Is this safe to use?

[Dayners666]

So I researched and found out that there is no chemical additive that is added to silicone. It states that it is mold free because silicone itself is mold free. The label stares 100%silicone which means that it is just naturally mold free. In case anyone on here wasn't aware of that but if you actually research silicone itself you will see that

Also the only difference between silicone 1 and silicone 2 is the strength of the adhesion. Either way from what I've read as long as it states 100% silicone then it's good

 

[HooahArmy]

Uh oh, I hear boss music starting up lol.

Now available in Gluten Free, it's HooahArmy!

Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your patience! I have just returned from a thrilling Army mission and delivered 3 briefs! Please allow me to answer your life's questions:

@The Snark What is that stuff that stops mold, has 100 letters in the name, and also stops terrorist forces?
polyhexamethylene guanidine dodecylbenzenesulfonate ( aka PHMG-DBS). It's some good stuff! This works as a general anti-biological. It can kill bacteria too!

Why is regular silicone not cool for aquariums? What's the difference between regular silicone and aquarium silicone?
Silicones used in different settings differ in their chemical composition. Unlike glue which often dries, silicone 'cures', meaning that it hardens by 'exhaling' or 'venting' volatile chemicals. Volatile chemicals are chemicals that can go airborne and evaporate out of a compound when exposed to air or even water. Compared to drying, curing can take a long time, sometimes up to a month for some silicones. These chemicals can be toxic for critters, fish included.
Aquarium-safe silicones usually cure quickly and/or do not 'vent' chemicals into water. Regular silicone may not, resulting in longer cure times and possibly some dead critters if the stuff is allowed to finish curing underwater, if not cured fully away from water.
Additionally, waterproof does not mean water-safe or water sturdy. It usually means that a silicone can tolerate some water exposure and keep it out of a place, but long-term water exposure or submersion can cause it to degrade or even leach chemicals into water.

Please feel free to ask follow-up questions!
Bonus: HooahArmy! is switching out of chemistry and will soon enter anti-terrorism. Joy!

 

[Dayners666]

Now available in Gluten Free, it's HooahArmy!

Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your patience! I have just returned from a thrilling Army mission and delivered 3 briefs! Please allow me to answer your life's questions:

@The Snark What is that stuff that stops mold, has 100 letters in the name, and also stops terrorist forces?
polyhexamethylene guanidine dodecylbenzenesulfonate ( aka PHMG-DBS). It's some good stuff! This works as a general anti-biological. It can kill bacteria too!

Why is regular silicone not cool for aquariums? What's the difference between regular silicone and aquarium silicone?
Silicones used in different settings differ in their chemical composition. Unlike glue which often dries, silicone 'cures', meaning that it hardens by 'exhaling' or 'venting' volatile chemicals. Volatile chemicals are chemicals that can go airborne and evaporate out of a compound when exposed to air or even water. Compared to drying, curing can take a long time, sometimes up to a month for some silicones. These chemicals can be toxic for critters, fish included.
Aquarium-safe silicones usually cure quickly and/or do not 'vent' chemicals into water. Regular silicone may not, resulting in longer cure times and possibly some dead critters if the stuff is allowed to finish curing underwater, if not cured fully away from water.
Additionally, waterproof does not mean water-safe or water sturdy. It usually means that a silicone can tolerate some water exposure and keep it out of a place, but long-term water exposure or submersion can cause it to degrade or even leach chemicals into water.

Please feel free to ask follow-up questions!
Bonus: HooahArmy! is switching out of chemistry and will soon enter anti-terrorism. Joy!

But, basically, you're confirming that, 100% silicone, as long as it is left to cure properly, then there shouldn't be any harm. Is that correct? And as far as submersion, my intentions are to just use silicone to adhere dirt to a foam background then adhere that background to the glass of a tarantula enclosure that is completely bioactive. So it definitely won't be submerged but maybe sprayed with water every so often to obtain humidity levels

 

[The Snark]

polyhexamethylene guanidine dodecylbenzenesulfonate

THAT ! ! AKA Poly 11. Whew.
(My brain comes to a screeching halt around 2-chloro-1,1,2-trifluoroethyl difluoromethyl ether)

ut, basically, you're confirming that, 100% silicone, as long as it is left to cure properly, then there shouldn't be any harm. Is that correct?

In all intents and purposes it's inert. Harmless. Also, due it's lack of carbon presence it resists organisms growing on it.

 

[Dayners666]

THAT ! !

So I searched that specific chemical and found an actual test on rats and what the results were

Toxicity of humidifier disinfectant polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride by two-week whole body-inhalation exposure in rats

The use of polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHMG·HCl) as a humidifier disinfectant caused an outbreak of pulmonary disease, leading to the deaths of pregnant women and children in South Korea. However, limited information is available ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

THAT ! !


In all intents and purposes it's inert. Harmless. Also, due it's lack of carbon presence it resists organisms growing on it.

Also that chemical is not a mold deterrent. It's a water soluble disinfectant. Silicone itself is in fact mold free. No added chemicals

 

[SpookySpooder]

One of my enclosures just became bioactive and I didn't even have to try

 

[Dayners666]

One of my enclosures just became bioactive and I didn't even have to try
View attachment 465518

Ha!! That's awesome! Look at that lil sprout

 

[The Snark]

Also that chemical is not a mold deterrent. It's a water soluble disinfectant. Silicone itself is in fact mold free. No added chemicals

I was referring to silicone being inert.

As for the unpronounceable: Yuppers, in silicones. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28415553/
The ongoing battle in the bio-med field of instruments and environments not becoming vectors. Very common for various industries to utilize bio-med applications.

 

[HooahArmy]

But, basically, you're confirming that, 100% silicone, as long as it is left to cure properly, then there shouldn't be any harm. Is that correct? And as far as submersion, my intentions are to just use silicone to adhere dirt to a foam background then adhere that background to the glass of a tarantula enclosure that is completely bioactive. So it definitely won't be submerged but maybe sprayed with water every so often to obtain humidity levels

Yes, when fully cured, it should be relatively harmless, just as @The Snark has mentioned, and should be alright as long as it's not submerged. Aquarium-safe silicone is meant for high water exposure, but please do consider the humidity level of your terrarium. Humidity is still the presence of moisture in the air and there's no knowing of how even that could impact the silicone. If you're willing to risk it, you may give your silicone a try and let it cure for up to 50% more of the recommended cure time, just to be safe. Then, you may even conduct a sniff test to ensure how much it has finished curing. Uusually, if you can smell something strong coming off it, it's still curing, even in minute amounts--you don't want gases of any sort building in your terrarium.
Once you've established your decor piece, also keep an eye on it as time passes, since you are misting on occasion for humidity. If you see it degrading or getting odd in any way, it may be best to replace it.

@Dayners666 I was also sleepy when reading your post on rats and the long-winded chemical.
Come to think of it, I would like to believe that rats and mice are also mold free and may inhibit its growth. As gross as they get, they never get moldy. The white fur on some of my critters remains unnatrually white. Clearly this means that I should rub mice and rats on mold to get rid of the stuff.
*tired thoughs*

 

[The Snark]

Come to think of it, I would like to believe that rats and mice are also mold free and may inhibit its gorowth.

But fungus in fur, especially dogs with double coats, is an ongoing veterinarian headache.

 

[Dayners666]

Yes, when fully cured, it should be relatively harmless, just as @The Snark has mentioned, and should be alright as long as it's not submerged. Aquarium-safe silicone is meant for high water exposure, but please do consider the humidity level of your terrarium. Humidity is still the presence of moisture in the air and there's no knowing of how even that could impact the silicone. If you're willing to risk it, you may give your silicone a try and let it cure for up to 50% more of the recommended cure time, just to be safe. Then, you may even conduct a sniff test to ensure how much it has finished curing. Uusually, if you can smell something strong coming off it, it's still curing, even in minute amounts--you don't want gases of any sort building in your terrarium.
Once you've established your decor piece, also keep an eye on it as time passes, since you are misting on occasion for humidity. If you see it degrading or getting odd in any way, it may be best to replace it.

@Dayners666 I was also sleepy when reading your post on rats and the long-winded chemical.
Come to think of it, I would like to believe that rats and mice are also mold free and may inhibit its gorowth. As gross as they get, they never get moldy. The white fur on some of my critters remains unnatrually white. Clearly this means that I should rub mice and rats on mold to get rid of the stuff.
*tired thoughs*

But fungus in fur, especially dogs with double coats, is an ongoing veterinarian headache.

Actually, believe it or not, captive rats are ridiculously clean. They are constantly bathing and grooming themselves much like cats. Some even say they may actually even be cleaner

 

[HooahArmy]

But fungus in fur, especially dogs with double coats, is an ongoing veterinarian headache.

Rub a mouse on it.

Actually, believe it or not, captive rats are ridiculously clean. They are constantly bathing and grooming themselves much like cats. Some even say they may actually even be cleaner

Hmm, your comment gives me an idea...

Step 1: Acquire a small family of mice.
Step 2: Gently dab mice to clean dirty areas in home.
Step 3: Mice clean themselves, then reproduce.
Step 4: Repeat process and sell extra mice.
Result: Endless supply of cleaning products and $$$.

 

[The Snark]

Hmm, your comment gives me an idea...

Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Unfortunately, rodents are very efficient pathogen incubators. Thus they are only as clean as their food, water and environment permits. But back on the off topic, cats make excellent mops.

 

[moricollins]

Also the only difference between silicone 1 and silicone 2 is the strength of the adhesion. Either way from what I've read as long as it states 100% silicone then it's good

You and I must have different definitions of the word "difference" (or "only")
As listed on their MSDS sheets, hazardous components:

GE Silicone I: Silicon dioxide

GE Silicone II: Silica, amorphous, fumed, crystal-free; exa1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexamethyldisilazane; Trimethoxy(methyl)silane; octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane

 

[fcat]

If you watch the video l4nsky posted he says GE2 is bad due mold inhibitors 0:52.

My hazmat guy once told me when in doubt, "methyl deathyl."

For $6 get the Amazon stuff I posted. Your time has value. When you calculate how much time you spend researching if the stuff you got was safe (and not watching that video), well that's an investment. You could've thrown the GE2 in the trash at this point, forfeited a refund, not put your critters at risk. Your 100% aquarium safe silicone would be cured by now. For the low cost of $6 more dollars, you'd be golden. So what you're $20 deep now, however many hours later and still no one gets hurt. This may sound rude because you don't know who I used to work for but the time taken to write this was not worth $20. Okay fine I'll elaborate a little lol. I had to generate $2000 per hour to beat Google. Out of context it makes no sense, but if you compared Google's revenue and number of employees, to our revenue and the size of our team, we had to generate $2000 an hour to do it. And we did! Just live your life as if your time as has as much value as Google makes. Or for quick math calculate what you earn per hour at work, you'll make low level decisions in a snap.

Bin it and move on!

Edit: when you start putting a dollar amount on your time you'll understand why some of the responses here are so curt

 

[The Snark]

methyl deathyl

Too good an opportunity to pass up.
"Alcohol will turn you into your parents. Methylamphetamine (speed) will turn you into your grandparents." -Carlin

I bought some GE Silicone II from a big box in Thailand. Whether it was a counterfeit, a lack of quality control, or just the real stuff, IT STANK. Not the acetic acid smell but along the lines of clothes found in a damp closet that had to have been there for several decades. Going by various rough rules of thumb regarding unknown chemicals that make you nervous, I braved the horrible silicone solvent ... concentrated MEK? ... @HooahArmy - that stuff that makes chemicals like triethylborane and trifluoroacetic acid roam around in your mind. With three fans blowing I removed all the silicone and threw the extra tubes in the trash. So much for that approach to our black mold (Stachybotrus Chartarum) problem.

During my skoole years my anathema was curt instructors and professors. Especially the ones that snarl when you ask them to elaborate. I suppose and assume that is why I am given to being long winded in my posts. I drive people nuts from the opposite end of the spectrum.

 

[fcat]

Too good an opportunity to pass up.
"Alcohol will turn you into your parents. Methylamphetamine (speed) will turn you into your grandparents." -Carlin

Continue to do so, your time is well spent here, and you have such great quips

 

[The Snark]

Continue to do so, your time is well spent here, and you have such great quips

Such an accolade should be very cautiously bestowed. I've got around 60 years of streets smarts, misused education and hard core craziness coupled to an eidetic memory to draw upon. Thus asking me the question "Is it safe..." I'd quote Albert E. "Es ist relativ.", that is. from inert molecules to the thermodynamics of a super nova, it's somewhere in between. The rest of the verbiage is window dressing.