I hope this is the proper forum!
I'm looking @ a pre-owned 75g Oceanic RR tank locally, this is the old school Oceanic before they were bought out.
The owner sent me some pics, specifically of some green stains in the silicone that he says are from malachite green.
He's had the tank since new (10 years), and while he's not sure if he's ever used copper, he knows that he hasn't used chemicals for years.
This has always been a freshwater tank and I'm going to convert it to a reef. Obviously, it will get a thorough cleaning before setting up and as it was fresh there won't be any substrate/rock/etc. that will transfer over.
My questions:
- My research (Google) doesn't show that past use of malachite green would pose any problem to a reef, although the chemical is deadly to inverts. I would think that if it hasn't been used in several years there shouldn't be any left, but it is showing in the silicone (pics below) so I guess it could leach.
- I'd like to clean the silicone as it is visible.
1)Could I trim the silicone back to remove the stain?
2)Could I safely remove the silicone from the inside of the tank only (as needed) and re-apply without worrying about structural integrity? I thought I read once that most of the tank's strength comes from the silicone in the joint itself.
Thanks for the help!
Pic:
I'm looking @ a pre-owned 75g Oceanic RR tank locally, this is the old school Oceanic before they were bought out.
The owner sent me some pics, specifically of some green stains in the silicone that he says are from malachite green.
He's had the tank since new (10 years), and while he's not sure if he's ever used copper, he knows that he hasn't used chemicals for years.
This has always been a freshwater tank and I'm going to convert it to a reef. Obviously, it will get a thorough cleaning before setting up and as it was fresh there won't be any substrate/rock/etc. that will transfer over.
My questions:
- My research (Google) doesn't show that past use of malachite green would pose any problem to a reef, although the chemical is deadly to inverts. I would think that if it hasn't been used in several years there shouldn't be any left, but it is showing in the silicone (pics below) so I guess it could leach.
- I'd like to clean the silicone as it is visible.
1)Could I trim the silicone back to remove the stain?
2)Could I safely remove the silicone from the inside of the tank only (as needed) and re-apply without worrying about structural integrity? I thought I read once that most of the tank's strength comes from the silicone in the joint itself.
Thanks for the help!
Pic: