Silicone curing underwater?

[xtrstangx]

Hi there,

After 3 years, my acrylic corner overflow seams split.. Its warped in about 1/2" and I'm trying to figure out a way to get it to re-seal without pulling the entire tank down and drying it.

Is GE Silicone 1 W&D safe to use underwater? Will it cure?

What else could I do to fix it?

[MSU Fan]

No, silicone won't cure underwater. I don't know if aquamend would work or not, but obviously the safe bet is to drain, dry, and re-glue it.

[BrassMonkey]

silcone uses water to cure so id assume it would underwater. i dont know what uncured product would do to your water.

[coralnut99]

+1

I've never uses aquamend either, but it may be worth a shot. Not knowing where it's split, you might be able to apply aquamend on both sides of the split. That way the aquamend would adhere to itself while filling the void.......hopefully. If that fails, you might have to start thinking through how to empty it especially if it's split down low.

[coralnut99]

Silicone releases acetic acid during the curing process. Don't even try it underwater.

[SeaWeed89]

+1 w/ coralnut, also it doesnt work on acrylic to good

[coralnut99]

The more I think about this, the more I think even the aquamend won't work. Wherever it's split, I would imagine there's gonna be silicone at every edge of the split, inside and out. My bet is the aquamend won't stick to it at all. So you would be relying entirely on the aquamend's bond to itself as you push it into the crack from both sides. I just don't see that holding up for long at all, and you run the risk of the split getting worse as you apply pressure to it. I dunno here. May be worth a shot to buy you some time at least.

[xtrstangx]

I don't see Aquamend working well either.. Maybe to prevent it from moving further but there is no way I am creating a new seal. It is broken about 12" long on my 180g...