Best epoxy?

[seafansar]

What's the best kind of epoxy to use to mount large corals? I have a duncan, candy cane, and frogspawn I need to mount and the epoxy I tried to use wouldn't harden.

 

[roblack]

I never had much luck with epoxy, so gave up on it a while back. Nasty stuff IMO. With larger corals, sometimes you can balance them on a rock or wedge their base in a hole or between rocks. If not, you can use Zapgel or some other cyanoacrylate gel. You have to be quick and get it on the first try, but you can secure a duncan colony, candy cane, frogspawn, etc. with this stuff. If the base of the colonies are not flush, trim them with frag shears or whatever you have so the base matches the area you are going to glue your coral to. Good luck!

 

[seafansar]

Ok thanks. The main problem is with the candy canes. I want to put them where they don't balance at all. I guess I need to go and buy some frag shears. I wish I had them already. I had a brain frag that got brown jelly and I didn't have anything to cut the good part off with, so the whole frag died.

 

[seafansar]

Where do you get Zapgel btw?

 

[HighReef]

Apoxie Sculpt two parts

 

[jjmcat]

Ive always had great luck with Aqua mend from Home Depot.I think its 3 bucks a tube.

 

[GUILLO1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12720927#post12720927 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjmcat
Ive always had great luck with Aqua mend from Home Depot.I think its 3 bucks a tube.

is it safe to put in a reef? Any body else use this with good results, cause if its ok to use I'll be going to HD.

 

[sdheath]

Yup, it's safe. If you want it to stick to anything that 's been in the tank for a while, smear on some superglue gel first. The combination of the epoxy and gel is amazing.

 

[GUILLO1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12721282#post12721282 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sdheath
Yup, it's safe. If you want it to stick to anything that 's been in the tank for a while, smear on some superglue gel first. The combination of the epoxy and gel is amazing.

how about the superglue gel, does it have to be a special one thats reef safe?

 

[sdheath]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12721329#post12721329 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GUILLO1
how about the superglue gel, does it have to be a special one thats reef safe?

Any standard cyanoacrylate gel is fine. I buy the stuff that comes in a 12 pack for 3 or 4 bucks at HD. Just be sure to get the gel and not the liquid.

 

[roblack]

You can buy ZapGel from Marinedepot. They sell other frag glues, but I have had the best results with Zap.

 

[erichatesmice]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12721282#post12721282 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sdheath
Yup, it's safe. If you want it to stick to anything that 's been in the tank for a while, smear on some superglue gel first. The combination of the epoxy and gel is amazing.

I second this.

 

[jjmcat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12723922#post12723922 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by roblack
You can buy ZapGel from Marinedepot. They sell other frag glues, but I have had the best results with Zap.

I would just go down to the dollar store and get 3 or 4 tubes for a buck without paying shipping charges.

 

[GUILLO1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12733929#post12733929 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjmcat
I would just go down to the dollar store and get 3 or 4 tubes for a buck without paying shipping charges.

what are they called at the dollar store?

 

[GUILLO1]

got some aquamend and gel super glue from HD today. Thanx for the heads up guys. Its a hell of a deal......payed $2.97 for the aquamend and $1.77 for a 2 pack of gel super glue.

 

[sdheath]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12739969#post12739969 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GUILLO1
got some aquamend and gel super glue from HD today. Thanx for the heads up guys. Its a hell of a deal......payed $2.97 for the aquamend and $1.77 for a 2 pack of gel super glue.

Go forth and frag!

 

[seafansar]

Thanks Steve! That super glue gel/epoxy combo worked great.

 

[crt81]

So what do you put on first? Glue than epoxy or epoxy then glue?

Also I've heard the glue can escape from where you are gluing and the tank inhabitants sometimes tries to go for it. So what can you do to pevent the glue from floating away from where you are glueing? And how fast does it take for the glue to dry under water?



Sorry for all the questions! But I'd really like to know!!!!!

 

[seafansar]

I put super glue gel on the frag then the epoxy then more gel on the bottom of the epoxy where it was going to touch the rock. Hold the frag in place for about a minute depending on how heavy it is and then it's go to go. For smaller frags, only using the gel works fine.

I've never had any gel float away, maybe normal super glue does that, but I've had no problems with the gel kind.

I think super glue gel sets after a few minutes underwater and epoxy cures after 30 or 60 minutes depending on what kind you buy. But you don't have to hold it for that long, just a couple of minutes or so if you are using the gel/epoxy combo. If you're just using epoxy, I think you'll need to hold it longer. Only using epoxy never worked for me though.

 

[GUILLO1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12748012#post12748012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seafansar
Thanks Steve! That super glue gel/epoxy combo worked great.

I second that.........I tried it yesterday and it works great.