reef epoxy

[Pico1]

Is the epoxy PC Marine safe to mount corals with? I have some lying around and have some sps that need to be mounted. I want to know if its toxic first. Thanks!

 

[Justin74]

Not sure but if your mounting SPS,IMO youd be much happier( and less of a headache) using superglue gel; I get mine from the dollar store .99 for 3 lil tubes.

-Justin

 

[H20Sidhe]

I watched Eric Borneman in a fragging video say that regular old epoxy is safe. I ran down to home depot, bought some, came home and discovered:

1) it just does not set at all under water.

2) when curing it gives off an intense smell of sulphur, which I don't think could possible be GOOD for the tank inhabitants.

So, I am hoping my acro survives this experiment, and I recommend strongly "sticking" with super glue gel.

 

[Pico1]

its says it cures and dries underwater and is safe for aquariums. I tried a small amount and it worked about as good as play dough. I'll just get some super glue tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[bluenassarius]

try mixing it then letting it harden a little before trying to mount anything. lol, i wasted a whole tube of epoxy before getting it to work.

 

[Justin74]

I think epoxy is more fitting with large colonies or securing an aquascape. Basically bigger jobs than frags. If you get sick of the 3 pks MARS usually has big tubes durring the meetings and I know yourreef carries them as well for around 5 or so bucks.

-Justin

 

[Nu2SW]

yup john has the IC- glue stuff I use it it hardens in like 2 minutes.

 

[boviac]

I too learned the hard way wasting a tube of epoxy. Mix it together and wait... then mix some more. yeah like play-doh days. When it starts to harden up then use it to adhear corals to rock or whatever... I find it better to do out of water and hold in place. After time coralline will cover the now white colored epoxy. Haven't tried super glue yet but I understand for SPS frags, it is probably preferred.

 

[xinumaster]

I use apoxie sculpt from http://apoxie.sculptingstudio.com works perfect underwater and it is none toxic. It has several colors that you can select.

 

[brentp]

I always use both. I super glue the frag to a small piece of live rock. Then I mix up some epoxy stick, put some glue on the bottom of the rock, press the epoxy into the glue, then add glue to the bottom of the epoxy, and press the whole thing against wherever I'm placing it in the tank.

 

[H20Sidhe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7422012#post7422012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brentp
I always use both. I super glue the frag to a small piece of live rock. Then I mix up some epoxy stick, put some glue on the bottom of the rock, press the epoxy into the glue, then add glue to the bottom of the epoxy, and press the whole thing against wherever I'm placing it in the tank.

Brent,
It sould like you are talking about epoxy putty - not regular old epoxy.

 

[brentp]

Sherie,

I would not use liquid epoxy in my tank until after it cures. IME, liquid two-part epoxy will never cure under water. It needs to be completely cured before it goes into the water.

Brent

 

[H20Sidhe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7418717#post7418717 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by H20Sidhe
I watched Eric Borneman in a fragging video say that regular old epoxy is safe. I ran down to home depot, bought some, came home and discovered:

1) it just does not set at all under water.

2) when curing it gives off an intense smell of sulphur, which I don't think could possible be GOOD for the tank inhabitants.

So, I am hoping my acro survives this experiment, and I recommend strongly "sticking" with super glue gel.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7424040#post7424040 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brentp
Sherie,

I would not use liquid epoxy in my tank until after it cures. IME, liquid two-part epoxy will never cure under water. It needs to be completely cured before it goes into the water.

Brent

Exactly.

 

[Pico1]

Yes, what i was taling about was epoxy putty. I'm going to go get some super glue today. Will it dry underwater because I can't take out my big rocks that I want to mount some of the sps on?

 

[H20Sidhe]

Superglue will cure underwater, but if you put the glue onto your SPS then put that into the water heading toward your rock, it will immediately form a film on the surface of the glue. You need to rub (wiggle, twist) the two items together a little to break through the film and get good adhesion. Then you have to hold it for longer than you would if it was out of the water for it to set. It can be a little frustrating until you get the hang of it, bit I think most people will agree that it works better than any alternatives.

Also, superglue gel works better than thin superglue, as you can get a thicker wad of glue and that can compensate for the fact that both the SPS and the rock will have irregularities & the surfaces aren't going to fit together perfectly.

 

[brentp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7428649#post7428649 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by H20Sidhe
Then you have to hold it for longer than you would if it was out of the water for it to set. It can be a little frustrating until you get the hang of it, bit I think most people will agree that it works better than any alternatives.

If you use some epoxy stick with the super glue as I described earlier it will stick right away without any "frustration".