Superglueing Live Rock?

[Holygrail45]

Hello,

I have had my tank for about 3 months now and I have finally positioned all my rock in the best design, shad, etc. for all my inhabitants and although I put great care into wedging, shifting and lodging my rocks such that they dont move...Im worried that without some sort of solid adhesive holding them together, there may come a day when a 3 lb rock slips onto of my BT Anenome, or my Frog Spawn, or Xenia...or something.

Someone mentioned Superglueing and I just instantly have an aversion to housing a chemicle like that in my tank. Am I over-reacting? Is glueing live-rock even a common practice. I read somewhere about aquarist glue...anyways, this forum has been such a great resource for me and the people here genuinely seem to know about what they're talking about...any advice? Can I keep the rocks out of the water for long for the glue to dry? Will it damage the coral or inverts?

 

[kraze3]

You can use super glue gel, ive seen it added in the water. There are also 2 part epoxies you can buy for securing things.

 

[cainchristy]

I would think that superglue wouldn't do that well at glueing large pieces of live rock together. Do look into those Epoxy putties for aquariums. They do great and cure underwater. Once they are hardened, they become almost like rock, and will soon cover over in coraline algae.

 

[smy168]

I use zap gel for my frags

 

[kevin2000]

Re: Superglueing Live Rock?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7503102#post7503102 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Holygrail45
Someone mentioned Superglueing and I just instantly have an aversion to housing a chemicle like that in my tank. Am I over-reacting?

Superglue is used all the time in reef tanks ... its harmless and its original use was as a medical bandage.

 

[Ti]

adhere it with both super glue gel and epoxy

 

[dalbrecht]

Super glue is actually a form of acrylic. The polymers aren't fully formed, it uses water molecules to form the interlocking polymers it works so well for reef tanks because it cures VERY fast in an aquatic environment.

I wouldn't depend on superglue for reinforcing your rock stack. It is very brittle and can't be relied upon for an extended time. It is also almost very difficult to fill voids with the glue.

The best tool for securing heavier rock is plastic cable ties and drilled holes.

 

[smy168]

As I mentioned above, I use zap gel by ESV (a company I trust), here's the product description:

ESV Zap Gel
A cyanoacrylate gel type instant adhesive. Excellent for gluing stony coral fragments to coral rock and other surfaces. No messy mixing of 2-part epoxy puttys, or concern with irritation to tank inhabitants from leaching amine epoxy curing agents. Highest purity cyanoacrylate adhesive available (not diluted with low-cost resins).

I buy mine from marinedepot.com