Seals for block walls

[Jentortmom]

My hubby was thinking of making me a block planter that is stuccoed to put the turtles and torts in, but he wants to seal the inside so the water does not seep through. Is the sealing stuff toxic to turtles and torts? He said it was a tar material, that makes me real nervous.

 

[Josh]

i would use silicon glue that is made for fish tanks. im pretty sure that stuff doesnt leak anything once it cures. the thing i would look out for is them eating that stuff

 

[T-P]

You can use sealent that is used to fill in cracks in fish tanks or large glass sheets.

 

[halfnelson]

I got a product called Safecoat Hardseal from a green building outfit in Arizona (the shipping cost killed me). I'm using it to water seal the wood on my new terrariums. It's supposed to be non toxic, low VOC and prevents outgassing. They also carried products to seal cement or stone. Don't use tar products, they kill everything. Just look at the Exxon Valdez. Petrochemicals penetrate eggshells, no birds hatched that year.

 

[Jacqui]

What is VOC?

 

[halfnelson]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapour pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. (The term VOC is also occasionally used as an abbreviation, especially in biological contexts, for "volatile organic carbon".) A wide range of carbon-based molecules, such as aldehydes, ketones, and hydrocarbons are VOC's. The term often is used in a legal or regulatory context and in such cases the precise definition is a matter of law. These definitions can be contradictory and may contain "loopholes"; e.g. exceptions, exemptions, and exclusions. Others believe the concept that a volatile organic compound is any organic that participates in a photoreaction, as found in the EPA's definition, is very broad and vague. Organics that are not volatile, as described above, can fall into that definition. The term may refer both to well characterized organic compounds and to mixtures of variable composition. Most often the definition used is one from the United States Environmental Protection Agency
Common artificial sources of VOCs include paint thinners, dry cleaning solvents, and some constituents of petroleum fuels (eg. gasoline and natural gas). Trees are also an important biological source of VOC. It is also known that trees emit large amounts of VOCs especially isoprene and terpenes. Significant biological sources of methane are termites, cows (ruminants) and cultivation (estimated emissions 15, 75 and 100 million tons per year respectively).

Another significant source of VOC emission is crude oil tanking. Both during offloading and loading of crude oil tankers VOC are released to the atmosphere. Lately there has been an environmental focus on this issue resulting in both VOC handling on newer tankers and also crude oil loading terminals.

Considered a factor in indoor air quality issues such as sick building syndrome, VOCs "are generated by photocopiers, carpets, and furnishings as they are used or when components oxidize.... One irritant, formeldahyde, present in hundreds of office components, including wood and laminated furniture, shelving, and wall covers. It also evaporates from paints, varnishes, and chemicals used for sealing and finishing walls."[1] Tobacco smoke can contribute high levels of VOCs.[2]