silicone/sand mortar... not easy or fun... but worth it!

[Glabe]

so I just tried to make a mortar out of silicon and sand tonight for the first time, and my google research did not prepare me for the UNPLEASANT experience!

I'll start with the tribulations, then end with the back story. first, you need to use about as much silicon as sand, maybe a bit more... who has time to measure? I'm using the GE silicon I from your local lowes/home depot in the big tube/gun combo. no mold or mildew inhibitors. And with the sand, I did my normal 2g of playsand in a 5g bucket. washing it out with a hose, drilling the hose down and stirring until the bucket is full of water, quickly pouring the dirty water out about 20 times to get almost ALL of the fines out.

second, when using the gun, remember to release the trigger after applying the silicon or else it will continue pouring out of the tube after you've set it down.

third... and this is the most important tidbit of info that you'll want to take into consideration. IT STINKS! some of us LOVE the smell of vinegar. we drink the pickle juice after the pickles are gone. we eat pickled okra, cauliflower, herring... mix vinegar with our ketchup for dipping fries, pour vinegar on our hamburger buns, eat salt and vinegar chips... no matter how much you love vinegar... it sucks. I normally love using silicon because it smells like vinegar... but once you start mixing it with sand, the strength of the smell of vinegar is overwhelming. it's harsh even for vinegar lovers. I'm going to buy some sort of mask to finish this project... YUCK!

forth, it starts curing more quickly than normal silicon projects. we were drinking and hanging out while I was doing this project. We stepped out for a smoke, and by the time I came back in to continue, all of the sand/silicon mix I had made was pretty much useless because it had dried around the edges. I tried dumping in more silicon, but it all just lumped up and was worthless.

fifth, wear latex or vinyl gloves. I tried wearing a glove on one hand, and somehow the other hand got all goopy and gritty. it wasn't fun

So here's the story and some pics! I got an Oceanic 30g from a coworker's sister because she has kids and is tired of taking care of it. it's something like 20x18x21, so I figure the sweet depth gives me a golden opportunity to make a sweet 3D background. Found a pretty cool fish fanatic on CL that was selling slate, petrified wood for $0.45/lb texas holy for $0.25/lb and got hooked up. that's literally TEN times cheaper than petsmart slate. got the "egg crate" florescent fixture grated cover and some silicon and glued the slate/petrified wood onto it. That was easy. The sand/silicon mortar was where the pain began, lol. here are some pics of the progress so far. There's more slate and wood that will be incorporated, but are too 3D to be glued onto it yet. Plus some anubias and java moss that will help hide some straight lines and seems



The moral of the story is... mixing silicon and sand SUCKS!!!!

 

[FreshyFresh]

Very cool Glabe. Looks like a lot of work though.

I wonder if you could apply just the silicone and then coat the exposed silicone with sand?

I'm sure you've done your research, but I'd think mixing sand with the silicone would compromise it's adhesive properties?

 

[Wren]

I mixed silicone and aquarium gravel to make bases for plastic plants that couldn't be dug up and floated by my fish. Over time the silicone loosened its grip on the gravel. I have no idea what will happen with the sand. Is there such thing as an aquarium safe grout??

wren

 

[Glabe]

Very cool Glabe. Looks like a lot of work though.

I wonder if you could apply just the silicone and then coat the exposed silicone with sand?

I'm sure you've done your research, but I'd think mixing sand with the silicone would compromise it's adhesive properties?

I was thinking about coating silicon with sand, and it may work, but I was worried that it might end up being a very thin layer of sand that lets light show through. It's worth a shot tho. I'm sure it is losing alot of it's adhesive property because of the sand. I'm hoping that it's shape will help hold it in place. I'll also go along the back of the plastic grid and try to reinforce it with silicone. fingers crossed!

I mixed silicone and aquarium gravel to make bases for plastic plants that couldn't be dug up and floated by my fish. Over time the silicone loosened its grip on the gravel. I have no idea what will happen with the sand. Is there such thing as an aquarium safe grout??

wren

well shoot, lol. cement is safe... probably grouts also... you just have to give them a lot of time underwater to cure

 

[authmal]

well shoot, lol. cement is safe... probably grouts also... you just have to give them a lot of time underwater to cure

Why not cure out of the water and then place it in the tank? It won't be in place as quickly, but it'll be less likely to have issues with being disturbed before it's cured.

 

[MigoX]

Don't feel too bad about the cement/grout thing. I've been scheming a similar project for my axolotl tank. With axolotls it's best not to have objects in the tank that would fit into the mouth of the creature due to the fact that it will almost surely swallow anything that fits.
My plan was to "tile" the floor of the tank with larger stones using grout reinforced with egg crate. The point of this plan was to make vacuuming easier while keeping a somewhat natural look.
Unfortunately for me, after speaking with tiling experts, I was informed that grout will not adhere to glass. Nooo!! So instead of having a loose heavy rectangular disc to deal with I just left it alone and went with loose larger stones. Reading this thread now, I know that the sand project would have been the answer to my issues.



Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[Glabe]

Why not cure out of the water and then place it in the tank? It won't be in place as quickly, but it'll be less likely to have issues with being disturbed before it's cured.

you let it dry out of water, but they say it can take weeks of soaking/water changes until it stops hardening the water

and I just did one of the side edges by applying silicon and smushing sand into it. It made a nice straight line, and hopefully it holds the sand nicely! probably should have used black silicone to match the tank edges... hmmm

 

[Glabe]

Don't feel too bad about the cement/grout thing. I've been scheming a similar project for my axolotl tank. With axolotls it's best not to have objects in the tank that would fit into the mouth of the creature due to the fact that it will almost surely swallow anything that fits.
My plan was to "tile" the floor of the tank with larger stones using grout reinforced with egg crate. The point of this plan was to make vacuuming easier while keeping a somewhat natural look.
Unfortunately for me, after speaking with tiling experts, I was informed that grout will not adhere to glass. Nooo!! So instead of having a loose heavy rectangular disc to deal with I just left it alone and went with loose larger stones. Reading this thread now, I know that the sand project would have been the answer to my issues.



Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

time for a fun redo project!

 

[esoepr1976]

Um, I thought I posted to this, but I don't see my post, so I guess I'll post again? Anyways, I coated some PVC pipe in silicone and sand. I used the aquarium sand. I used the aquarium safe silicone from the pet store I was working in at the time. I coated the PVC pipe with the silicone using a popsicle stick, and then rolled it in the sand to cover. I let it dry/cure, and it was done. I found this project as an on-line tutorial somewhere. I never actually used them though. They were going to be stacked along with flower pots and slate for hiding spots for African cichlids. But, I got really sick and never had a chance to set up the tank. They may still be in my parent's basement for future use...

Emily

 

[authmal]

Hm. I suppose this could be used on a PVC section to make it a less than hideous pleco cave or something. I may have to try it.