reef safe super glue gel??

[muzscman]

what does everyone here use to attach their corals to their rock? i heard of people using some type of super glue gel....what brand and were do u buy it??

thanx!

:)

[jwreffner]

You can buy any brand of CA (cyanoacrylate ester) glue from a hobby store or craft store. It comes in 3 viscosities. I would recommed the thicker glue, not the really thin. The thin stuff is like water and reacts extremely fast causing an exothermic reaction which could burn coral tissue. If you use the gel/thick stuff it won't bond as quickly but will bond with a lower temp.

Don't bother buying it from a fish store, it will cost you twice as much. Just get it from a hobby store or Tower Hobbies or something like that. If you want brands, you can get Zap, BSI Industries or Great Planes CA's...they are all good.

Jay

[muzscman]

thank you very much!! will be stopping on the way home to pick some up!

:)

[muzscman]

i've found:

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=gc0285

about the only thing locally....this stuff good enough?

[jcm1229]

You can also buy 2 packs of small tubes at Walgreens. I stockup when those are on sale. They work fine and I can throw the tube away after a fregging session. I can get 4-6 frags out of a single tube.

[calvin415]

I head to Wal-Mart and get the 2 pack of Duro Quick Gel for 1.87, that's less than .94 per tube! Works great!

[muzscman]

i so wish there was a wally world around me. just a target and they have nothing like that.

now walgreens, i have like 4-5 of those in a 5 minute radius from me...i'll have to check those out jcm.

thanx for the advice!

:)

[jwreffner]

Yeah the small tubes of superglue are a real rip off. You can get a 2 oz bottle for 7 bucks at the hobby stores. That Zap glue is great CA. Just make sure it is the thick stuff and not the thin stuff.

I build model airplanes also and when I use CA glues, if the balsa wood is really light, if you bond to joints together w/ the really thin stuff it will get so hot during the bonding that it will actually smoke the wood and will burn your fingers. Imagine how your coral will feel ;)

Jay

[muzscman]

the Zap at michaels is CA+ which is said to be medium....good enough?

:)

[jwreffner]

Yeah, I would think the medium should be ok. Just use it sparingly, just enough to tack the coral to the rock (or whatever you're bonding the coral too).

J

[jwreffner]

Also remember than when you glue it to the rock, make sure the rock is dry and the coral is as dry as possible. CA glue harden by taking water out of the air and binding it to it's molecular structure. But if there is too much water it will not harden and bond correctly.

Good luck!

[horseflesh]

CA glue is also great for cuts. Try it instead of a bandaid next time. :) A similar compound is even used as a surgical adhesive.

[jwreffner]

horseflesh...its the same stuff...cyanoacrylate ester. Only the medical people charge 50 times the price for it to be "sterile" even though no living organisms could survive in it anyways.

Jay

[jcm1229]

If anyone is interested, the 2-packs at Walgreens are $1.00 this week!

[xtrstangx]

I got a 4-pack at Home Depot for $1.97.

[10" Red Devil]

Is this the "Thick stuff"? It is made by bsi industries.

Thanks.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/95606Glue.JPG

[AZDesertRat]

Yes.
I use EZ Bond Thick in the 2 oz size. Its like $6 at the hobby shop.
Those little tubes area rip off, you only get a few grams of glue not anywhere near one ounce even.

[10" Red Devil]

The glue I posted was not the gel. It spilled out all liquidy when I went to glue a frag to a rock, unfortunately it spilled on to the sides of the main branch of my sps frag. Im sure Im going to get some RTN there now. :/

Stupid kid at the hobby store! I told him I want Super Glue GEL and he arrogantly tells me I want something better, I then tell him no I just need the Gel so then he goes on about how dangerous it is and what am I using it for. So I tell him and he finally gets me what I think is the gel, but oh no its just regular super glue!!!

[jwreffner]

Red Devil,
The purple bottles from BSI are the medium CA's. You want the red bottles.

http://www.bsiadhesives.com/Pages/hobby/ca.html

Jay

[Sugar Magnolia]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6496540#post6496540 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 10" Red Devil
The glue I posted was not the gel. It spilled out all liquidy when I went to glue a frag to a rock, unfortunately it spilled on to the sides of the main branch of my sps frag. Im sure Im going to get some RTN there now. :/

Stupid kid at the hobby store! I told him I want Super Glue GEL and he arrogantly tells me I want something better, I then tell him no I just need the Gel so then he goes on about how dangerous it is and what am I using it for. So I tell him and he finally gets me what I think is the gel, but oh no its just regular super glue!!!
:mad2: I would have been pretty ****ed!! Sorry that happened. If you have a Target nearby, then they will have the glue. Look in the office/school supply section. Duro or Loctite super glue gel. I'd have to agree though, for the miniscule amount you get in those tubes, it's better to buy the stuff that Jay is talking about.

[jcm1229]

I like the little tubes - use it and throw it away!

(Plus I don't use it that often - just keep several tubes on hand)

[AZDesertRat]

My 2 oz bottle has been in the refrigerator 2 years no problem. Just like new.

[10" Red Devil]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6497537#post6497537 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jwreffner
Red Devil,
The purple bottles from BSI are the medium CA's. You want the red bottles.

http://www.bsiadhesives.com/Pages/hobby/ca.html

Jay

Cool I will be going back to the hobby store and I hope the little prepubescent kid from hell is not there. Lol!

[AEreefer]

i bought a 4oz bottle for $7 from a local aquafarmer

[xdusty6920]

my problem is not glueing the frag to the small piece of rock because you can do it outside of the tank. the problem is getting the rubble the frags on glued to a big rock that cant be taken out easily. ive used loctite, epoxy sticks, its all terrible. the slightest bump sends the frag tumbling again.

[mcox33]

I usually find the little tubes in a 2 pak at the dollar stores.

works great for the little jobs or the must glue in tank jobs. I know before you say it don;t glue in the tank but I sometimes must. Besides I was doing it forever before I got told you were not suppose to. No problems yet.

[10" Red Devil]

So I went back to the hobby store and the guy would not take back the wrong glue because it was opened. I told him that I needed the kind that was thick and that the employee that helped me sold me the wrong kind. He said that the purple bottle is thick. Anyway after that there was some credit card being flung at me and then me pushing the guy and then me running like a bat out of hell. Lol! Just wasnt right that the punk kid who originally sold me the wrong glue messed up, but somehow its my fault and because I used a tiny bit of the glue only to find out that it was super liquidy and nearly killed a frag I should have to pay for a new bottle of the right stuff.

[jwreffner]

Red Devil,
The purple bottle of BSI isn't liquidy. You should see the blue bottles! They are thinner than water ;)

[10" Red Devil]

Oh well it wasnt like the gel I am used to from the super glue gel.

I should have tested it before using it. The coral seems to be okay though.

[jwreffner]

And thats the bottom line...that you didn't lose any critters ;) It still amazes me that super glues don't have any observed negative effects on aquatic animal. I know how bad the vapor burns my eyes!!! I wonder if the fish feel that??? I'm sure their eye structure is different with the cornea and such, but it would be cool to know.

[nofrills]

Dumb question...how do you REMOVE the glued coral from say a peice of pvc or rock?

[jwreffner]

On a live coral I would cut the coral around the glue. The glue will NOT debond with any ease if you try to pull it off. It would rip the tissue and damage the coral. If its' a stony then I'd saw it off around the glue. Either way the glue will be abandoned on the PVC. You could probably break the glue off a rock after the coral was removed.

There is a product called CA debonder which debonds super glues. But you really have to work at it and it isn't a clean disolving solvent. Plus i don't know if it would harm the corals. I would recommend NOT going down that path.

Jay