Guest hk132 February 6, 2004 Share February 6, 2004 I'm at a loss for a good method of keeping my live rock "together". Currently I've got it all stacked up and it is reasonable secure. However, after purchasing some coral that came on a small piece of rock I've run into difficulty. I don't have sufficient nooks and cranies for this new small piece of rock to be wedged into securely. I had purchased some of the underwater two part epoxy when I was initially configuring the rock but it did not stick. I decided the problem was that there was "gunk" on the rocks preventing a secure attachment and decided not to address the issue. I attempted to use this expoxy once again to bond my new small coral attached rock to my reef, this time I used a toothbrush to thoroughly clean both pieces of rock of debris. Nonetheless, the epoxy has no "sticky" properties. Sure, the epoxy could be usefull to mold a shape once it hardens, but in no way could I figure out how to use this product to bond two pieces of rock. Am I using the epoxy wrong, or are there known bad brands? What techniques are there for securing rocks together? I'd read about drilling holes in the large rocks and using something to attach them, but at this point that is too invasive for my existing reef. In addition, such a trechique would not work with a couple of square inch rock on which a piece of coral is attached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quazi February 6, 2004 Share February 6, 2004 You can try super glue gel. It works great to attach a frag to rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hk132 February 6, 2004 Share February 6, 2004 Does this work while in the water, or does this have to be performed dry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quazi February 6, 2004 Share February 6, 2004 You can use super glue underwater. It sets up quick, though. So, If you can clean the rock and the frag and glue it in the air, it will work better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xeon February 9, 2004 Share February 9, 2004 In my growing experience epoxy does work well, but you have to know when to use. By when I mean when it is at the right stage of its curing. For instance when using it to secure two rocks or a coral I let the mixed up epoxy ball sit for a few minutes. Initially it is about good for nothing for what I want to do. It just isn't a good enough consistency yet to even mash into a crack on a rock and stay or hold a coral in the position I want... let alone connect two rocks together. If I were doing this, I'd cut off a little chunk from my epoxy putty stick, mix it up and let it sit. Maybe while it was setting I'd scrub off the contact area of the frag and mount spot with a tooth brush for good measure. When it gets to where it is not as mushy, I'd put it on the back of the rock with the frag and then press it down onto the rock in the tank where you want it. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelg February 9, 2004 Share February 9, 2004 what kind of coral are you trying to secure that is attached to a rock and how big is it? It makes a huge difference in the approach you take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hk132 February 9, 2004 Share February 9, 2004 The new rock piece with the coral was small -- on the order of 1" x 1" x 3". I ended up trying again with the epoxy and instead of using the epoxy as a glue I used it to securely wedge the small rock into a hole in the existing live rock. That worked in this instance, but that doesn't seem to be something that could be used as a general rule. In the future I think I'll try the superglue recommendation. The best bet would probably be to find a very thick type of superglue from a hobby store so that it can fill in the gaps. Otherwise, I could use the epoxy to get the right shape (and to fill in the gaps) then once the epoxy sets superglue both sides of that the the new and existing rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest x2minusblndfold February 9, 2004 Share February 9, 2004 i had this same problem w/ a single mushroom that i purchased a long time ago..i had the hardest time figuring out how to securly place it in one spot. and aventualy (about 2 weeks) it grew onto the live rock if u want my method..i just give it time to grown onto the rock. it takes awhile, but its the safest way (in my opinion) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquariareview February 13, 2004 Share February 13, 2004 I use it to hold rock together like this 1:mix a fair size piece (if it's too small it work ) 2:check how the rocks fit together. 3:let it set a few min to start to get stiff 4:place it and push the rocks together 5: jam some sand or crushed coral into any showing area of the epoxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xeon February 13, 2004 Share February 13, 2004 Never thought about your step five, I'll definitely do that next time I'm doing some expoxy'ing. Although it does encrust with coraline eventually I imagine the sand or cc is a nice touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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