GE Silicone II with BioSeal -Good or Bad ?

[Cindy Dicken]

The DAP and the GE silicone II use different catalyst to cure.
DAP, All Glass Aquarium silicone and the GE silicone IS 800 series all have a very strong "vinegar" smell.

[indyserpico10]

so i was at petco this weekend and found all glass aquarium silicone for about 6-7$ wish i would have known about it earlier cuz it would have saved me a lot of stress. so if you have a petsmart of petco in your area and are going to set up a terrarium this would be a good place to get your stuff from.

[cbreon]

just thought I would add my most recent experience with GE II. It took my latest background 55 days to cure. Talk about a pain in the ass. Now I'm hesitant to put frogs in because it took so long to cure. I used the brown GE II which supposedly, takes notoriously long to cure. Wish I would have read that earlier. On the bright side, it it is my best background yet. Just thought I would let you guys hear about my experience. Cheers!

[jules77]

what is wrong with GE Silicone I? It's 100% pure silicone with no bio seal, etc. It seems that would be the best bet if we are looking for purity. Im probably going to spring for the All Glass since I have a local store that carries it but just for sake of arguement...

[mr.gaboozlebag]

I just bought some GE silicone I*, and in the fine print it says that it is not for aquariums. But people have used it without problems. Should I just get the all glass silicone?

[psychemjr]

GE 1 silicone is supposedly the same as the All Glass Tubes.

[heyduke]

My local ace hardware sells a sealant thats 100 pecent pure silicone with no additives so you may try looking there. Its actually the ace brand so it fairly inexpensive as well.

[dendromom]

I have read and heard numerous opinions that range from yes to no on weather it is safe to use the silicone with the BioSeal for the terrarium. All in all it has just left me confused and frustrated. So I decided to call the GE Company and see if I could get to the bottom of this. I spoke to one of the representatives and to whom my surprise told me that the silicone that they are selling now with the BIoSeal (mold and mildew inhibitor) is the same silicone product that they were selling before. The only difference is that for proprietary reasons the couldn’t have the logo on the tubs before. So unless they are lying or don’t know what they are talking about it is safe. Or is it? Who to trust.......

I went 'safer than sorry' and got All Aquarium brand aquarium silicone from JT's aquarium supply. I think in the long terms, exposure to chemicals shorten the frogs' lifespan, so this is the best way to go despite popular opinion---but it's a LOT pricier than the GE stuff.

[thorshammer]

I just made my first viv after alot of research on the silicone topic, I ended up calling GE about 20 times to get different reps., I inquired about the offgas time of the Silicone II and about affects on things that are sensitive to chemicals, They all said that the silicone offgasses for 24 hours and then is completely safe, it is basically a peice of rubber after 24 hours. So as long as you don't put the frogs in the viv until it has had a good long aging period they should be fine.

[jckee1]

Hi Phil,
Thank you. Still some smell this morning but I think it is getting better. Either that or the fumes are dulling my sense of smell. I am going to try your suggestion and put a fan on it and air it out.

[Philsuma]

Sometimes the curing and smell can take a while to air out. I wonder if there is a moisture issue with the older, previous construction hampering the drying and curing of the new stuff....

Either way, a fan directed on it for a few days should work wonders.

[frogfreak]

I usually wait a month before planting.

I've used a fan and it does speed it up a lot.