reef aquarium epoxy

[surfn]

is there any type of epoxy that i can use to keep in place a couple of rocks that keep shifting around in my tank?

i.e. can i put the epoxy under water, and have it set/cure under water.

i see people use that purple epoxy (the D&D deltec stuff?) to attach corals to huge rock boulders all of the time. can i do that without draining the water in the tank?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Yea bro you can use aquamend from home depot or your local hardware store.

 

[surfn]

Yea bro you can use aquamend from home depot or your local hardware store.

what is that?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

http://www.caswellplating.com/aids/aquamend.htm

 

[surfn]

oh ok, i've seen that in the glue isle before at Lowes. so you can just squish it up, and attach it underwater and it will harden?

what about the purple stuff that deltec sells? (haven't you used this stuff before, Josh?)

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Well if you want it cheap and fast you can use the aquamend. You squish the 2 colors together and get it mushy. Apply it to the rock and then set your other rock on top. Even under water it will do good. It takes a few minutes to set up though.

 

[twon8]

either one will work fine.

 

[Pitcom]

I really dont like the purple aquascape epoxy. I don't think it really works that well. If you dont give it a really good rinsing it releases a cloud in your tank too. I used it on a huge colony of zoas before and it held for like 3 months, its easy to break once applied.

 

[surfn]

Make sure to keep a close eye on your skimmer after adding the epoxy as it usually makes it foam like crazy for a while.

lol!! that will be a WELCOMED site! my skimmer NEVER skims...

i think its a combination of being over rated for my tank size, and the fact that i'm running VERY VERY nutrient low in an effort to rid some dictoya algae.

 

[143gadgets]

The aquamend is great stuff. I use it all the time.

 

[J. Montgomery]

The Deltec epoxy is available as purple or gray. I prefer the gray since the purple looks absolutely nothing like coraline. I've used the stuff all over my tank.

You mix the two parts together really well (you gotta mix that stuff alot to really get it to set well, or it'll come off very easily like Pitcom said) and then it'll cure under water. I tend to use superglue to attach frags/rocks to the epoxy, and then I put superglue on the epoxy before attaching it to the rockwork. The superglue really helps to keep things together.

 

[surfn]

does anyone know what isle they usually care the aquamend stuff at the hardware store? i looked where the glue/calk was....couldn't find it...or anything remotely like it.

 

[gflat65]

I know it was always with the glue at HD. I had to go to HD for Aquamend and Lowes for super glue gel (they couldn't sell both items at the same place, obviously).

How's the plan to get rid of the dictoya working? One of my tanks is covered in the stuff and the other is starting to pick some up. I'm eventually going to have to replace all my rock, I'm afraid...

 

[J. Montgomery]

How's the plan to get rid of the dictoya working? One of my tanks is covered in the stuff and the other is starting to pick some up. I'm eventually going to have to replace all my rock, I'm afraid...

My emerald crabs have been helping with mine. . . now if they would just start to develop a taste for bubble algae.

 

[surfn]

man, this aquamend stuff isn't grabing the rocks very well. i mush it up a ton (prob 5min or longer), then take the ball and put it under water and apply to the rock. just doesn't seem to want to stick to the rock.

i've got all the dictoya beat (knock on wood). i starved the tank, only doing 1 frozen food feeding per week, and only put in flakes every other day. did this for 3 months. meanwhile, my purple tang started to nip at the dictoya b/c he was hungry......never really made any huge dents in it......but over time it made a difference.

also, i saw my crabs picking at it from time to time in very small portions. i can't find any anymore.

but with that said, i did lose a shrimp.....prob due to not getting enough food. and some of my fish developed some fin rot etc....prob due to mal nurishment.

so i'm starting to feed frozen foods a little more often (every other day).

 

[J. Montgomery]

Fin rot? dang, that sounds bad.

The Deltec epoxy doesn't "stick" well either. Try the superglue technique that I described earlier, it'll help keep things in place while the epoxy cures.

 

[surfn]

Fin rot? dang, that sounds bad.

The Deltec epoxy doesn't "stick" well either. Try the superglue technique that I described earlier, it'll help keep things in place while the epoxy cures.

yeah, i had to do the superglue and epoxy on a couple of places. but i did it outside of the tank.

will it work if you put the glue on the epoxy outside of the tank, and then put it under water?

the "fin rot" isn't too bad, its worse on the mandarin....as he was the most starved. once i started feeding them more last week they all look fine now (except teh mandarin.....he's living in the fuge trying to fatten up)

 

[gflat65]

That's what I was going to recommend. Once you have the epoxy formed (smash it between the rocks, but leave it rigid enough to handle), put some glue on both sides of the epoxy and put it back in place. The weight of the rocks in their molded epoxy globs should stay in place. Be liberal with the glue. I have bad luck with epoxy staying sticky once it hits the water, so I form it, then glue it and usually have success. Gluing out of water and then going into the water is fine. I don't like putting the super glue tube in the tank because it always wastes the tube on me (seals everything up).

 

[J. Montgomery]

Yeah, I definitely superglue outside the tank. The gel is good for that b/c it'll form a soft shell when it hits the water. The soft shell keeps the glue in place, and when you apply pressure between the epoxy and rock, the soft shell is broken and glue gets spread out between the pieces.

My mandarin is missing his tail, though I'm 99.9% positive that something ate it (I suspect my peppermint shrimp, though the large emerald is also a suspect). It's begining to grow back now but it's going to take a long time.