Sticking corals inside water - Aquamend?

[miserkris]

Is there a way to stick corals to glass or rock inside the saltwater?

I heard about aquamend....does it do that , is it safe?

Pls advice!!

...and where can I get one?

[mike_cmu04]

You can use superglue gel or the putty either one should work.

[miserkris]

Originally Posted by mike_cmu04

You can use superglue gel or the putty either one should work.

I use superglue (CA) outside the water.There is a way you can stick INSIDE THE WATER....heard AQUAMEND can do it..

Anyone used AQUAMEND ?

thx

[Baltimore Bryan]

I've used AquaMend from Home Depot to attach frags to live rock inside the tank. I haven't had any negative side affects. Do a search on here for more info.
Bryan

[SDguy]

Aquamend is fine. AFAIK HD replaced Aquamend with another brand. I've used it...also works fine...

This works every time for me...

Take steel brush. Brush clean surface of live rock where frag is to be attached. The surface must be free of algae,detritus, etc. Also, the steel brush will "rough up" the surface, allowing the glue to adhere better. This is all done without removing the rock from the water. Next, remove the frag from the water, and do the same thing to the surface of the frag that is to be glued. If it is a frag plug, I usually just dremel off the peg. I also will crisscross score the surface of the plug/disc, again, so the glue will adhere better, especially for larger pieces. Rinse off any dust made by the steel brush or dremel. Next, take an appropriate amount of Aquamend epoxy (depending on size of frag) and knead it thoroughly. Pat dry the surface of the frag to be glued with a paper towel. Add superglue gel to this surface. Squish the epoxy ball onto the superglue gelled surface. Add superglue gel to the opposite side of the epoxy ball. Place frag into water. A skin will form over the superglue gel. Firmly squish the epoxy ball onto the already cleaned surface of the live rock. You may need to slightly rotate the frag as you press, so that the skin on the superglue gel is broken. This will ensure proper contact between aquamend and live rock. Hold for anywhere from 5 to 30 or more seconds (again, depending on frag size). Done!

Don't touch the frag for at least 24 hours, so that the aquamend fully cures.

HTH

[Agu]

Your issue seems to be "...inside the tank."

As previously posted both super glue and aquamend can be used in a reef tank.

Both products or their equivalent are available at most hardware/home improvement stores.

[miserkris]

Originally Posted by SDguy

Aquamend is fine. AFAIK HD replaced Aquamend with another brand. I've used it...also works fine...

This works every time for me...

Take steel brush. Brush clean surface of live rock where frag is to be attached. The surface must be free of algae,detritus, etc. Also, the steel brush will "rough up" the surface, allowing the glue to adhere better. This is all done without removing the rock from the water. Next, remove the frag from the water, and do the same thing to the surface of the frag that is to be glued. If it is a frag plug, I usually just dremel off the peg. I also will crisscross score the surface of the plug/disc, again, so the glue will adhere better, especially for larger pieces. Rinse off any dust made by the steel brush or dremel. Next, take an appropriate amount of Aquamend epoxy (depending on size of frag) and knead it thoroughly. Pat dry the surface of the frag to be glued with a paper towel. Add superglue gel to this surface. Squish the epoxy ball onto the superglue gelled surface. Add superglue gel to the opposite side of the epoxy ball. Place frag into water. A skin will form over the superglue gel. Firmly squish the epoxy ball onto the already cleaned surface of the live rock. You may need to slightly rotate the frag as you press, so that the skin on the superglue gel is broken. This will ensure proper contact between aquamend and live rock. Hold for anywhere from 5 to 30 or more seconds (again, depending on frag size). Done!

Don't touch the frag for at least 24 hours, so that the aquamend fully cures.

HTH

Thanks much !!

I went to HD/Lowes and in the putty/glue section there is a ton of varieties and I got confused. Anyone know what the replacement for aquamend looks like or what is the name now?

thx all

[FearTheTerps]

At HD look for JB Water Weld, its in the paint aisle.

Sometimes it can make your skimmer go a lil crazy and overflow, might want to turn it off for a day or so.

[Rockys_Pride]

I'd just go with the SuperGlue gel. If you're stuck on using the AquaMend, as others have posted, that's ok too

[Pickupman66]

when I am doing frags, I take the frag out of the water, squirt some superglue gel on the base and then stick it back in the water and to the rock that it is going to be stuck to . I wiggle it around to break teh surface tension of the glue and then hold it for about 10 seconds or until stable. then viola! coral is stuck. once it encrusts it is permanent. I have done this for years with large and small frags like. personally I hate the look of a ball of puddy.

[SDguy]

Originally Posted by Pickupman66

when I am doing frags, I take the frag out of the water, squirt some superglue gel on the base and then stick it back in the water and to the rock that it is going to be stuck to . I wiggle it around to break teh surface tension of the glue and then hold it for about 10 seconds or until stable. then viola! coral is stuck. once it encrusts it is permanent. I have done this for years with large and small frags like. personally I hate the look of a ball of puddy.

Define "large" frag. Just superglue works great for small frags like SPS, but it hasn't worked well, for me at least, on large stuff like LPS.

Super glue works great on two matched surfaces. But when the surfaces are uneven and there are gaps, the epoxy fills these in nicely to create a secure "bridge" between the two surfaces. Only use enough epoxy to fill these gaps. You should end up with no more squishing out the sides than you would if you used a huge amount of superglue. Also, the coral will encrust over any excess epoxy just as nicely as over any excess superglue, so using excess epoxy isn't a bad thing anyway.

[miserkris]

Ok all. Thx!

Is JB water-weld same as aquamend , ie reefsafe?

[miserkris]

Originally Posted by Pickupman66

when I am doing frags, I take the frag out of the water, squirt some superglue gel on the base and then stick it back in the water and to the rock that it is going to be stuck to . I wiggle it around to break teh surface tension of the glue and then hold it for about 10 seconds or until stable. then viola! coral is stuck. once it encrusts it is permanent. I have done this for years with large and small frags like. personally I hate the look of a ball of puddy.

Wow, might try this soon!

Do u clean /scratch surfaces too before gluing?

[drainbamage101]

Originally Posted by SDguy

Define "large" frag. Just superglue works great for small frags like SPS, but it hasn't worked well, for me at least, on large stuff like LPS.

Super glue works great on two matched surfaces. But when the surfaces are uneven and there are gaps, the epoxy fills these in nicely to create a secure "bridge" between the two surfaces. Only use enough epoxy to fill these gaps. You should end up with no more squishing out the sides than you would if you used a huge amount of superglue. Also, the coral will encrust over any excess epoxy just as nicely as over any excess superglue, so using excess epoxy isn't a bad thing anyway.

Sometimes I use up to 5g of the superglue gel and basically use it like I would the putty-make a big huge "ball" of it on the end of the LPS (typically blasto's that I've done this with) and then press the coral against the rockwork, then use a pair of forceps or something similar to shape the glue into the rockwork. Once the gel hits the water, it begins to stiffen up, so it becomes workable like a putty, just not for very long.

This is more expensive than the putty for sure, but I'm preffering it as of yet. I've had a lot of instances where the putty doesn't stick that well, or even when I remove it after time, it flakes apart showing I never had it that mixed in the first place (my own fault I know.) It worries me that without it being mixed, there's some breakdown of the putty into the water column, perhaps leaching something. With the glue/gel, at least I know that it's 100% cured no matter what.

[rdmcgraw]

Just a tip, if you go to hobby shops that deal with balsa wood gliders and airplanes, they have cyanoacrylate ( superglue) or varying thicknesses. In other words you can buy thicker and thinner gels. The thicker gels seem to work better when being used in the water column.

[rcoughtrey]

Kind of unrelated but a good display tip you could try is to buy a frag tray and glue LR on to it then attach your frags and corals.

Gives you a shelf of coral that could look amazing. if the tray is all covered.

[FearTheTerps]

Yes the JB water weld is safe, if you search the site there are several people that state they have used it with no ill effects. I havent seen anyone complain about it at all. I just used two tubes on a new set-up that is still cycling, nothing bad for me so far, but then again there isnt much in the tank besides my liverock.

If you look on the product it will say its safe for potable water. This doesnt really mean its safe for your tank, its safe for you to use in any application for drinking water. It does give some reassurance if your are uncertain.

[SDguy]

Originally Posted by drainbamage101

This is more expensive than the putty for sure, but I'm preffering it as of yet. I've had a lot of instances where the putty doesn't stick that well, or even when I remove it after time, it flakes apart showing I never had it that mixed in the first place (my own fault I know.) It worries me that without it being mixed, there's some breakdown of the putty into the water column, perhaps leaching something. With the glue/gel, at least I know that it's 100% cured no matter what.

Brian, I have one word for you: knead.

[devilsthird]

Krazy Glue Gel (Cyanoacrylate) has worked great for me in and out of the water. You just have to be quick when working with it in the water like others have said.