Glue for live rock?

[rptilian]

I have seen many mentions of gluing live rock to form a more stable aquascape. Just lookin for any recommendations for glue and the process. Appreciate any and all suggestions.

[debbeach13]

Did you try a search? Several threads on this. Summary super glue gel on the rock then / 2 part epoxy on the gel / then super glue gel again and stick coral on top

[SelectedByNature]

I used two part epoxy to create stability and allow for burrowing and used twolittlefishies coraffix with great success.

[debbeach13]

My bad I talked about gluing coral. Above answer nailed it. Goo luck

[Clown79]

I use reef epoxy for rocks. I prefer the grey to the coralline colour

[burtbollinger]

Dont use Gorilla Super Glue Gel without first violently shaking the bottle. Avoid if possible

[LandenReefer]

For rock, you can get plumbers epoxy at Lowes, HD or Menards. It is usually a green tube with a white center you kneed together. Just make sure it is for potable water. Basically the exact same thing as reef epoxy but way cheaper ( I got Harvey's brand for $3.99 at Menards). I would recommend putting super glue gel on one side of the epoxy, then mash it into the piece of live rock. Put more super glue gel on the clean side of the epoxy then mash it into the other piece of LR. Use a lot of the epoxy as it needs to get between the crevices to hold. You can google the use of this and find a lot of suggestions.

 

I did find that when I used a lot of the epoxy the tank smelled for a day or two. From research this is normal if you use a lot of it (I used 3/4 of a tube). I put in some carbon and it cleared the smell. No harm to any of the inhabitants.

[WRX]

I use BRS gel glue for everything. It worked great to glue my rock together.

[squamptonbc]

For the live rock, I used an epoxy from the fish store, was the same price as the plumbers stuff and rather give my money to a fish store over a hardware store...lol..

[rptilian]

Thanks a bunch for the recommendations! This may be a stupid question, but do you have to pull the rock out or are you able to glue it in-tank?

For the live rock, I used an epoxy from the fish store, was the same price as the plumbers stuff and rather give my money to a fish store over a hardware store...lol..

Interesting factoid. Our closest lfs is actually a hardware store as well. Seriously, called Hardware and Pets!

[LandenReefer]

With the epoxy you can use it with the rock in the tank.

[rptilian]

Awsome! Thank you

[Starvin Marvin]

Try Reef Welder beads, rptilian.

 

(for the epoxy portion).

 

For the super glue portion, try Bob Smith Industries IC-Gel, it's a cyanacrylate glue (CA) which is basically "Super/Krazy Glue" except it's a little thicker and seems to not clog the tip according to a lot of people who post about it. I have only ever used it a whole tube at a time so I'm not sure on that part.

 

Get the spray "Accelerator" for it too, it will set faster. And like mentioned above by other members, you might want to use it around the edges of the epoxy if you are using both on a joint.

 

Epoxy is not glue and will not stick like glue does, but it has structural strength of its own which can be useful.

 

There is also Nyos Reef Cement which might be worth checking out.

 

All 3 of these products have Youtube reviews and promotional/instructional material you can check out.

None of them are "cheap" unfortunately,

[gonebad395]

I drill and use acrylic rods or jb weld there is one called water weld epoxy

[rptilian]

Follow up question. Would you consider itbeaaential that your live rock be glued? Can it be simply stacked?

[Clown79]

I always epoxy my rocks together.

[Starvin Marvin]

I've never glued any rocks. Depends how they fit together. It's definitely not essential.

 

But I'll be gluing some of it together in my upcoming scape for my new tank, just because we want it to be pieced together a little more and be more dynamic.

 

My old large tank and all my Nano tanks I have found stacking to be adequate. It also gives you freedoms to move rocks around which you do want the freedom to do, if at all possible.

[Clown79]

I've glued it all. Certain livestock can knock rocks over, things that burrow in sand can cause tubbles. I've easily taken apart rocks that have been epoxied to reaquascape.