# Epoxy & Silicon... here we go again!



## Dartolution (May 30, 2011)

So I saw this today at LOWES while picking up a few items for the 65gallon build and came across this epoxy ... its not marine epoxy but it does say its resistant against most everything... water, oil, solvents... 

can I use it? 











Opinions needed!
EDIT: Nevermind the silicone part.


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## eyeviper (May 23, 2006)

if you read the back I think it says not for use underwater or for prolonged exposure to water. You can give it a go, I doubt you will see something happen but epoxies not designed for use in water are not designed to prevent leaching as much as ones that are. They can also be degraded by UV light. most cheap epoxies like you find at lowes and home depot and wal-mart dont have good UV stabilizers in them and can break down slowly. marine grades tend to not leach as much (there is some evidence they still do a bit) and they also have good UV qualities, hence thats the go to choice in the aquarium and frog hobby. Iv used a lot of epoxy before and i would not use those types of products in my vivs of aquariums because of the chemistry and need for very good mix ratios.


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## Dartolution (May 30, 2011)

well its mainly for my water feature... 
Which isnt supposed to have any heavy water movement over it... would it just then be safe to just silicon (GE1) and peatmoss for a trickle down water feature?

I read where it was recommended to only use Epoxy for water features.... and small pools... 

?


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## eyeviper (May 23, 2006)

I wouldnt say its recommended as its only really become popular in the last few years. It became popular because it is hard, tough, can be made to look like rock and seals off your great stuff in the WF. Its not popular because you have to use it, many people havent even used it. If you use silicone and peat where water is running over it you will eventually have no peat left and just the silicone as it decays and rubs off over time. Silicone does not always seal the great stuff fully so you might have a leak here or there, people use cement or mortar which seals pretty well. There are many ways to do it and none are wrong. Its how you want it to look. Epoxy is awesome if you really want to contain the water and not have leaks, it just needs a little care to make sure the mix is right. Just find the marine grade for safest results, that said I have not heard of any animal deaths from proper use of epoxy of any particular type...

this is my epoxy stream/pond I did. the white stuff is a powder so ignore that but the epoxy mix it looks like rock, I used silicone under it to seal the GS so it wouldnt absorb a bunch of the epoxy. 









here is the full thread if you want to see the silicone 
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/76651-40-breeder-d-azureus.html


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## Dartolution (May 30, 2011)

I see!

My main reason for wanting to use it was because of the fact that the peat will rub off and degrade over time if I use peat and silicone. 

So I wanted to use sand, peat, and epoxy. 


You made the stream using GS, then siliconed it over, then added the epoxy to seal it?

I am wanting to build a trickle water feature in a bigger tank of mine, but I do not know how. 

I know where I want it, but Im not sure how to construct it. 
Does the water feature pump need to be separated from the faux bottom?


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## eyeviper (May 23, 2006)

Right, the sand epoxy mix is sweet just use the right epoxy. and correct i put down my layer of GS then carved it to the shape i wanted, then i put a layer of silicone down. this is not necessary but the GS absorbs a lot of epoxy and I didnt want that so i used the silicone to stop this. then I put my epoxy down and threw the sand mix on it and let it dry. The pump can go anywhere just make sure you can get to it for maintenance. do you want a drip wall or just a dripping water feature? if you want a drip wall use a spray bar running across the top of your viv and attach your pump and have it drip slowly. its pretty simple. describe what you want to do maybe I can visualize it more.


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## Dartolution (May 30, 2011)

Oh it see!!! So I can use peat and silicone then once it dried and cures put the epoxy and sand/peat on it? 

Well I figured I would separate the pump from the false bottom as I will need to drain the false bottom from time to time. 

I am wanting a dripping water feature. A rootlike structure that water flows over at the time and trickles / drips down. 


I'm hoping to get started on it this weekend.


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## eyeviper (May 23, 2006)

Dartolution said:


> Oh it see!!! So I can use peat and silicone then once it dried and cures put the epoxy and sand/peat on it?


No, i just used the silicone to cover the gs. no peat was involved in that step. it was simply used as a filler for all the holes in the gs. i have not seen anyone else do it though so dont thinks its necessary. you would just put the epoxy down then throw your mix on top and allow to dry.


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## Jguy2020 (Feb 26, 2012)

go ahead and use it


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## Dartolution (May 30, 2011)

Have you used it?


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