What is best way to glue live rock?

[Lawedwill]

I seen online glue gel, but what works best with out harming fish and coral?

[reef thief]

Super glue. Also I've seen resins that can be heated in hot water and molded to attach LR together but it doesn't have adhesive qualities. Super glue gel all the way.

[bertoni]

To Reef Central

I agree that superglue seems to work well.

[Bananafish]

Gel type Super Glue products made with cyanoacrylate are reef safe. This is the same as "Reef Glue" that is used to fasten animals to plugs and frags. There are also a number of epoxy products that are reef safe and are tinted to look like coralline and blend in.

I have never glued rock, and I would suggest that if you can you should avoid gluing it unless absolutely necessary to prevent fish from knocking rocks over and cracking the glass or killing themselves. If you glue your rock you can never move things around for any reason, and this may be a problem if you need to dig something that died out of a crack. If there is problem with stability, you might consider gluing small pieces of rock to the bottom of larger rocks so they stack up better and are less likely to come loose. This will allow you to take things apart if you need to. I have glued shims, and this works well.

[chrisfont23]

I use JB Waterweld: http://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld-...8277/202528473

[bertoni]

That JB Waterweld looks like a good idea for live rock. I was thinking more about gluing frags on small pieces of live rock. I agree that gluing live rock is an approximate process. I haven't found anything will hold all that well, but there are lots of products out there.

[CindyK]

Does anyone ever glue frags onto their main rock display while it's in the tank? I have spots chosen for some frags that I'd like to remove from the plugs. The rocks would be difficult to remove to glue and restack. Can I just put a dab of glue onto the frag and stick it onto the rock? tia

[billdogg]

That's exactly how you do it. If it's a small frag, especially a stick (acropora), a couple drops of SG gel on the base of the frag and then stick it to the rock you want it while it's still in the tank. If it's a larger piece, I like to use a small amount of JB waterweld mashed into the rock and another small amount on the base of the frag. Them a couple drops of SG gel to the bottom of that and mash the two bits of JB WW together. The SG gel seems to help it all hold together. Hold the frag in place for 30 seconds or so and you'll be good to go.

Although the JB WW looks a bit unsightly at first, it will quickly become covered in coraline and blend right in to the rest of the rock work. It is also considerable less expensive than the very similar product offered as "reef putty"

hth

[CindyK]

Originally Posted by billdogg

That's exactly how you do it. If it's a small frag, especially a stick (acropora), a couple drops of SG gel on the base of the frag and then stick it to the rock you want it while it's still in the tank. If it's a larger piece, I like to use a small amount of JB waterweld mashed into the rock and another small amount on the base of the frag. Them a couple drops of SG gel to the bottom of that and mash the two bits of JB WW together. The SG gel seems to help it all hold together. Hold the frag in place for 30 seconds or so and you'll be good to go.

Although the JB WW looks a bit unsightly at first, it will quickly become covered in coraline and blend right in to the rest of the rock work. It is also considerable less expensive than the very similar product offered as "reef putty"

hth

Thanks Billdogg I tried a version of putty with zero luck, I'll try the waterweld/glue combo.

[bowhuntng6]

I've used silicone caulk and had good luck with it. But that was for freshwater tanks.

[Bananafish]

Originally Posted by billdogg

That's exactly how you do it. If it's a small frag, especially a stick (acropora), a couple drops of SG gel on the base of the frag and then stick it to the rock you want it while it's still in the tank. If it's a larger piece, I like to use a small amount of JB waterweld mashed into the rock and another small amount on the base of the frag. Them a couple drops of SG gel to the bottom of that and mash the two bits of JB WW together. The SG gel seems to help it all hold together. Hold the frag in place for 30 seconds or so and you'll be good to go

Although the JB WW looks a bit unsightly at first, it will quickly become covered in coraline and blend right in to the rest of the rock work. It is also considerable less expensive than the very similar product offered as "reef putty"

hth

Excellent advice, billdogg, especially with the JBWW on both sides. I think "reef putty" is JB WW in a different color. Not sure, I don't use it. I usually get the 10-pack of little gel SG at Harbor Freight for about $3 ($1 on sale) because I won't pay for the word "reef" on super glue. But a word of caution - it HAS to be cyanoacrylate, and if it doesn't say you shouldn't use it. The little tubes work out very well because you open it up, use whatever you need, and when it dries you're out about 17 cents.