Is my epoxy defective, or is it just me?

[michika]

Yesterday I picked up a stick of epoxy. Today I cracked open the package, cut off a chunk and mixed it to the prescribed color. I followed the package instructions, and now after an hour, it still hasn't taken.

Its been about 2 years since I've used this stuff, so I'm assuming I've done something wrong. Yet at the same time I'm curious as to if epoxy can be defective, or stale to the point where its no longer usable?

I moulded the epoxy around an area of rock, and then pushed in my SPS frag. The epoxy never bonded to the rock, it made more of a mould of the rock surface. I didn't touch the frag as its fragile enough.

So what did I do wrong, and how can I make epoxy be my friend again?

[christyf5]

Which brand of epoxy was it?

[michika]

It was Holdfast, by Marineland.

On a curious note, this brand isn't as stinky as the other's I've used before. Does the smell correlate with effectiveness?

[Scavenger]

In my experience, the epoxy never bonds to the rocks. It's by making the epoxy fill into nooks and crannys so that it bonds to itself with anchors in the holes of the rocks that makes it stick. Hope my 2 cents made sense.

[andresont]

I am using Tunze epoxy from J&L bonds, holds and easy to remove.
One pack i bought over two years ago still ok.

[michika]

Is anyone else's epoxy boyant?

I crammed my stuff into the rock as much as I could, and later it kind of just floated off. Very odd....

[Jason McK]

The stuff never works for me. I've had entire colonys held in place for 6-8 months they the epoxy fails with no outside influence and crash.

I now use epoxy to hold the frag then I use some of OA's super glue to glue the epoxy to the rock. Works very well

J

[michika]

Jason,

So your saying you superglue the frag to the rock, then pack or epoxy around it? Or are you saying that you epoxy the frag, then superglue the epoxy to the rock with superglue?

Can cyanoacrylate (sp?) be used underwater? I feel funny admitting that I've never epoxied, or glued frags to actual rock, other then rubble...

[fishface]

i also use superglue gel, after a short amount of time the frag will actually grow onto the rock and make it a much more permanent attachment. as for the epoxy, i tend to heat it up under hot tap water and knead it with my fingers till it's nice and soft...hot water help make it more pliable. same thing with epoxy too though, eventually if all goes well the coral will encrust over the epoxy and onto the rock. good luck!

[Jason McK]

I use epoxy to mold the frag so that it will fit were I want it. then add super glue to the epoxy to hold it in the rock. I do squish it so both the epoxy and the super glue are "glueing" the frag to the rock

J