Glueing Live rock
- Thread starter costa13
- Start date
shogun323
Active Member
I use holdfast. It is a 2 part epoxy made for this very purpose. There is also a more popular brand called aquastik. It does the same thing but costs more. It works great and it cures underwater. I use all the time to glue in frags as long as they are attached to a piece of LR.
shogun323
Active Member
Originally Posted by costa13
thanks. Cause i need to glue a couple of pieces of LR together so nothing falls over.
Very smart. Alot people just stack and pray. I couldnt imagine waking up one night to hearing a landslide and then have my Live rock crack my tank. Also, by gluing the LR you can make some pretty cool shapes!!
You just repeatedly squish the 2 parts together and it will start to get sticky and hot. Then try to work it into the nooks and crannies of the pieces you are adhering and it will cure over night. If your tank is in a state where you can easily pull of the pieces and dab them dry before you glue them it will help ensure a good bond. I also try to apply the epoxy so it can't be seen. It comes in white or red. If you can't hide it coraline will grow over it in time!!! Good Luck!!
thanks. Cause i need to glue a couple of pieces of LR together so nothing falls over.
Very smart. Alot people just stack and pray. I couldnt imagine waking up one night to hearing a landslide and then have my Live rock crack my tank. Also, by gluing the LR you can make some pretty cool shapes!!
You just repeatedly squish the 2 parts together and it will start to get sticky and hot. Then try to work it into the nooks and crannies of the pieces you are adhering and it will cure over night. If your tank is in a state where you can easily pull of the pieces and dab them dry before you glue them it will help ensure a good bond. I also try to apply the epoxy so it can't be seen. It comes in white or red. If you can't hide it coraline will grow over it in time!!! Good Luck!!
rykna
Active Member
Not sure. It would depend what the glue is made of...not sure if it is toxic or not. I have used it on many non-tank related items...I did noticed that over time the bond or adhesiveness degrades.....I have never seen it used in items that you eat or drink from....but I haven't used my aquarium glue for that either...giggle. I am guessing that it wouldn't work very well, even if it wasn't toxic. When the glue dries it is hard and has good bond with the surface, but when exposed to wet or cooler temperaters it becomes brittle and the bond breaks easily. I found this out when using it on outdoor flowerpots.
barchtruong
Member
Everyone can stack lr.
Stacking the rock structurally w/o glue so they won't fall apart and make them look naturally and eye catching is a state of art.
It requires lots of creativity.
Stacking the rock structurally w/o glue so they won't fall apart and make them look naturally and eye catching is a state of art.
It requires lots of creativity.
mandarin w
Member
I have never glued my rock together. I personnally does like the look of the epoxy. It was gray, and stayed gray. coralline wouldn't cover it, and believe it or not. I does break off. I tried it a couple times a few years back to put a could of corals on rock. My turbo snail just plowed them over.
Second reason I don't glue rock together is you don't know what coral you may find down the road. You may have to move some rock around to get it where you want it. If your rocks are glued together that would be harder to do. Or if you get a fish that is very agressive to newer fish, you might have to move some rocks around.
Getting your rock to stay put, just takes some time and creativeity. You have to look at the rock like puzzle pieces, and see what will fit where. and always use a 3 prong structure. Also I you use the wieght of the rocks to push against the other rocks, You are more likely to suceed.
These are pictures of one of my 75gallons, This has been up for a few years. Never had even one rock fall out of place.
This is my 180, This has been up for almost a year, and same is true here, never has a rock so much as moved, and I have a diamond goby in this one.
No glue, wires, zip ties, just fitting the pieces together and use gravity to hold it together, Kind of like when they designed the St.Louis Arch.
Second reason I don't glue rock together is you don't know what coral you may find down the road. You may have to move some rock around to get it where you want it. If your rocks are glued together that would be harder to do. Or if you get a fish that is very agressive to newer fish, you might have to move some rocks around.
Getting your rock to stay put, just takes some time and creativeity. You have to look at the rock like puzzle pieces, and see what will fit where. and always use a 3 prong structure. Also I you use the wieght of the rocks to push against the other rocks, You are more likely to suceed.
These are pictures of one of my 75gallons, This has been up for a few years. Never had even one rock fall out of place.
This is my 180, This has been up for almost a year, and same is true here, never has a rock so much as moved, and I have a diamond goby in this one.
No glue, wires, zip ties, just fitting the pieces together and use gravity to hold it together, Kind of like when they designed the St.Louis Arch.
1knight164
Member
Originally Posted by jayeden
knead?
knead
One entry found for knead.
Main Entry: knead
Pronunciation: 'nEd
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English kneden, from Old English cnedan; akin to Old High German knetan to knead
1 a : to work and press into a mass with or as if with the hands <kneading dough> b : to manipulate or massage with a kneading motion <kneaded sore neck muscles>
2 : to form or shape by or as if by kneading
For the holdfast, take a piece and with your fingers and hands, squish-it, massage it, work it like Shogun mentioned. The object is to get the chemicals to react with each other. But if you do it too long, it will harden. As much as I want to do what Mandarin does, I can't seem to get it right. My scape lasts for a while, then something falls. Or I go to move one rock to make room for coral or re-adjust and the whole thing comes tumbling down. I use the holdfast for some, but not all my rock. The flat rocks stack fine, but the irregular ones need glue. I also cheat and lean some rock against the back glass.
Mandarin, great job!
knead?
knead
One entry found for knead.
Main Entry: knead
Pronunciation: 'nEd
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English kneden, from Old English cnedan; akin to Old High German knetan to knead
1 a : to work and press into a mass with or as if with the hands <kneading dough> b : to manipulate or massage with a kneading motion <kneaded sore neck muscles>
2 : to form or shape by or as if by kneading
For the holdfast, take a piece and with your fingers and hands, squish-it, massage it, work it like Shogun mentioned. The object is to get the chemicals to react with each other. But if you do it too long, it will harden. As much as I want to do what Mandarin does, I can't seem to get it right. My scape lasts for a while, then something falls. Or I go to move one rock to make room for coral or re-adjust and the whole thing comes tumbling down. I use the holdfast for some, but not all my rock. The flat rocks stack fine, but the irregular ones need glue. I also cheat and lean some rock against the back glass.
Mandarin, great job!
1knight164
Member
Originally Posted by chipmaker
I have played with various adhesives over the years and none of the stuff sold or mentioned lasts long at all, as the surface of the rock is just too weak and doe snot provide a suitable substrate to adhere to long term. Odds are if it stays in place it would have stayed in place without the epoxie or glues. Only one way to make sure it stays and thats by pegging or pinning the rock in place with plastic rods after drilling a hole to accept the plastic rod. Much easer to do than it sounds and its fool proof once done. Its there until you take it apart.
Now THAT'S the way i'm going to go! Thanks for that tip, Chipmaker. Saves me from all that "kneading".
I have played with various adhesives over the years and none of the stuff sold or mentioned lasts long at all, as the surface of the rock is just too weak and doe snot provide a suitable substrate to adhere to long term. Odds are if it stays in place it would have stayed in place without the epoxie or glues. Only one way to make sure it stays and thats by pegging or pinning the rock in place with plastic rods after drilling a hole to accept the plastic rod. Much easer to do than it sounds and its fool proof once done. Its there until you take it apart.
Now THAT'S the way i'm going to go! Thanks for that tip, Chipmaker. Saves me from all that "kneading".
bjlled
Member
aquamend, not aquameld, my bad.. anyways, I did this today, and well, it went so so. I didn't get the results I was looking for. It doesn't look bad, its nearly white, and I suspect stuff will grow on it in time. There isn't a ton showing, so its all good.
Stickyness... It stuck pretty well if i took the rock out and blotted dry the area i wanted to apply it to.then i had to stick it in and push against the wet rock.
The end result. I wouldnt say my rocks are "adhered" to eachother. However, in between the two rocks is now a "form fitting" buffer peice that is molded to the shape of the two rocks.
My advice: Use ALOT of aquamend. i bought 4 packages and used 2. I only did 3 applications with the 2 packages.if you can wrap it around a rock that is holey and cavernous, it will harden around that. The aquamend doesn't adhere very well, but it gets hard as a rock.
All that said, I will probably drill my next rocks.
Someone mentioned needing to rearrange the rock. I certainly did not secure ALL of my rock together... there are still a lot of loose pieces that I can rearrange.
Stickyness... It stuck pretty well if i took the rock out and blotted dry the area i wanted to apply it to.then i had to stick it in and push against the wet rock.
The end result. I wouldnt say my rocks are "adhered" to eachother. However, in between the two rocks is now a "form fitting" buffer peice that is molded to the shape of the two rocks.
My advice: Use ALOT of aquamend. i bought 4 packages and used 2. I only did 3 applications with the 2 packages.if you can wrap it around a rock that is holey and cavernous, it will harden around that. The aquamend doesn't adhere very well, but it gets hard as a rock.
All that said, I will probably drill my next rocks.
Someone mentioned needing to rearrange the rock. I certainly did not secure ALL of my rock together... there are still a lot of loose pieces that I can rearrange.