help before a potential problem becomes deadly

[TOURKID]

hey all I bought new lightbulbs for my (horrible) odyysea tank and was replacing them today. I noticed all the screws on the metal behind the bulbs are rusted. one was rusted so much that when i tried to unscrew it, the screw broke in half.

what to do? I covered the screws with electrical tape for now. whats worse for leaching in the tank? glue from tape, or rust from screws?

what should i do to fix issue? is there somthing safe to cover them with? or should I buy news screws of a certain metal?

Odyyseaa sucks!!! (for lots of resons)

 

[steel3470]

cant you just use scilicone

 

[Kevinnap]

you could get stainless steel screws at just about any hardware store, or do like Steel said and just dollop aquarium silicone over the screws to seal them.

 

[TOURKID]

If I seal em, can I ever open em agian? where do I get silicone? fish store or hardware?

 

[Sk8r]

I'd get stainless screws at Lowes or Home Depot: take one of yours with you, and ask the sales clerk for a matching several. And maybe cover them with electrical tape, available in the electrical dept. Stainless won't rust, and if you cover the screw with electrical tape moisture won't get to it, but you can get the tape off again if you need to. In this hobby, best take a walk around and see what you can find else that you might need: their big 5 gal plastic buckets are useful, ditto various hoses, timers for your lights, pipe, extension cords, plastic c-clamps and connectors, etc...the last of which, oddly enough, are not in the plumbing department, but over with the lawn sprinkler do-it-yourselfs. Good luck, Tourkid: getting ahead of problems---good job.

 

[jgoodrich71]

A little bit of rust from some screws will not hurt the tank. The stainless will work, but even they may rust. That's just what happens around saltwater.

 

[TOURKID]

i went and bought silicone... and a blood shrimp

I just have the screws covered with electrical tape for now. I have a buddy of mine coming sunday to help me change the internal fans.. they both, yes, both broke, so i bought replacements, but the ones i bought dont have metal ends.. so i was gonna just cut off the ends... but i donno, being around so much water i figured i better not go the getto route. guess ill replace the screws then

the guy that sold me the silicone made a huge deal of the rust and said to cover them with silicone tonight, then peel it off sundaly and do it all over agian....

 

[Dingo Dog]

If you really need to use screws, I'd suggest you try and contact a Marine supplier. Anything produced for Marine or Aerospace use will be more expensive, but you get what you pay for. You might Google a West-Marine retailer to see if one is in your area.

I have a sailboat and can assure you that Marine grade hardware is far superior to anything stainless as there are various types of stainless steel and stainless steel is not rustproof. Especially when it comes in contact with corrosives such as salt.

 

[TOURKID]

i think im just gonna get new screws and then silicone over them. the only time id need to unscrew them would be to replace broken fans