Fluval Silicone Lubricant for O-Rings & Seals

The Fluval Silicone Lubricant for O-Rings & Seals is an aquarium-safe silicone grease for O-rings and seals — a small tube that makes canister servicing easier and makes seals last years longer.

Key Features

• Keeps rubber supple. O-rings fail because they dry out and harden, and a smear of silicone at each service delays that by years
• Makes reassembly far easier. A dry O-ring drags and rolls out of its groove; a greased one slides into place
• Aquarium safe and inert — this is silicone grease, not a petroleum product, and the difference matters because petroleum jelly attacks rubber
• A tube lasts a very long time. You need a smear, not a coating
• Made by Fluval, the aquatics brand of Rolf C. Hagen, which has been building aquarium filters since 1975

Using It

• Unplug anything electrical before putting your hands in the tank
• Take the unit to a sink rather than working over the tank
• Wipe the O-ring and its groove clean before applying anything
• A smear of silicone lubricant on an O-ring before reassembly makes the next service much easier and helps the seal sit properly
• Prime the filter and watch the first few minutes of running for leaks before you walk away

Good To Know

• Never use petroleum jelly on an aquarium O-ring. It swells and degrades the rubber, and the seal fails sooner rather than later
• Use it at every canister service on the lid seal, the motor seal ring and the AquaStop O-rings
• A tiny amount is enough. Excess grease collects grit, which is exactly what an O-ring groove does not need
• Keeping a tube alongside a spare impeller and O-ring saves a tank when something fails on a weekend