How to remove ich-x stains from silicone

[FyaNyan]

Hey!

I have a small quarantine tank in which the silicone sealant has been stained blue by ich-x medicine. Is there any way to remove the blue stains, or is this permanent?

Thanks 🙂

 

[nabokovfan87]

Unfortunately, there isn't. It's just something that we all are stuck with as a result of that med and that stain. Anything that is silicone usually keeps that color, suction cups and so many other things.

[lefty o]

pretty much permanent. it may lighten over time, but the only way to remove it is to strip out the silicone and reseal the tank.

[FyaNyan]

On 4/12/2022 at 12:17 AM, lefty o said:

the only way to remove it is to strip out the silicone and reseal the tank.

Ah. That’s too bad. I suppose re-siliconing is what I’ll do. I was planning on upscaling my quarantine setup to a 10g bin and use this old 2.5g for bugs, as I like to catch spiders and other crawlies during summertime. The blue just looks kinda wonky for a terrarium. Thanks anyway!

[SunniSki]

I have used Ich-X for almost 8 weeks.... My silicone is a "beautiful ocean blue" 😒.  I even have a gray tall decoration that used to be gray...well its also been tainted with this beautiful ocean blue color.  Lets not even begin to talk about all the tubing and rubber seals on things.  I dont like it but there is no way I would strip my tank to re-silicone anything... thats to me is awful.

[Guppysnail]

On 4/13/2022 at 8:33 AM, SunniSki said:

I have used Ich-X for almost 8 weeks.... My silicone is a "beautiful ocean blue" 😒.  I even have a gray tall decoration that used to be gray...well its also been tainted with this beautiful ocean blue color.  Lets not even begin to talk about all the tubing and rubber seals on things.  I dont like it but there is no way I would strip my tank to re-silicone anything... thats to me is awful.

Opportunity to do an ocean scene tank. Something like aponogeton to emulate seaweed some seashells. Turn the frown upside down 😁

[gardenman]

If you have a UV light source, you might be able to use that to bleach out the Ich-X pigment. Just remember looking directly into a UV light isn't smart. (Lots of people bought UV sterilizing devices/wands for phones, and other stuff during Covid-mania 2020. I suspect they're of questionable effectiveness in germ killing, but they might help eliminate staining.) Popping the empty tank outside on a bright sunny day might help bleach it out also. There aren't a lot of pigments that can stand up to intense UV radiation for long. Most will fade and disappear with UV exposure.

[FyaNyan]

On 4/13/2022 at 10:17 AM, gardenman said:

Popping the empty tank outside on a bright sunny day might help bleach it out also.

I’ll try this for like a week and see what happens (I’ll share my findings). Thanks for the suggestion! Maybe it will help someone else, too *shrug*

[DaveO]

On 4/13/2022 at 9:51 AM, FyaNyan said:

I’ll try this for like a week and see what happens (I’ll share my findings).

I think before and after pics would be extra interesting.

[FyaNyan]

On 4/13/2022 at 1:54 PM, DaveO said:

I think before and after pics would be extra interesting.

I certainly will take photos to document!