Epoxy

[ugluk]

Looking for some glue/epoxy to hold my live rock together. I went to a craft store to see what they have and I found one called perfect glue 3. It says it is waterproof but then I started thinking that doesnt mean I should be putting this stuff in my water. Has anyone found any glue/epoxy that I can buy locally that will be safe in my tank or am I going to have to order online again?

 

[27mtaylor]

Maybe try some super glue gel.

 

[reefkprz]

Any cyanoacrylate glue (super glue gel works good) or Recta seal Epoxy from homedepot or lowes make sure its recta seal some other brands contain metals that can poison your tank even though they will bond under water., you can also drill your rocks and pin them together with plastic rods.

 

[michaeltx]

or the LFS' sell a 2 part epoxy that you kneed together and then use it like putty to put the rocks together.
mike

 

[drew2005]

HoldFast worked well for me. Its a 2 part epoxy putty.

 

[andy51632]

I try to always bite the bullet and buy the stuff made for aquarium use. I had a bad accident in my 90gal freshwater and lost 3 clown loaches that were 3 years old. It was the silicone caulking I bought at the local hardware store. I used it to make some caves out of black slate and it said 100% silicone. Those fish were awesome and the first fish I ever bought. For piece of mind I use the expense aquarium products.

 

[garnet13aj]

I just tried to use holdfast in my tank last week, and it didn't stick at all if they were wet, so if your rocks are dry (then they are probably "dead" also) then it will work well, but it ended up being kind of a disater for me trying to glue them together by just patting a towel on the places I wanted to stick together, everything fell apart and I gave up.

 

[f14peter]

Originally Posted by garnet13aj
I just tried to use holdfast in my tank last week, and it didn't stick at all if they were wet, so if your rocks are dry (then they are probably "dead" also) then it will work well, but it ended up being kind of a disater for me trying to glue them together by just patting a towel on the places I wanted to stick together, everything fell apart and I gave up.
That is a bit of a conundrum . . . it won't stick worth a darn to wet rock, but you don't want your LR to be dry.
It does help on wet/damp rock if you give yourself enough putty and then force it up into the nooks-n-crannies of the rock, which helps it grab onto the irregularities when it dries.
Really only good for giving a bit of extra support to the rockwork or holding it at a particular angle. I don't think the epoxy can stand up to a lot of tensile force on its own.

 

[andy51632]

Go to your hardware store and buy some zip ties or some call them zip strips(as big as you can find). Put your epoxy on and then use the zip strip to lock your two rocks together. You can either cut the zip strip off later or just leave it on it will eventually be hid by the life on the liverock.

 

[vtfishies]

dollar stores carry super glue gel..fabric or hobby stores carry loctite super glue gel..works great...and any marine epoxy works..hardware stores..walmart..pool places..IMO dollar store super glue gel works as good as all others