Aquarium sealant safe for plants

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jedi_339

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Good Afternoon,

I'm currently installing a semi-decorative wood barrel outside for a water feature, I've used Selleys 3 in 1 to seal the cracks however I was planning to plant elodea to grow so I can eventually transplant it into the fish tank for the algae eaters to eat (They mow down all plants so I need something outside to grow them).

I know the 3 in 1 is meant to be potentially toxic to fish due to the fungicides that are added to keep the clear colour, however would these leachates make the elodea toxic for fish consumption?

Cheers

Hope someone is able to help.
 
If you go have a look at the different silicone out there and have a look at the label there is one that is aquarium rated safe that is the one i would opt for .....
 
Selleys also manufacture a silicone that is designed specifically for use in aquariums. It is 100% silicone so no additives at all, so safe for flora and fauna. It's a blue tube.
 
Anything that says "Aquarim safe" somewhere on the bottle is fine for any flora and fauna.
 
Depends on the amount of sealant used, type of fungicide, volume of water and how long since it has been applied. With larger volumes of water you will get a dilution effect and over time the amount leached will decrease.
You are using a set volume of sealant, with a limited amount of fungicide so over time (and regular water changes) the level will decrease anyway.

Easiest method would be put elodea in there and see if it grows. If it struggles and always looks sickly then don't feed it.
Buy a couple of guinea pig fish (could always go catch some Gambusia and feed them off after wards) and put them in with the elodea after it has been set up for a few weeks. If they do fine then all is good.
 
If you go have a look at the different silicone out there and have a look at the label there is one that is aquarium rated safe that is the one i would opt for .....

Selleys also manufacture a silicone that is designed specifically for use in aquariums. It is 100% silicone so no additives at all, so safe for flora and fauna. It's a blue tube.

Thanks IgotFrogs and Varanoidea, Unfortunately I have already used the 3 in 1. During my initial research I looked into the aquarium silicones however at the time I thought they weren't suitable for wood and only for glass and metal, upon re-reading the selleys site it only mentions that they are unsuitable for oily woods, so I probably would have been alright.

Depends on the amount of sealant used, type of fungicide, volume of water and how long since it has been applied. With larger volumes of water you will get a dilution effect and over time the amount leached will decrease.
You are using a set volume of sealant, with a limited amount of fungicide so over time (and regular water changes) the level will decrease anyway.

Easiest method would be put elodea in there and see if it grows. If it struggles and always looks sickly then don't feed it.
Buy a couple of guinea pig fish (could always go catch some Gambusia and feed them off after wards) and put them in with the elodea after it has been set up for a few weeks. If they do fine then all is good.

Thanks for the info Butters,

I have asked Selleys and they say that the clear 3 in 1 doesn't actually have any fungicide, though they suggested that I might want to consider lining the inside with plastic.

Whilst looking into the issue most aquarium sites referenced the fungicides as being responsible for leaching toxic compounds into the water.

I'll plant it out regardless and just see whether the plants thrive, after a while I'll try adding some feeder gold fish or something and just see whether they have a problem with the water quality.

Thanks for your help everyone.
 
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