tank safe silicone

Question
Okay so ive been trying to find ornaments for my new tank but there really xpensive, and not what i want. I found a website saying that you can find your own natural rocks and then use safe silicone that is mildew resistand FREE, to join them into formations, is it okay to put natural rocks in a tropicak fish tank, and also what is a safe silicone i can use to join the rocks together.

Answer
Hi Amber;

You can buy food-safe or aquarium-safe silicone at hardware stores and most fish stores too. Just make sure that it's "non-toxic when cured". It should say that somewhere on the label. It will be 100% silicone with no additives.

When you choose rocks, get them from a source that is safe such as a fish store or from an out of the way remote area where you are sure they have not been contaminated by insecticides, herbicides, motor oils, antifreeze, etc. The type of rock can be important too. Natural things such as softer minerals can cause problems with water chemistry. Metals such as copper can create trouble too. Here are some web sites about all that to help you;

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/rock_metals.php

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquarium/aquascaping.php

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f20/outside-rocks-in-aquarium-115177.html

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/101

http://www.uniquaria.com/index.php/articles/6-misc/21-aquarium-safe-rocks

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins