Can someone please explain...

[michika]

I also agree with Drew...I too have had many interesting adventures with epoxy. I now avoid the stuff in favor of superglue. Sometimes I make a piece with epoxy that will fit perfectly on the rock and to the coral, and then I glue all three together with super glue.

[Oscar]

This is a timely thread. I just picked up my first frags over the weekend. Currently they are temporarily located on the sand but this weekend I will attach them to the LR.

I have a package of the 2 stick epoxy and some liquid epoxy which I think can only be used out of water.

There is obviously a lot of frustration with attaching frags but are there any pointers to minimize the frustration? I could use the liquid epoxy or super glue on LR that can be removed from the tank. But what is the best trick for LR that cannot be removed?

[Underwater]

Duct tape....

[Aquattro]

I use the stick with the two parts. I cut off a slice with a knife, knead it until it's all mixed, create a roll about 1.5 inches long, wrap it around the base of the frag and stuff it into a crevice or hole. It isn't supposed to be sticky and stick things to flat surfaces, it fills th espace around the hole you put the frag in and hardens in place, locking the frag in. It isn't glue. It's filler.
I just mounted 16 frags without an issue in about 10 minutes. I love this stuff.

tip. Keep your fingers wet when your kneading it, it won't stick to you that way.

[Canuckgod420]

Try the Tunze two part....works great for me.

[mseepman]

I recently purchased the two part to use on some frags as a trial but I haven't yet used it. Previously, I've been using the Zeo Speed-glue (like cement) and though it's a pain to work with, I would say I'm successful 3 out of 4 tries. Golds sells it. It is a powder that you need to mix (mix it really dry) and then you have about 3-5 seconds once you put the clump of it in the water. If you are fast, then you have a really good stick. If not, then it comes out easily enough as a lump of concrete.

[Delphinus]

It totally depends on what I'm trying to do, which affects my choice of what glue to use. If I'm mounting a clean cut frag of SPS onto a disk, unless I have a poor surface to work with I'll just use cyanoacrylate (superglue) gel. If it's an odd shape then I'll use the epoxy. I've used the green stick, the Tunze stuff and the Deltec stuff. In my opinion they are equivalent products, except that the Tunze and Deltec epoxies harden in a brown or pink (I forget which is which) which blends into rock nicer than stark white does, but in most circumstances coraline covers it anyhow over time.

It's in the approach though - like Brad said, the stuff is filler, not an adhesive. So it has to surround the pieces, not just interface them. I did use it so mount some gorgonians to some rocks but I had to use elastics to hold the gorg bases down while the epoxy hardened. Now it's fine although the elastics are permanently embedded in the glue. Eventually they'll just disintegrate though.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

It isn't supposed to be sticky and stick things to flat surfaces, it fills th espace around the hole you put the frag in and hardens in place, locking the frag in. It isn't glue. It's filler.
I just mounted 16 frags without an issue in about 10 minutes. I love this stuff.

tip. Keep your fingers wet when your kneading it, it won't stick to you that way.

OK, that sounds appropriate for SPS frags. I have a mushroom and a small piece of GSP to attach, neither of which are attached to rock. What do you suggest?

Plus ricordia and zoos on rock. I am hoping to break the rock into smaller pieces. Should I also be looking for depressions to effectively use the epoxy?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Oscar

I have a mushroom and a small piece of GSP to attach, neither of which are attached to rock. What do you suggest?

super glue or fine fishing line. I never had much luck with glue, but I'm a SPS guy, never needed it.

[Oscar]

How about this for my mushroom and GSP: I have some rock "flakes", a result of breaking up some LR. I could super glue these guys to the flakes, then use epoxy to set into the LR in the tank. That way avoiding the fishing line option.