Connecting rock with Thermoplastic

[LagunaGlide]

I have read a bit on the different ways to connect rock for aquascaping and I have narrowed it down to thermoplastics or hydraulic cement. I will working with wet live rock. I am curious how easy the thermosplastics are to work with and if those who have used them have had any long term issues such as leaching chemicals or the bond breaking.

Tips on how to best use this stuff appreciated as well. Currently looking at these two.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...ailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#customerReviews

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003QKLJKQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

How big of an aquascape are you building? Thermoplastic may not be very cost effective for large builds. I've also found it to be a little bit of a pain to use on wet rocks, on dry rock it probably works really well, but it sort of moves around too much against a wet rock when you're trying to mold it into a support or bonding structure between two pieces, especially if you use the hot water method to prepare it for use.

I personally have gone to 100% epoxy stick for bonding rocks together.

 

[LagunaGlide]

How big of an aquascape are you building? Thermoplastic may not be very cost effective for large builds. I've also found it to be a little bit of a pain to use on wet rocks, on dry rock it probably works really well, but it sort of moves around too much against a wet rock when you're trying to mold it into a support or bonding structure between two pieces, especially if you use the hot water method to prepare it for use.

I personally have gone to 100% epoxy stick for bonding rocks together.

It's for a 240Gal planning to do 2 or 3 islands, so likely fairly large. Thanks for the input

 

[TangingOut]

Supposedly it breaks down in saltwater after about a year or so.

 

[reefwiser]

I have not had it break down in a tank have used it for 3 years on frags's and killing aptasia in my tanks. I wouldn't use it for holding rock work in place as it is easy to come off. One of the reasons I use it for frag's is to move the frag if I need to . I really don't recommend gluing rock work together a lot as you will find out if you every have to remove it. It is a real pain to remove the rock if you need to do it in a hurry with a lot of corals on it. Just saying it is not fun or worth it in the long run,