Toxicity of silicone caulk in diy hydro applications

[theroadwarrior]

I just built a diy aero cloner. I love it but it leaks about a gallon an hour which means I have to constantly add water and clean water off my floor. I tried weather stripping then neoprene but neither stopped it.

I decided to lay the lid down and caulk it with a good amount of silicone then set the tote on top of it with a brick to weigh it down. That will eliminate the silicone dripping into the tote and keep it around the lid where I want it.

Seems like this would make a more watertight seal. I can just pull it off between uses and remove the silicone, clean the tote, and repeat.

Just worried about the toxicity of silicone. Do you guys that use it on your hydro diy's use any special kind. Figure if most are safe for a bathtub it should be ok for plants or at least not deadly. Any help appreciated.

 

[thefatman]

Use GE Silicone 1 Window and Door caulking as it contains no mildewcides. Or use aquarium safe silicone caulking. The only other problem with most silicone caulking is that they release acetic acid during application, curing and decomposition.

 

[COOKIE MONSTER]

Try aquarium silicone.

 

[FreezerBoy]

I'm no chemical whiz... maybe it's a big con job but, I stick to aquarium silicone for this reason. While fresh water fish are largely farmed and near invulnerable, marine fish are captured and will die from the tiniest fluctuation in their environment. We used aquarium silicone for all kinds of things from aquarium construction to sealing UV filters to holding coral skeletons together.





I gotta learn to type faster...

 

[theroadwarrior]

Thanks guys,

Never occurred to me but yeah I would imagine that would be my best bet. Now I just hope it will bond to my tote. It's one of thick 17 gallon tough totes.
Last resort is drilling some holes and bolting the lid on as tightly as possible over the neoprene and into the tote. If the silicone works it will save me a ton of time.

 

[Classy@Home]

Aquarium or food grade silicone caulking are fine...

When in doubt - choose pet grade, more stringent checks than people grade...

 

[BattleAxe]

I just built a diy aero cloner. I love it but it leaks about a gallon an hour which means I have to constantly add water and clean water off my floor. I tried weather stripping then neoprene but neither stopped it.

I decided to lay the lid down and caulk it with a good amount of silicone then set the tote on top of it with a brick to weigh it down. That will eliminate the silicone dripping into the tote and keep it around the lid where I want it.

Seems like this would make a more watertight seal. I can just pull it off between uses and remove the silicone, clean the tote, and repeat.

Just worried about the toxicity of silicone. Do you guys that use it on your hydro diy's use any special kind. Figure if most are safe for a bathtub it should be ok for plants or at least not deadly. Any help appreciated.

I had and still deal with some of the leaking with a DIY cloner.

Mine:

18 gl roughneck
450 gph pump
54 site

What I found out is that the height placement of the pump makes a big difference with the leaking. You might have to experiment with your riser being cut at different lengths. People usually recommend the top of the manifold to be placed <6" below the lid. I have found that with my particular pump that 8-9" works better. So with my setup, I come out of the pump into a 1/2" PVC pipe right into the T fitting in the middle of my manifold.

I also found that on the rubbermaids, that if you turn the lid upside down, it is better at trapping water. I tried all the same things you did but none of them worked. Flipping the lid and lowering the manifold in the res was the only thing that did. It still leaks a tiny bit at times but now it is manageable with a rag instead of requiring another bin to catch runoff.

Hope this helps.