Water Glass

[Fishy888]

I am seriously considering dosing water glass. Is any water glass ok to use? I want to make sure I'm dosing the right stuff. I see it advertised online as glue. I would think it would thin out enough in a total system volume of 80 gallons give or take to not coat heaters, etc. Still I want to make sure I don't screw up. I finally have my dinos under control and pretty much eradicated. That took about 8 months. I don't want to end up with a whole new bunch of problems because I bought the wrong thing.

Needless to say I intend to test for silicon once I start dosing. I have limpets and a Mexican turbo snail, and at some point I hope to have feather dusters and sponges. Thank you.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you have a link to the proposed product?

 

[Fishy888]

There are a few I've found. Here is the first one.


This one is for plants of course. I assume this is a safer choice as long as I can test for potassium as well as silicon.

Here's the second. I feel like it's the safest of the 3 so far.

Sodium Silicate 40% water Glass 1 Gallon. - Etsy

This Knives & Cutting Tools item by CQConceptsInc has 43 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Ringwood, IL. Listed on Jul 24, 2024

www.etsy.com

I have one more. Here is a link to it.

Rutland 1 Gal. Water Glass Cement Floor Sealer Gallon Jug 146 - The Home Depot

RUTLAND Water Glass Cement Floor Sealer has a unique formula that makes it a multi-use sealant and adhesive. When diluted, it becomes an excellent stain-resistant concrete sealant. Use full-strength for

www.homedepot.com

On that page they have a link to the SDS. It says that it's sodium silicate.

Which of the 3 would you go with?

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I wouldn’t put any of that in my tanks. Exactly what are you trying to accomplish?

 

[Fishy888]

Randy wrote an article about dosing sodium silicate to our systems. Limpets, sponges, and diatoms all need silicon to thrive. I have limpets and I want sponges. I believe tunicates and the like need silicon as well. As for diatoms there are many fish who eat them and indeed need them to thrive.

 

[Jedi1199]

Never heard of any of these products. What is the end result you are hoping for?

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

L

Randy wrote an article about dosing sodium silicate to our systems. Limpets, sponges, and diatoms all need silicon to thrive. I have limpets and I want sponges. I believe tunicates and the like need silicon as well. As for diatoms there are many fish who eat them and indeed need them to thrive.

gotcha, Randy is good about recommending specific products so I’d wait for his reply on this. I wouldn’t know what to do. Usually food grade, or reagent grade substances would be what I would look at

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

• Dec 22, 2021
• Add bookmark
• #43

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Randy Holmes-Farley​

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This one is likely OK:


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[Fishy888]

I usually look for that too. I think number 2 is reagent grade but I want to be sure.

@Jedi1199
Randy wrote an article about dosing silicate to our tanks. Sponges, limpets which I have, and diatoms, among others need silicon to thrive. Diatoms aren't the prettiest things but many fish and inverts need them to thrive.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I tried to copy the link above for you. I’m blind so it’s not easy but Randy did recommend a lab grade product on Amazon. It would be better if you searched the forum yourself though

 

[Fishy888]

I appreciate your help. I will look there.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Loudwolf has a good track record. That's what I got.

 

[Fishy888]

I'll check that out. Thank you.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Sodium Silicate Solution Waterglass

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I appreciate your help. I will look there.

I clicked the number 43 on my previous post, up at the top. That’s the link to his post number 43 which has a link to the product

 

[Fishy888]

Thank you again everyone. I appreciate the help.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

In all honesty, I only looked for it as I was very curious as I’ve never heard of the phrase water glass. @ZombieEngineer at least knew what you were talking about. Good luck

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

In general you will not be dosing large amounts, so purity is not as essential as for, say, an alkalinity supplement.

It can be hard to find high purity sodium silicate at reasonable price. The Loudwolf one is a good choice if you can get it:

Sodium Silicate 4 Ounces 1 Bottle

The item for sale is 4 Ounces (113 Grams) of Sodium Silicate (Na2 + SiO2 + H2O). Sodium Silicate, also known as Water Glass, is 41% Sodium Silcate and 59% distilled water. For dry Silica Gel, check out our other listings. Our bottles are made of durable P

www.loudwolf.com

I used a more generic bottle with less quality assurance and it was ok.

 

[Fishy888]

Thank you @Randy Holmes-Farley.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you @Randy Holmes-Farley.

You’re welcome. Happy Reefing!