silicone II for a cover?

[Dtackett]

so im still working on this reef vase and trying to figure out the best way to create a seal for the lid. im going to try and make a silicone mold that will seat over the lip of the vase. im going to use petroleum jelly to prevent it from sticking to the vase while it dries then clean the petroleum jelly off. but seeing as how this wont be in contact with the water (outside of splashes) and wont be submersed can I use the GE silicone II? I ask because I already have a tube that I have no use for lol

 

[Harold Green]

Cling rap will work better than the jelly since there's no clean up afterwards. The silicone won't stick to it and can be peeled away easily.

 

[Dtackett]

hmm... didn't think of that one... thanks for the tip!

 

[Harold Green]

Remembering way back about 30 years ago I had one of those 1g plastic aquariums with the light top and undergravel filter. I think I put a nice piece of live rock in it and it looked good for some time but the issue was the top would grow algae and block the light.

 

[Dtackett]

yeah, algae is big issue in these small tanks, but it was even worse back then. I might what were you using for light? a regular bulb? lol

 

[Harold Green]

Yep, thirty years ago you had a choice. It was either an incandescent bulb or a standard fluorescent. The light was only about six inches wide and gave the tank a slightly yellow look. On the same note I picked up a six inch blue led the other day that I put on a 54 bow for a night lite and it's incredibly bright. Technology has really given us options today that blow away the tanks of the past.

 

[tonto95]

Use silicone I, type II has mold inhibitors and will leach chemicals.

 

[Harold Green]

On reflection the small tank had two gobies as the main occupants. A yellow one and a green stripped one. Plenty of room for them both in a small tank.

 

[Dtackett]

On reflection the small tank had two gobies as the main occupants. A yellow one and a green stripped one. Plenty of room for them both in a small tank.

I cant imagine getting into a hobby like this when it first becomes popular. the learning curve would be insane. this can be a difficult hobby as is even with todays tech, I got a lot of respect for you guys that helped build this hobby from the ground up.

 

[Harold Green]

Pre internet our best source of information was aquarium magazine/tropical fish hobbyist. I probably had 20 years of magazines. Great how to's back then. Not to mention there wasn't much for sale in livestock beyond damsels at first. Then angels and butterflies, and lots of schooling striped catfish. Haven't seen any of them in over thirty years. It was interesting back then as most of us couldn't keep a butterfly of any type alive for very long. Today we take it for granted we can keep most types of fish as long as we can provide their normal food.

 

[Dtackett]

yeah, research and experience grows a lot in 30 years. now damsels are the terror we try to keep out of our reefs lol. I would love to do a damsel only tank but I haven't found any that last more than a year or 2 before its a warzone lol