Dave,
There are a lot of variables including ambient temperature, thickness of the newly applied silicon, air flow etc.
But I am afraid to say that 24 hours might actually be a minimum.
Silicon “skins over� in an hour but has little strength until about the 24-hour mark. When I used to built tanks (large ones) I waited 7 days before filling the tanks as thick silicon seams take longer than 24 hours to fully cure.
Finally, I would identify the root cause of your leak. If parts of the seam are under undue stress or have other issues, you could be setting yourself up for a catastrophic seam failure. Surface applied silicon doesn’t add much to the strength of a seam.
How big of a tank are we talking about?
Regards,
Scott
__________________
Scott
------
Founding Member – Colorado Rocky Mountain Reef Club.
|