad at the same time. Only a few frags in the tank and none close enough to bother each other. Moved some filter media but didnt think that would make corals melt without an ammonia or nitrate spike, which I was unable to detect with my test kits and the one fish and inverts are all happy.

Thanks guys, I am going to keep running coral and water changes.

[gulfsurfer101]

Hows your evap top off looking. I know before I had an ato and I would leave my tank sitting for days while I would go out of town my tank would be pissed and some things would die now and then.

[jlbm2004]

I had the same exact problem. I used the GE 100% silicone. It was not I or II, just 100% silicone. It did not say anything about having mold/algae inhibitors so I thought it was safe. After trying everything over the course of 3 weeks my corals kept dying so I removed all the silicone and bought a new one. I made sure the new silicone said safe for incidental food contact and the corals that were on the brink of death came back. I lost 4 corals, all SPS. Everything was suffering, duncans closed up, all lps losing color, but the SPS had STN.

The bad silicone had a different odor as it cures. The correct silicone had a vinegar smell (very strong). I just wish I would of figured out the problem earlier. But many people keep saying that as long as it is 100% silicone and doesnt say it has mold inhibitors it is safe, which is not true (as I discovered). I would make sure it releases acetic acid as it cures and that it is FDA approved for incidental food contact. I would never risk it again. Not worth a losing hundreds of dollars of coral over a 5 dollar tube of silicone.

I hope this helps, and do a bunch of water changes. I did 5g changes on a 30g tank every 2 days for a week. Then back to my weekly 5g water change.

[bringman]

Thanks for the help everyone. I have added more carbon and made ro/di all day, will do another water change tommorrow. I am really not that mad at the corals I lost as they were all from the frag tank at the LFS and were not anything I was attached too. Just sucks when you do stupid things to your tank.

[gulfsurfer101]

Sorry to hear it but at least you learned not to skimp out on the important little things. We've all done it at one point or another. These are just the lessons learned the hard way.

[bringman]

thanks again everyone, Hoping that the tank will look nicer tommorrow morning and even better the next day.