Silicone Fumes Killed my Plants!

[LilyPad]

Arghhh I've never used silicone in a tank before with plants still in it. Usually the tank is empty when I start my silicone work. I was fixing my pond area because it started leaking a few weeks ago. I did not tear apart the entire tank, I just didn't have the patience for that right now. Mistake. The fumes from the silicone has killed all my plants in the tank. The pond area is going to be awesome, but a majority of the leaves on my plants are dead and some of the plants are completely dead. I am very frustrated but I wanted to let people know so that they do not make the same mistake.

What I used - Amazon.com: Silicone 3 oz.: Pet Supplies

[LilyPad]

This is what my pothos, caladium, wandering jew, everything in my tank looks like... The only thing that seems to have survived it is the pineapple dracaena.

[Strider18]

Sorry that your plants died Well at least we now know not to do it and it wont happen again

[LilyPad]

Agreed, I know better for the future. Will probably replace the caladium right away because that is their favorite plant. One of the few that can stand up to grey tree frogs. LOL I will give a little time to the rest to see what ends up being salvageable. Just sucks when everything was grown in so nicely.

[deranged chipmunk]

Tsk tsk tsk. Amy, you of all people know better!! Lol give them time, they may just surprise you and regrow. Especially any aroids b


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[LilyPad]

Honestly, it never occurred to me that it would hurt my plants. As soon as I saw what happened though, I knew exactly what the problem was. Luckily, this is the grey tree frog vivarium. All of my hardy and inexpensive plants are in there. Had it been my red eye tank, I think I may have actually cried.

Was it the acidity of the fumes that did it? I had a light fan running but nothing too much because I didn't want to dry out my plants.

[deranged chipmunk]

Hard to say, there is some nasty stuff in silicone that reacts with the air in a not so happy way, creating those nasty fumes. Could have been one of about 30 different compounds that could have caused it.

As much as it pains me to say it, they are just plants. Better it be them than frogs


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[LilyPad]

That is true, much better than the frogs. This whole stupid pond area has been a pain in the rear, this just topped it off LOL. Hopefully everything holds up this time.

[UncleChester]

Many kinds of silicone release acetic acid when curing. This is what's in vinegar, which can be used as an 'organic' herbicide (stronger stuff than the usual kitchen version is available). I believe it mostly kills the parts it contacts which may be enough to outright kill tender plants, but many established plants can just grow back from the roots so don't give up on your sad looking stock!

[GrifTheGreat]

Plants absorb CO2 through their stomatta and the fumes from the silicone might have caused a kind of suffication by blocking the intake of CO2. Just an idea. I have no evidence to back it, but unless something in the silicone spread through the water to the roots of the plants then that would be my guess. Most plants can't handle high acidity in soil. Acetic acid also stops seed germination in a lot of plants. I do know this from experimenting with raddish seed germination.

[LilyPad]

They all died before I added any water. So there was no way it would have reached the soil. I think you're probably correct about something in the fumes blocking the CO2 intake. The silicone itself didn't touch any of the plants. So it was something that was in the fumes.