Is AquaMend Repositionable?

[Rovert]

As the title says.

I had a nice, peaceful tank. And then, one day, a Coris Wrasse came home with me, and then all hell broke loose. I've since renamed this guy "Pele, the soccer fish", because he tumbles things around like he's at the World Cup finals.

Now, I have to find a way to anchor my corals, but as things grow out, and I have to frag, I don't want to permanantly anchor anything. If I use AquaMend to adhere a coral, will I be able to move it later?

 

[billsreef]

That stuff makes for a pretty solid epoxy bond. Best used when your sure your putting something where you intend it to stay.

 

[Rovert]

Gotcha. Got any suggestions for something that's non-hardening, sticky enough to hold a frag just to resist some 'nudging', but won't foul the tank?

 

[humbugy]

some carefully meassured and correctly applied force will loosen anything....

 

[billsreef]

Gel crazy glue works well for frags. Simply slipping a screw driver between the frag and rock and twisting will break the frag loose.

 

[Rovert]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10315731#post10315731 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by humbugy
some carefully meassured and correctly applied force will loosen anything....

Yeah, I guess if I just use the AquaMend sparingly, I should be OK.

Thanks!

 

[billsreef]

With those two part epoxies like AquaMend, you'll either be breaking the coral or the rock it's attached too. The epoxy itself will not give without applying much more force than either coral or rock can withstand

 

[humbugy]

never had that problem.

 

[Malenurse]

I've had the opposite problem with two-part epoxy - getting it to bond well (at least under water). I had a large rock that I couldn't remove from the tank and wanted to anchor a couple of corals to it so the snails would quit knocking them over! I used Marineland's "HoldFast" two-part epoxy which is supposed to bond under water. Even using a good size wad of it, I had trouble getting any bonding at all and what I did get was very weak. Any advice would really be appreciated!

 

[DMBillies]

Two part epoxies take a long time to cure, so maybe not great for mounting on anything but really flat surfaces. To solve this issue I'll sometimes use super glue on the rock and coral sides with epoxy in between. This gives you the quick hold of super glue and the long term strength of the epoxy once it has time to cure.

That said, I've had mixed results (as per billsreef and malenurses contradicting posts) as far as getting it to stick well even on flat surfaces. Sometimes it seems to be really strong and hold things really tight, then other times accidental nudge after plenty of cure time (weeks) will break a coral loose. Maybe I get lazy on making sure they are mixed well sometimes?

Just an FYI in case you don't know, using two part epoxies can cause your skimmer to go crazy and overflow for hours after using it. So, if you do use it, turn the skimmer down or off and make sure when you kick it back up that it doesn't overflow (very important if your skimmer isn't over the sump).

 

[billsreef]

Getting a good bond calls for a little surface preparation. Scrub the surfaces to be bonded with a tooth brush (a new one ) to remove any algae and detritus from the surface of the rock. The next step is really pushing the epoxy into the surface to squeeze it into the pores of what your sticking together.

 

[flyyyguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10472484#post10472484 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
The next step is really pushing the epoxy into the surface to squeeze it into the pores of what your sticking together.

This is the ticket. Aquamend just takes somepractice. Once you figure it out you can glue pretty much anything underwater with it, and at any angle you desire which helps maximize space.

Use plenty of it and put the wad down on the rock pushing it in every pore and crack possible...once it hardens this is what truly holds it in place because it probably didnt bond too well to any flattish surfaces.

Another trick I use is for stonies, or other corals with skeleton, is I take my dremel with a cutting wheel and score fairly deep grooves into the bottom of the coral or the part I want to attach to the rock. If possible, as deep as the cutting wheel on the dremel will allow. Then when you push the coral into the glob you have already secured into as many pores and cracks in the rock as possible, it will give the epoxy somewhere to go in the coral and grip.

Lastly...if it is a big enough coral that there is still balance issues while the epoxy is soft, use a rock or something the coral can lean into until the epoxy sets.

Doing it this way will NOT help the original poster as far as making stuff removable, but it may help anyone who has problems with making it work.

I have pounds of aquamend in my reefs. Love the stuff