a major caulk problem!!

[wah-zoh]

ok i posted this in reef discusion but no one seems to ever have had this problem or know anyone who has made this mistake, so here is the story.

Any one ever use GE silicone II? If you have please let me know if you were able to save anything. I spent 4 hours trying to save my firends reef last night because he used the wrong caulk on his sump. 1st thing to go was soft corals, they melted into his rock, then LPS closed up, and SPS closed up. only 1 fish died a yellow tang. The inverts and his clam dont seem to be bothered by this?? All the coral that was still alive was transfered into QT I had at my house. Some corals have already started to come around (torches opened back up, frog spawn gained some color back, and zoa are slowly opening more and more. Corals that look bad , are the leather, a pipe coral, and all the sps. >>>>> Also what are your opinions on the live rock and substrate? Do you think they will absorb the chemicals or will re-curing them for a few weeks be ok to re-use when we need to re start his system?

any help is greatly appreciated!!! thank you

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

I'd post this in the Chemistry forum! poly filters, carbon, purigen my help pull contaminants out.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

Kalk and caulk are too much alike and IMO using Silicon, or even GE II Silicon in your title will get faster attention.

 

[wah-zoh]

ok i will try that thank you.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

You'll find that a great forum; well thought answers are often only minutes away.

 

[captain7359]

was it the tile & bath with the fungicide of the door & window? It should be fine if it was the door & window and was allowed time to properly cure. How long did you let it cure before water went back in?

 

[wah-zoh]

24hrs

 

[wah-zoh]

this is the exact silicone that was used
http://www.caulkyourhome.com/index.php

 

[frofan]

That stuff has chemicals in it to prevent fungus and mold from developing on the caulk.

 

[wah-zoh]

yeah he didnt read the tube just looked for GE 100% silicone. i guess the question i have now is, what can be saved? the fish that remained in the tank are starting to come around now, the only fish that died was a yellow tang. all the corals looked pretty bad untill i got them in my QT tank. xenia, and mushrooms were beyond saving. do you think over time and plenty of water changes the coral can be added back to that tank? is the fiji rock going to absorb the chemicals like it does phosphate?

 

[captain7359]

Was it the window and door or kitchen and bath?

http://www.caulkyourhome.com/ge-silicone-II-window-and-door.php is the window and door and should have been fine. If it was the kitchen stuff I'd be concerned about the residual that may be left in the rock and substrate.

 

[wah-zoh]

it was a new kind. says for windows, doors, attics, and basements. Thats alot of nice rock that is ruined if it absorbs. the fish that remained in the tank really seem to be doing better so, maybe getting rid of the cause it will filter out over time. for now i get to try and recover some corals. :hmm2: good practice for me. i have only kept a handfull of different corals untill now. corals i am trying to recover are: big leather coral, 3 torch corals, a pipe coral, frogspawn, a sps of some kind it was a brown fuzzy coral(dont think it is going to make it though :sad2: ) a rock with orange and green zoas on it, and a small piece of GSP.

 

[frofan]

The window and door version will also contain the chemicals to prevent mold.

I don't know how it will affect the rocks or substrate, but I would think he would have a fighting chance of keep both if he does 10% weekly water change for the next 3 to 6 months. Make sure he stirs the substrate every or every other water change. I would do a 30% water change this week and next to try to dilute the remaining chemicals in the water.

 

[wah-zoh]

ok thank you for the input everyone. great forum we have here in URS. hopefuly i will see everyone at the buffalo frag swap, and i can actually do some work on my tank rather than someone elses. my 125 is still looking pretty empty :lolspin: