Question about Epoxy

B

billwhite

OK, I'm not sure if it's just me. I love fragging corals and I've added some things into the co-op. Took the fragging class. I freaking hate superglue! The glue almost always ends up more on me than the frags and it doesn't seem to want to stick where I want to place thing in my tank on the live rock. I've held in place, twisted slightly in a circular motion, used more, used less, used accelerator...name it. It gets frustrating having to peel and wear off superglue.

Anyway, I've heard about using Marine Epoxy, and I like the idea, but when I go to Home Depot or Lowes and look at their epoxies every one of them says toxic and I just can't bring myself to try it out in my tanks. (Yes, I err on the side of paranoia, but then I don't lose many corals either knock on wood)

So, anyone with a brand name suggestion on epoxy they have tried and tested with success and no loss of life would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Humbly,
Bill
 
Bill, I use the stuff sold for the hobby. You can buy the two-part putty made by Two Little Fishies, or the pink putty made by D&D / Deltec.

I"ve been using the latter and really like it. It isn't cheap, but it stays soft for several hours, and is sticky so it holds onto the item nicely.

TLF's putty

Deltec putty
 
Bill,

It depends on your application. If you are attaching frags to the discs, plugs or LR rubble, use the hobby brands that Marc has listed. They cure at a cooler temp than the others and that is easier on the frags. If you are going to be attaching the rocks, discs and such to the LR itself, you can use the HD or Lowes, the aquamend brand is safe as I have used it quite a bit.

There are some sites, like reefermadness that don't recommend the use of epoxy for corals because of the heat of curing.

I also use a combination of gel and epoxy... I take the epoxy, gel it to the frag plug or disc, then smoosh the epoxy to it, then add a bunch of gel to the other end and cram that onto the LR. The trick is not to twist too much.. just push it down and hold it for a few minutes then let go. If it twist it, its going to make a mess or come off.

Working with gel underwater is almost impossible in my experience.

I also will come back a day or so later and add more epoxy around the base of the discs/plugs once the first application has cured solid.. this allows me to fill in the gaps.. this is often the messiest part since I will use gel with that as well. No matter how to do it, its going to get messy :)

Always turn off the skimmer too... it goes nuts with the epoxy. turn it back on the next day.
 
Thanks for the great advice. I appreciate that you guys took the time to make some solid recommendations. I'll let you know how it goes!

Have a great day.

-Bill
 
Hey everyone,
I took the recommendation, got the epoxy and it works much better. Also the epoxy+super glue trick worked terrific.

Much appreciation for the sharing of knowledge!

All the best!
Bill
 
@billwhite wrote:
Hey everyone said:
Anytime... glad it worked out for you. You may want to test it in a week and make sure its solidly attached. Part of the problem with gluing or even the expoxy is the coraline algae. Its really not the ideal thing to secure stuff to as it can peal off. A few days or a week should tell you if its going to be secure or not.
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