# Dap Acrylic Latex caulk plus Silicone



## KingKrab (Aug 2, 2013)

is there any reason I couldn't use Dap Acrylic Latex caulk plus Silicone for the back of my tanks to mount tree fern fiber or coco fiber into my PDF Vivs?? its almost 1/3 the price of 100% silicone


----------



## Pacblu202 (May 8, 2012)

I personally use the dap silicone and its only $4 or so a container at menards. I can't say that your stuff wouldn't work but I have no experience with that model of dap


----------



## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Caulk is not a viv safe sealant. Many silicones are safe. I much prefer a silicone with no organotins in the curing agent. Silicones that I have used in my own vivs are:

GE Silicone 1 (not GE 2) (a pleasure to work with, but I have only ever seen it in clear)

DAP 100% silicone (2 bad tubes out of about 20. Not the easiest to spread with a credit card)

ACE HARDWARE (store brand) 100% silicone (Available in Black and Bronze (dark brown) - Excellent spread-ability and a pleasure to work with - $$Cheap$$)

CR Laurence 33S Silicone You probably can't find this one, as it's used in the glass industry. I'll rate it anyway, for those who want to try to scare up a source. This is the Cadillac of simple silicones. No organotins. No mildew reducing compounds. You can't beat it for workability. It's available in clear, white, aluminum, black, and bronze (dark brown).


----------



## Boondoggle (Dec 9, 2007)

KingKrab said:


> is there any reason I couldn't use Dap Acrylic Latex caulk plus Silicone for the back of my tanks to mount tree fern fiber or coco fiber into my PDF Vivs?? its almost 1/3 the price of 100% silicone


The short answer is that it will leach out a bit and then fall apart eventually. For the long answer type "Acrylic Latex" into the search function.


----------



## ndame88 (Sep 24, 2010)

Below is a link to a vendor for CR that I have used in the past.

CRL 33S Bronze Silicone Sealant 33SBRZ | PKsupplies.com


----------



## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

ndame88 said:


> Below is a link to a vendor for CR that I have used in the past.
> 
> CRL 33S Bronze Silicone Sealant 33SBRZ | PKsupplies.com


That's the good stuff, right there!


----------



## ZookeeperDoug (Jun 5, 2011)

Pumilo said:


> That's the good stuff, right there!


So then this:

CRL 33S Black Silicone Sealant 33SBL | PKsupplies.com

Is basically the same product in black. Should be the same thing. It is a food grade acetoxy silicone sealant. No mention of a mold inhibitor so "should" be safe?

I recently got the aquarium grade silicone sealant from siliconedepot.com, but their site is down so I can't link it. It was a little more expensive but is thicker. It's a damn strong silicone when dry though! They do free shipping frequently too.


----------



## KingKrab (Aug 2, 2013)

Thanks for your responses.
I went hunting on the forum (after I learned how to do a search)

the short story is that:
the price will lure you in, its easy to use, and shows promising results immediately!!! HOWEVER Avoid this stuff at all costs!!!. it cant handle the high humidity and will break down in a short time. it will pollute your water and then crumble off the walls.. any money tried to save will be wasted as you will only have to do a full tear down. Not to mention the health risk it poses to the critters living in there.


----------



## frogmanchu (Feb 18, 2011)

I yhink my girlfriend just bought me some and I put on background. Any advice.

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

ZookeeperDoug said:


> So then this:
> 
> CRL 33S Black Silicone Sealant 33SBL | PKsupplies.com
> 
> ...


Yes Doug, that is the same thing in black. It's about more than just the mold inhibitors, which the 33S does NOT have. It is also about the curing agent used. Curing agents that contain organotins may present breeding related problems. We are looking for silicones that use an acetic acid curing agent. These are the silicones that smell the worst while curing. A big sniff will burn your nostrils and bring tears to your eyes. To the best of my knowledge, CR Laurence 33S should be one of the safest silicones you can get. It also has great workability.
I have worked with the Aquarium Depot black silicone, too. It was extremely thick and difficult to spread. I was using it for backgrounds and while it IS a safe choice, I give it 2 thumbs down for background workability.


----------



## jebbewocky (Apr 24, 2011)

http://www.emisupply.com/catalog/em...sive-silicone-sealant-black-103oz-p-9732.html

I've used the clear precursor product for this for my tarantulas. I stick with food grade.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


----------



## jdgators (Oct 27, 2012)

Pumilo said:


> Caulk is not a viv safe sealant. Many silicones are safe. I much prefer a silicone with no organotins in the curing agent. Silicones that I have used in my own vivs are:
> 
> GE Silicone 1 (not GE 2) (a pleasure to work with, but I have only ever seen it in clear)
> 
> ...


Hope I'm not repeating, but I've been able to get CR Laurence 33S from eBay, as well as my local glass shop. It's obtainable, just might take some groundwork, and like Doug said, this is the Cadillac of simple silicones...


----------

