All-Glass Silicone... still stinky after 48 hours

[Arcteryx]

Used a few dabs to really Really REALLY secure the infamous backdrop in my Fluval Ebi to make sure it didn't take off... can still smell the silicone after 48 hours although it has improved quite a bit.

Not that I'm in a hurry but it's probably prudent to wait until the smell has completely gone away before filling the tank, right?

[Dietmar]

Was this old silicone? Should have cured by now if its in the house where it is warm. If its just to hold backdrop on, outside of the tank, I would wait for it to cure a little longer. But if it holds anything together under water, I would get rid of it and buy some new silicone.

[gklaw]

Silicon will take a while to cure and will continue to cure for a while even after you submerged that in water. The smell is just vinegar as a by product of the curing process.

For your application, I would wait a week. Not so much because of the smell. You are using not to seal against pressure when two parts are being held together mechanically. You are using it as a adhesive, which is fine. In this case, your floating background will try to pull on the adhesive to pull it off. Hope you cleaned the two surfaces being joined together as well.

[Arcteryx]

Yup, it was a new tube from J&L, and I cleaned the two surfaces (for once I read the instructions). It's inside the tank too. I don't mind waiting... not in any particular hurry at the moment. Thanks gklaw

[Morainy]

I can easily smell clear aquarium silicone for more than 2 weeks. I agree with gklaw that letting it rest for a week before adding water to the tank is a good idea if strength is what you're going for.

[Arcteryx]

k... thanks! I'll just put it away and wait for it to completely go away. As I said... no hurry. Just want it to work properly (i.e. stay attached) without having to worry about it later.