Safe clay or long curing epoxy?

[Herpervet]

So I have the redbugs again in my 550gallon system. The first time I dosed interceptor with good results but of course killed off my pods and a couple of pepermint shrimp. The blood shrimp nearly died but survived and the skunk cleaners did fine.

So I have a novel approach I want to try this time to spare the pods if possible. It is patterned after the termite treatment tents they used to put over houses.

Although it might lead to re-infestation I want to try to treat each head individually esp since most of the corals are still relatively small. My idea wouldn't work on big colonies.

The idea is to make a treatment tent out of a plastic bag with the base being a pvc ring. The device will look like a hot air baloon....sorta. I will have a small injection port in the top of the bag where the medication will be squirted into the "treatment tent"

The key will be how to temporarily seal the ring to the live rock without gaps that allow the medication to leak out.

What I need is an inert clay material that will form a seal with the pvc ring and eliminate gaps.

The consistency of epoxy will work.........

I can use half of the two part construction epoxy (D-D epoxy) so it won't set up permanant but will be the right tacky consistency I think. The stuff isn't cheap though so a cheaper alternative would be great.

What else can I use that I can remove afterward? An inert and insoluble clay of some sort?

[Waxxiemann]

If the bag starts settling on/touching your corals all the time won't it so more harm than good?

[silverwolf72]

Would just the standard under water epoxy the same stuff used for gluing frags work and use a jar or similar hard vessel run some air hose to it so you apply the medication externally and into the vessel.

[Herpervet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9550888#post9550888 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by silverwolf72
Would just the standard under water epoxy the same stuff used for gluing frags work and use a jar or similar hard vessel run some air hose to it so you apply the medication externally and into the vessel.

Yes I think the standard under water epoxy will work but I want to be able to remove it afterward. So using one half of the two part epoxy is an option.

i.e. instead of mixing the two parts using just one of them. I would prefer to do something cheaper though. It's a big tank and i will use a lot of the stuff.

[silverwolf72]

As far as I can recall the epoxy does not actully bind to the piece it is attached to. It only molds to the shape. I've never used it and still in the process of setting up my tank so I could be wrong. I wounder if something like silly putty would work?

[Herpervet]

It depends on the epoxy. The D-D stuff I use will actually stick to glass and once hard it is very tough to remove.

Silly puddy might work. The main issue is whether or not it will leach stuff into the water or even dissolve.