I attempted on my first aquascape to glue the whole scape and try to lower it in by myself and it was HELL. I ended up putting it in a type of makeshift sling and breaking it in a few places. So second time around I glued sections and fit them together. Still fell apart over time.
Well my glue was just ****e I suppose. Lol what are your glue recommendationsI think this really depends on how it is done. When I glue a frag to a rock for example, it can often times lose it's grip over time if it hasn't encrusted.
However, when you do rocks and such, I used A LOT of it. On the larger scaled, the softer glue/cement will bend and go into the cracks etc. When it hardens, it creates little locks.
Similar to catching a monkey with a hole in a box with a cookie/banana. The hole is small enough that the monkey can put it's hand down in the box to grab the cookie/banana. However, when it has something in it's hand, it can no longer remove it's hand from the box. Supposedly they say the monkey never figures it out, refuses to let go of the object, and is thus caught. Could be myth, but the principle behind it is correct.
*Now I hope my stuff doesn't fall apart tomorrow after saying this*
I ordered a bag of the nano shelf and a foundation piece from brs. Got 2 small fist sized pieces from LFS as well.
Yes my family helped me with it
That’s where placing it on the acrylic would be a better choice
Loving that Kessil shimmerI think all glues are basically the same in terms of their active/main ingredient. But the BRS gel is my go to. You can get similiar, but the small containers are more expensive, so even though the BRS is like $35 I think, you get so much that it's cheaper per fl oz.
Then I use accelerator to cause the glue to harden instantly. After I get what I want, then I go back and put marco cement over it all. Adds extra strength and after 6 months it's hard to find where the pieces are connected. In a few places where I had just a small piece, I didn't do the cement spot, and I can still very clearly tell it's glued. Eventually corals will grow over it, but the "Oh that's not noticeable" when I was doing it is now very noticeable.
In my experience the biggest worry is when you are picking it up and apply force upwards instead of downwards. When you glue it all etc, all the force is down. Some of it is the rock resting on the other rock. So if you aren't careful when picking it up, you can break it that way.
And that happened in mine. On the right side of my tank, the top of the rock originally had a long overhang that went towards the back and curved around a little. It was VERY heavy, too heavy really. When I was putting the rock in the tank, on the way down that piece got caught on my kessil light braces, the 2 little pegs that stick out. It knocked it right off. So now that is just in the middle, home for a diamond goby. Couldn't deal with the upward force.
Some of my hangs are much larger than they appear. On the left side, it looks like the arm starts on the sand, but that entire piece is actually an overhang. And then it goes towards the right about 2 feet. Believe it or not, it held no problem just like that on my kitchen table for days. But it scared the crap out of me, so I added a tiny little column half way down. On the right side, in the pic it looks like maybe an 8 inch or so overhang. It's actually a big long arc that curves from back to front. It starts on the high point in the back and comes forward all the way in front of the base rock while curving left.
All done with superglue and cement. Still a little hard to tell in this image, but you can somewhat see it in this picture by looking at the shadows on the sand. On the left side of the rock, that's just a big ledge sticking out. These pics are from about 8 months ago. You can see the cement in these, but they don't really show up at all now.
down at the bottom, the little piece that sticks out on the left side is also a ledge, but you can't tell because the sand comes up to it.
Another view of the same rock, more on the left side. There are lots of smaller little ledges that stick out all over. Most of them have coral on them now.
It's all just 1 big rock.
I think all glues are basically the same in terms of their active/main ingredient. But the BRS gel is my go to. You can get similiar, but the small containers are more expensive, so even though the BRS is like $35 I think, you get so much that it's cheaper per fl oz.
Then I use accelerator to cause the glue to harden instantly. After I get what I want, then I go back and put marco cement over it all. Adds extra strength and after 6 months it's hard to find where the pieces are connected. In a few places where I had just a small piece, I didn't do the cement spot, and I can still very clearly tell it's glued. Eventually corals will grow over it, but the "Oh that's not noticeable" when I was doing it is now very noticeable.
In my experience the biggest worry is when you are picking it up and apply force upwards instead of downwards. When you glue it all etc, all the force is down. Some of it is the rock resting on the other rock. So if you aren't careful when picking it up, you can break it that way.
And that happened in mine. On the right side of my tank, the top of the rock originally had a long overhang that went towards the back and curved around a little. It was VERY heavy, too heavy really. When I was putting the rock in the tank, on the way down that piece got caught on my kessil light braces, the 2 little pegs that stick out. It knocked it right off. So now that is just in the middle, home for a diamond goby. Couldn't deal with the upward force.
Some of my hangs are much larger than they appear. On the left side, it looks like the arm starts on the sand, but that entire piece is actually an overhang. And then it goes towards the right about 2 feet. Believe it or not, it held no problem just like that on my kitchen table for days. But it scared the crap out of me, so I added a tiny little column half way down. On the right side, in the pic it looks like maybe an 8 inch or so overhang. It's actually a big long arc that curves from back to front. It starts on the high point in the back and comes forward all the way in front of the base rock while curving left.
All done with superglue and cement. Still a little hard to tell in this image, but you can somewhat see it in this picture by looking at the shadows on the sand. On the left side of the rock, that's just a big ledge sticking out. These pics are from about 8 months ago. You can see the cement in these, but they don't really show up at all now.
down at the bottom, the little piece that sticks out on the left side is also a ledge, but you can't tell because the sand comes up to it.
Another view of the same rock, more on the left side. There are lots of smaller little ledges that stick out all over. Most of them have coral on them now.
It's all just 1 big rock.
Ya the overhangs and arches are a pain. That's why I would really like to try those rods out, something I won't have to worry about crumbling. Here was my first scape tried the gel first and that didn't stick so I used the putty you mix.I think all glues are basically the same in terms of their active/main ingredient. But the BRS gel is my go to. You can get similiar, but the small containers are more expensive, so even though the BRS is like $35 I think, you get so much that it's cheaper per fl oz.
Then I use accelerator to cause the glue to harden instantly. After I get what I want, then I go back and put marco cement over it all. Adds extra strength and after 6 months it's hard to find where the pieces are connected. In a few places where I had just a small piece, I didn't do the cement spot, and I can still very clearly tell it's glued. Eventually corals will grow over it, but the "Oh that's not noticeable" when I was doing it is now very noticeable.
In my experience the biggest worry is when you are picking it up and apply force upwards instead of downwards. When you glue it all etc, all the force is down. Some of it is the rock resting on the other rock. So if you aren't careful when picking it up, you can break it that way.
And that happened in mine. On the right side of my tank, the top of the rock originally had a long overhang that went towards the back and curved around a little. It was VERY heavy, too heavy really. When I was putting the rock in the tank, on the way down that piece got caught on my kessil light braces, the 2 little pegs that stick out. It knocked it right off. So now that is just in the middle, home for a diamond goby. Couldn't deal with the upward force.
Some of my hangs are much larger than they appear. On the left side, it looks like the arm starts on the sand, but that entire piece is actually an overhang. And then it goes towards the right about 2 feet. Believe it or not, it held no problem just like that on my kitchen table for days. But it scared the crap out of me, so I added a tiny little column half way down. On the right side, in the pic it looks like maybe an 8 inch or so overhang. It's actually a big long arc that curves from back to front. It starts on the high point in the back and comes forward all the way in front of the base rock while curving left.
All done with superglue and cement. Still a little hard to tell in this image, but you can somewhat see it in this picture by looking at the shadows on the sand. On the left side of the rock, that's just a big ledge sticking out. These pics are from about 8 months ago. You can see the cement in these, but they don't really show up at all now.
down at the bottom, the little piece that sticks out on the left side is also a ledge, but you can't tell because the sand comes up to it.
Another view of the same rock, more on the left side. There are lots of smaller little ledges that stick out all over. Most of them have coral on them now.
It's all just 1 big rock.
I can't tell if it will last over time (1year, 10 years?) but I did superglue and sand and tank is only 6 months old.
