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Reef Safe Super Glue suggestion


johnnyvega252

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johnnyvega252

Hello,

 

I am looking for an off-brand, reef-safe, super glue with thin viscosity. I am trying to do a negative space aquascape. What recommendations do you guys have? (Preferably not anything from Bulk Reef Supply.) 

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Thin viscosity superglue will just soak into the pores in the rock and do absolutely no good, except for sealing up all your porosity. You want a gel superglue, or preferably an epoxy putty. If you want to make something incredibly solid, glue the putty in place with superglue gel, and it won't move for man nor beast. 

 

And, yes, any cyanoacrylate glues are fine. Regular gel superglue does it.

 

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Thin is the best for NSA because it dries super fast.  However, you run the risk of the glue just running and dripping everywhere.  I just finished a NSA scape and the best glue you can get is from Gluemaster.  Google them and get the 8oz bottles.  I used medium viscosity along with crushed rocks and baking soda as an accelerator.  The combo creates an instant bond when applied correctly.  It's easier than epoxy or mortar.  

 

Feel free to hit me up with questions

 

PXL_20210718_045947228-01.thumb.jpeg.7437be3211f847f8baa8f8bcd32ddfc8.jpeg

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14 minutes ago, ninjamyst said:

Thin is the best for NSA because it dries super fast.  However, you run the risk of the glue just running and dripping everywhere.  I just finished a NSA scape and the best glue you can get is from Gluemaster.  Google them and get the 8oz bottles.  I used medium viscosity along with crushed rocks and baking soda as an accelerator.  The combo creates an instant bond when applied correctly.  It's easier than epoxy or mortar.  

 

Feel free to hit me up with questions

 

PXL_20210718_045947228-01.thumb.jpeg.7437be3211f847f8baa8f8bcd32ddfc8.jpeg

Nice!!!!

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johnnyvega252
1 hour ago, ninjamyst said:

Thin is the best for NSA because it dries super fast.  However, you run the risk of the glue just running and dripping everywhere.  I just finished a NSA scape and the best glue you can get is from Gluemaster.  Google them and get the 8oz bottles.  I used medium viscosity along with crushed rocks and baking soda as an accelerator.  The combo creates an instant bond when applied correctly.  It's easier than epoxy or mortar.  

 

Feel free to hit me up with questions

 

PXL_20210718_045947228-01.thumb.jpeg.7437be3211f847f8baa8f8bcd32ddfc8.jpeg

That looks nice how many lbs of rock you think i need for a 15 gallon peninsula tank? I know the whole lb / gallon thing is kind of outdated. I was thinking maybe 10lbs with a full 20lbs of live sand bag. I ordered the glue you recommended off of amazon thank you so much! 

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You only want a thin layer of sand, half an inch to an inch at most. I'm sure there are calculators for how much sand covers how much space. 

 

1lb per gallon can be good for rough estimates. If your number of pounds of rock is hugely away from the number of gallons, you may have a problem. 10lbs should be a good start, and if you want more, you can add more. 

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46 minutes ago, johnnyvega252 said:

That looks nice how many lbs of rock you think i need for a 15 gallon peninsula tank? I know the whole lb / gallon thing is kind of outdated. I was thinking maybe 10lbs with a full 20lbs of live sand bag. I ordered the glue you recommended off of amazon thank you so much! 

Are you getting macro rocks?  I got 45 lbs for a 200 gallon tank and I only used about 30 lbs.  Hahahha.  NSA is all about minimalist.  10lbs will be more than good enough for a 15g tank.  Make sure you get rocks thats easy to bash up into rubbles with lots of holes.  If you get solid rocks, it will.be too heavy.  Save a big rock or two to use as the base.  Make sure it has one side that seats flat and not wobble around.  You need to crush a few rocks to the point of sand.  Thats what you use to create an instant bond with the super glue.  Mix some baking soda and water in a small bowl.  Get a tiny tiny brush and brush the baking soda water mixture on the joints you want to glue.  Then apply glue.  Then sprinkle on the crushed sand.  Hold for 15s and it should be secured.  Apply some more glue and some more sand.  

 

I just made another structure tonight.  You can see my bowl of sand and the rubles I use to create the branches.

16281280163783882495703970322041.thumb.jpg.0905d901d02fb2e742d7df0293a9e4fc.jpg

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johnnyvega252
1 hour ago, ninjamyst said:

Are you getting macro rocks?  I got 45 lbs for a 200 gallon tank and I only used about 30 lbs.  Hahahha.  NSA is all about minimalist.  10lbs will be more than good enough for a 15g tank.  Make sure you get rocks thats easy to bash up into rubbles with lots of holes.  If you get solid rocks, it will.be too heavy.  Save a big rock or two to use as the base.  Make sure it has one side that seats flat and not wobble around.  You need to crush a few rocks to the point of sand.  Thats what you use to create an instant bond with the super glue.  Mix some baking soda and water in a small bowl.  Get a tiny tiny brush and brush the baking soda water mixture on the joints you want to glue.  Then apply glue.  Then sprinkle on the crushed sand.  Hold for 15s and it should be secured.  Apply some more glue and some more sand.  

 

I just made another structure tonight.  You can see my bowl of sand and the rubles I use to create the branches.

16281280163783882495703970322041.thumb.jpg.0905d901d02fb2e742d7df0293a9e4fc.jpg

Yeah I am getting Marco Rocks do you think the filtration will be enough for the 15 gallon? You only ended up using 30lbs but your tank is also 200 gallons mine will only be 15 gallons at best and I am afraid I wont have enough bacteria in the tank. I guess it might work out just kind of scared. Ive learned that a lot can go wrong very fast in this hobby. 

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Good, porous live rock should have plenty of space for your biofilter to live in. If someone else has a 200gal tank with 30 pounds of that rock, 1/3 the rock in 1/13 the tank size will be just fine. 

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