PL Polyurethane Concrete Crack & Masonry Sealer

[Telkwa]

Anyone have any opinions on whether the PL Polyurethane Concrete Crack & Masonry Sealant is fish-safe? It appears to be very similar to the Roof & Flashing Sealant that everyone says is OK.

Which leaves me wondering - who decided the R&F Sealant is fish-safe anyway?

My wife won't let me use this until someone can verify that the Concrete Crack & Masonry stuff is OK too. It cures to a gray color, which would help me out with gluing some rocks into a spillway.

 

[Pondmaster]

I am planning on using PL in some spots after the season is over. My search indicated that it is safe after it cures. I would like to see a few more ponders weigh in on this though.

 

[Telkwa]

I went to PL's website and used their "Contact Us" form to ask about fish-safe. I mentioned that everyone recommends the R&F Sealant as fish-safe, and asked for input about the Concrete Crack & Masonry Sealant.

They're both polyurethane based, so I'm guessing that most of the ingredients are the same as R&F.

Seems like everyone's so cautious about liability, so I don't know if there's any chance of receiving useful information. Will report back if I get anything.

 

[Pondmaster]

I went to PL's website and used their "Contact Us" form to ask about fish-safe. I mentioned that everyone recommends the R&F Sealant as fish-safe, and asked for input about the Concrete Crack & Masonry Sealant.

They're both polyurethane based, so I'm guessing that most of the ingredients are the same as R&F.

Seems like everyone's so cautious about liability, so I don't know if there's any chance of receiving useful information. Will report back if I get anything.

The marine aquarium forums claim it's safe after curing, however they claim, like you, that the product manufacturers will not commit themselves to saying so.

 

[DrDave]

Do you blame them? People will sue to get money out of rocks if they could.

 

[Pondmaster]

Do you blame them? People will sue to get money out of rocks if they could.

Can I use that? No I don't blame them one bit.

 

[Telkwa]

Got a reply from PL:

Unfortunately, neither one of those products is 'fish-safe', nor do we recommend them for constant submersion

Which brings me back to the question - who decided the R&F Sealant was fish-safe?

And the tubes do say something about not recommended for constant immersion...

 

[DrDave]

Again, they are protecting themselves over law suits. they don't get rich over ponders, they do over constuction projects.
Any urethane product should be fine. Silicone is safe but not very good on EPDM.

 

[Telkwa]

OK, thanks, Doc -
I'll show your message to the construction superintendent and hopefully she'll let me use the PL Concrete & Masonry stuff.

Just to add to your comment on silicone.... I read on some other forum a few days ago - I think it was a thread about fixing aquariums - where a guy said 100% silicone is fine but stay away from silicone branded as "tub and bathroom" because it has mold inhibitors that are poisonous to fish.

And you're right - silicone doesn't seem to stick to EPDM very well. I tried it with a bulkhead fitting. The silicone just seemed to grease the skids. The EPDM slithered right out of the gasket area as I tightened the bulkhead fitting. So I set that aside and went on to something else. Then a day or two later I noticed that the dried silicone seemed to peel off the EPDM pretty easily.

 

[addy1]

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And you're right - silicone doesn't seem to stick to EPDM very well. I tried it with a bulkhead fitting. The silicone just seemed to grease the skids. The EPDM slithered right out of the gasket area as I tightened the bulkhead fitting. So I set that aside and went on to something else. Then a day or two later I noticed that the dried silicone seemed to peel off the EPDM pretty easily.

I tried a lot of different stuff to fix a boot leak, the only thing that finally worked was the 5200 marine sealant. It is bright white, as most boats are white. And rated for underwater use.