I'd like to seal the tile in my tanks with grout or caulking

[Latlaw]

Does anyone have ideas or experience with this. I want the tile to be permanently installed in my tanks for easier cleaning and disinfecting. Wondering what type of grout to use or what type of caulking. And would I need to seal it?

 

[steve905]

I would lean towards an epoxy grout. Its a little more difficult to install but it has plasticizers in it to help seal off nastey stuff in the gorut. Once its cured use a solvent based sealer on the grout to finish. You can put you critters in once the fumes are gone. Good luck!

 

[bman123]

I've stayed away from making my tile permanent. Just because of the weight. If you ever have to move the tank it's gonna be heavy, especially if it's larger then a 20gallon long.

 

[herf]

I just tiled my 20 long yesterday..I made it permanent and also i used a premixed grout(bought at home crappo).It turned out great!!!
As far a sealing it..you are going to hear different things on here from different people.."don't use sanded grout"" blah blah blah...
once the grout dry's its not like sand is every where

Do what works for you,, people tend to over think what is best.but when it comes down to it
just do what works best for you and what you are comfortable with

 

[lizard_of_aus]

I did the same to a 20 gallon long I use for a beardie. I used the premixed stuff from home depot (I liked your name of home crappo herf, lol), and I sealed it with polyurethane. It cleans and disinfects real easy (I use a steam cleaner) and I don't have to pull the tiles up to remove insects that got away during feeding time..

 

[herf]

I only call it that cause it's crappy nobody is ever around to help you!!

 

[lizard_of_aus]

I know! That describes it perfectly, lol. And when someone does come to help they don't know anything! When I went to purchase the melamine for one of my beardies enclosure, they had to look it up on the computer. Not one single employee even knew what it was, let alone whether they had it or not:main_rolleyes:

 

[steve905]

If you use grout snaded is designed for joints over 1/4" wide...The sand is a filler. Just make smaller joints thats all. Another idea is to install your tile on a backer board the same size as the tank. Then put a scew or handle on one end so you can pull out the tile and clean and reinstall it. Just make sure the backing is rigid; movement will kill your tile job.

 

[Latlaw]

Thank you for all the great ideas! I am going to try to use the sanded caulking and see how that goes. I have six 20 gal tanks to do but I have an extra 20 gal that will be the prototype and I'll swap it out one by one as I do the caulking. I know I'll need a few days with each one to dry and eliminate fumes. Hope it works!

 

[steve905]

TO make your caulking look more neat you can use masking tape along the edges. Squishe the caulk in and then remove the tape. Good luck...I'm WAAAYYYY to goopy to di it with out

 

[Latlaw]

TO make your caulking look more neat you can use masking tape along the edges. Squishe the caulk in and then remove the tape. Good luck...I'm WAAAYYYY to goopy to di it with out

Good tip! Thank you.