cementing gluing rocks together

[kengeroo]

what's the best method to do this ??

[FishyFishy!]

I heard aquaforest stone fix is supposed to be the shiznit if you can find it. But other options are:

Fijicrete

NYOS Reef Cement

AquaMaxx Reef Welder Epoxy Glue

E-Marco 400 (if you can find it)

Hydraulic cement (google the brand/type)

I like to ise zip ties and acrylic rods with the cements for the best hold.

Theres a ton of YouTube videos you can watch for reference on any of these products

[DKoKoMan]

NYOS Reef Cement works well IME... also epoxy putty if you pull your LR out.

[adam84]

Drill the rock and use acrylic rod to suspend it and then a little epoxy to prevent it from pulling apart. It has worked really well for me, plus it hides most of the joints on the inside of the rock

[Finley]

Does anyone know where in Calgary I could find Acrylic rods?

[3littlebear]

Order them from reefsupplies.

[WarDog]

I'm sad to report that after 2 years, the Fijicrete is starting to crumble in my tank.

[gmann]

e-marco kit

[chwkreefer]

I drill holes and use acrylic rod which can be purchased/ordered from most local plexiglass suppliers (last year I paid $5 for 6 ft length of 3/8 dia) and I also use cable ties and then use Quickcrete Hydraulic Cement.

The hydraulic cement cures extremely fast (about 5 minutes) so you don't have much time to work with it, so use small amounts. It can be purchased at Home Depot. Sometimes the Hydraulic cement really is enough by itself as it bonds very well. Here's the link to the Hydraulic Cement at Home Depot.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.hydraulic-water-stop-cement-9kg.1000149564.html

[smokinreefer]

Great info!

Does the cement need to be cured afterwards? Or is it safe to go into the tank after setting?

[Mata]

I am looking for some bonding cement too, i can share the cost if someone order in bulk.

[Reefadiction]

If you can't find acrylic rods....plastic chopsticks work well also. I pegged my rocks together using plastic chopsticks and they hold up well still after 3 years

[spit.fire]

Alberts special sauce works best imo
All my rock work is made with it and I've dropped my rocks while pulling them out of the tank and the concrete joints held up (rock broke tho)


http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=117055

[Galizio]

E- marco works good and j&l carry the product


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chwkreefer]

To answer Smokinreefer's question.... I have put the rock work in the tank immediately after bonding the rocks together with the hydraulic cement and haven't noticed any negative issues with pH, alkalinity or the inhabitants, and that is with two nano tanks. (14 and 28 gallon tanks) But that is just using the cement for bonding rocks.

Most cement takes 28 days to completely cure but I never noticed anything that concerned me. I imagine there is a lot of calcium and some other ingredient in the hydraulic cement that creates the heat and the fast set time. I said cure time by mistake in my original post.

Bill

[Tyfighter]

Keep in mind that if you actually want to build a larger structure you will want to use something along with the hydraulic cement. Hydraulic cement doesn't bond to the rock it is just encases it. I would recommend using it along with acrylic rods. If you do go this route just make sure you give the cement time to set. Just because it says "quick cure" doesn't mean it has ctually set up in just 5 mins.