# 3½ weeks and still smelling vinegar!!!



## Cirith Ungol (Feb 3, 2005)

Hi!

I'm talking about silicone, my home built tanks and the vinegar smell that just wont dissipate! 

Does anyone know what to do to make the tanks unsmelly? Today I might try washing them with water, a tiny ammount of soap and very soft cloth (because they are out of plexi) and see if it still smells afterwards. But if that doesn't help I wonder what is...!


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## BlkCat (Feb 4, 2005)

My b/f  lets the tank sit in the garage for a day, When he brings it in, it doent smell anymore. Do u have the fast drying silicone? He got the 24 hour stuff.


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## Beastmaster (Feb 4, 2005)

don't wash it with water and soap, if the glue is not dry yet you'll mess it up.

get a fan and make it blow on the tank, the increased air exchange will speed up the chemical reaction that dries the glue.


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## CIRE (Feb 4, 2005)

Cirith Ungol said:
			
		

> Hi!
> 
> I'm talking about silicone, my home built tanks and the vinegar smell that just wont dissipate!
> 
> Does anyone know what to do to make the tanks unsmelly? Today I might try washing them with water, a tiny ammount of soap and very soft cloth (because they are out of plexi) and see if it still smells afterwards. But if that doesn't help I wonder what is...!


What kind of silicone did you use exactly? Is it designed for aquariums?


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## Wh1teshark (Feb 4, 2005)

My experiences with plexi and silicone is that it's useless. The silicone dosn't bite on plastic for some reason, atleast not the aquarium-silicone and that's the type that you want (since it's not toxic, other types use fungicides)

Buy a glass cutter and some glass instead. Good luck!

/David


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## cryptly (Feb 4, 2005)

Try leaving the tank outside for a day.    Worked for me after I fixed an aquarium.


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## Cigarman (Feb 4, 2005)

That sounds like RTV silicone that is commonly used to seal things and make gaskets. It will stink for weeks.


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## shogun804 (Feb 4, 2005)

well when i built a canbinet to house all of my T's i made the mistake of using stain on it...well anyway it took about 5 weeks maybe a tad bit longer for the smell to go away and that was with me putting it outside on eevery available sunny day...try putting it outside. it worked for me its probably gonna take some nice fresh air to do the trick.


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## Cirith Ungol (Feb 4, 2005)

It was aquarium silicone. Ok to touch after 30 minutes. I built the tanks 3½ weeks ago and they still smell. I don't have the possibility to have them outside so I had them in the bathroom since that at least has SOME ventilation. I know there is a risk it won't bite on the plexi but I asked the guy at the shop specifically for that and he thought about it for a while and told me it should hold. Well, when building I tried glue in multiple places, i.e. both from the inside and the outside of a surface or angle and until now the stability seems really good I have to say. Better than I expected. Ofcourse in any case of sillicone really extreme tearing and pulling will ofcourse destroy the construction so I won't go that far. It holds well enough to keep a big angry 8 legged beast in its place I am sure.

So I'll wait then. This weekend I'll build two more tanks, just in time I hope before I'll get my Ts and so the tanks can unsmell themselves.


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## conipto (Feb 4, 2005)

Scoring the edges up where you are applying the silicon can help them grab a bit better. Some 100 grit sandpaper does a good job of that.  As for the smell.. when using "Aquarium silicon" in the past, I've never smelled anything that wasn't gone in a day.  

Bill


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## Cirith Ungol (Feb 4, 2005)

Thanks for the suggestion!


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## Cory Loomis (Feb 4, 2005)

The vinegar smell is from acetic acid.  If the silicone is dry, fill the tank with water and add sodium bicarbonate.  When I breeding tropical fish, we built numerous tanks, and to keep the silicone from adding acididty to the water, we would do a one day "soak" filling them with the solution of sodium bicarbonate.  The two would neutralize one another.  It should work.  Good luck.


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## Cirith Ungol (Feb 5, 2005)

Thanks for the suggestion Cory... When I look at them right now I only see one fatal flaw... My tanks are front openers with slide doors   Messy!!   

But I could try giving them a good wash with bicarbonate and water. I'll do that...


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## Cirith Ungol (Feb 5, 2005)

Here are some details:
The brand of silicone is Bostik (I guess it's a purly Swedish brand)

"Elastic and quick-curing. Suitable for sealing and mounting of aquarium, bonding of silicone sealing strips. Sealing of constructions of glass, enamel, stainless, acrylic, polyester and similar materials. bla bla bla..."

I wonder if plexiglass is more the acrylic or polyester or another type?


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## Daywalker (Feb 6, 2005)

if your still smelling the sealant after 3 1/2 weeks you have a problem , don't use that sealant anymore . 
i have a fishroom for breeding tropical fish with 36 tanks in it and use aquarium sealant all the time and it is completley cured in 1 or 2 days at the most .
if you build more tanks use another brand sealant . don't keep using the same sealant .
the only reason i can think of for this is the sealant was put on to thick and it hasn't completley cured yet ? thats why it still has the smell . if that's the reason there is nothing you can do but wait .
if it is completly dry you could try filling it with a dry dirt or sand and see if it absorbs the smell or put a small box of baking soda in it for a couple days or fill it with cat litter or wet dry "non scented" .
does this t-tank have a removable top ? if not as someone said have a fan blowing inside the t-tank or put a small fan inside blowing out . but after 3 1/2 weeks even without a removable top most or all the smell should be gone .

hope you can figure it out . 
good luck


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## Cirith Ungol (Feb 6, 2005)

Thanks for all the help and moral support folks!  :clap: 

Good news is that either the smell is now suddenly gone or I suddenly lost my sense of smell. But I put my entire head into the tank and took a good sniffing and there is no trace of it. So now I know, 30 min till it hardens 30 days 'til the smell is gone. Good thing I've planned ahead and have ample drying time for the tanks to come before I get my shipment of Ts in spring. 

Sadly I doubt I may find many other brands of Aq-silicone (and if it works now, then I won't have reason to change, just to plan ahead for all eternity) most any kind of product in Sweden is almost void of competition in comparison to other countries.


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## MrFeexit (Feb 6, 2005)

Don't worry about the smell. It is not harmful. Silicone is ready for use in 24 hours but the chemicals that make it soft and gooey take awhile to completely dissipate. The smell is not a problem except that it...smells. As far as adhesion I have had very good results using silicone with a good quality plexiglass. Be sure that the surface is clean and clear of any oils or dirt before using.


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## Cirith Ungol (Feb 6, 2005)

The plexiglass had a plastic film cover to protect the surface. I cut all the pieces with that on and only removed the film carefully prior to glueing so that it would stay as clean as possible. If the tanks one day come crashing down on my Ts I promise I'll "reopen" this thread and tell you all about it   

I'm only a bit worried that any of the Ts might start chewing through the plexi since I've drilled vent holes into the double front doors... but hey, why kill all the excitement by using glass??    Good thing is the tanks are both top and front openers... The smaller ones I'll build might just have very tiny closable front "slits" so I can reach in and do maintenance with sum long pincers.


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## Cirith Ungol (Feb 6, 2005)

Forgot to ask you Feexit: So you have done that yourself, put Ts into a freshly glued, still smelling tank and nothing happened to the Ts? Just wanna make sure...   :?


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