Silicone for Leaks?

[dejayou30]

My friend fired up his homemade E&F system for a trial run tonight and the in-spout on one bucket has a leak. We used a fair amount of silicone around each side of the nozzle the first time and after the leak we added more to it and are going to wait for it to dry until tomorrow. Is silicone the best thing to use for leaks? Also, is the tub still usable or should we get a new tub?

[HyDrO ViSiOnZ]

My friend fired up his homemade E&F system for a trial run tonight and the in-spout on one bucket has a leak. We used a fair amount of silicone around each side of the nozzle the first time and after the leak we added more to it and are going to wait for it to dry until tomorrow. Is silicone the best thing to use for leaks? Also, is the tub still usable or should we get a new tub?
I have used silicon many times and it has worked for me. I always only apply to the outside. The key to wait at least 8 hours for it to fully dry. You should be fine.

[dejayou30]

Sweet. We are just going to leave it overnight and try it again tomorrow, so it will be a good 20 hours or so.

[palerider7777]

also u can wrap the threads with teflon tape

[SpaceNeedle]

The most instant fix is a hot glue gun! By the time you unplug your gluegun you
will be able to use whatever is leaking.

[GoldenGoblin]

aquarium silicone

doesnt release bad chemicals

[HyDrO ViSiOnZ]

+1 on the Aquarium Fix. That is one of the reasons I would only apply to the outside because i was afraid.

[TestPilot]

For silicone sealant use RTV108.


"Aquarium manufacturers have used RTV108 in fresh and saltwater aquariums up to 20,000 gallons. The only product we recommend for aquarium use is RTV108. We appreciate your interest in GE Silicones. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us."

[dejayou30]

Well, we plugged it in last night and the OTHER tub was leaking, so we decided to scrap the tubs for a couple reasons. First, the boring bit we used mangled three out of four holes, mainly because I was unknowingly running the drill to fast, so it was far from a perfect circle and we just tried to fill the gaps in with the silicone. Second, we spray painted the tubs black before using the silicone, so when then silicone moved, the spray paint stuck to the silicone and the silicone ripped the paint off the tub, rendering the seal worthless. We also didn't want to to chance a leak several weeks down the road when it would be a lot harder to handle the tubs as opposed to when they were empty.

This time, we took our time and cut out perfectly sized holes and also applied silicone to the threads of the spouts and screwed it in. We then applied the silicone and are going to let it dry until tomorrow before painting. Hopefully, things will end up better this time around.

I haven't even started growing anything yet and I'm already learning valuable lessons! :thumbsup:

[TestPilot]

If the tub has a flat wall, you can use regular bulkhead fittings from the aquarium store. If the fitting won't see pressure (i.e. just a tube running through the wall) use a grommet.

You're not using a paddle-type hole saw are you? For thin stuff use an actual bit or round hole saw. Putting a piece of wood behind what you're drilling into will help keep it from deforming as you apply pressure. (Don't do this if you have to stick your hand in the way to hold the wood) This helps keep the edges from getting torn.

If you have the quick change hole saws with the pin drive mandrel, you can get cleaner holes by tightening down the saw part all the way and ignoring the pins. The pins leave too much play letting the blade wobble a little and it cuts rough egdes. I add a little anti-sieze when I do that because if you don't use the pins, the cutting torque can really tighten that blade down on the mandrel.