glue help

[mkpetersen]

Mt technique isn't working. I've been using Super Glue brand CA gel for gluing frags and the bond usually fails. I dry the plug/coral skeleton, brush the rock and remove debris, apply a glob of glue to the frag and then press/twist into the rock and hold for 10-15 seconds. Invariably the bond fails. The only frags I have holding are those that grow fast enough to attach themselves. Advice please.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What I do is apply the glue and then give it 10-15 seconds to form a 'skin', then I lower it gently into the water, the skin will protect the glue blob. Then twist it onto the rock and count to 5 and release. It works for me. Good luck

 

[kevgib67]

Mt technique isn't working. I've been using Super Glue brand CA gel for gluing frags and the bond usually fails. I dry the plug/coral skeleton, brush the rock and remove debris, apply a glob of glue to the frag and then press/twist into the rock and hold for 10-15 seconds. Invariably the bond fails. The only frags I have holding are those that grow fast enough to attach themselves. Advice please.

I use insta set, spray it on as soon as you attach the frag to the rock and the glue sets immediately. I use it mostly to attach frags to plugs outside the tank, it is fantastic. This is the same one that BRS sells they just put a BRS sticker over it. When attaching a frag to a rock in the tank I use epoxy with glue where the frag meets and glue where the rock meets with the epoxy in the middle.

 

[nano7g]

What I do is apply the glue and then give it 10-15 seconds to form a 'skin', then I lower it gently into the water, the skin will protect the glue blob. Then twist it onto the rock and count to 5 and release. It works for me. Good luck

I've been having issue too. I started with gorilla gel superglue, and then gorilla gel superglue+waterweld epoxy+superglue sandwiched.

My experience is that superglue absolutely sucks. So does epoxy. All of them were crap. They'd fall off if I even touched it while cleaning my tank.

I bought this Bob Smith IC-gel frag glue and this was a god send! It stick and holds within 5 seconds. Just effortless. Almost immediately. And it's incredibly secure.

I glued 5 frags on my rock within the past couple week. 3 of those today. My technique was put a glob on the coral. Dip it in the water for a couple seconds until it gets a little opaque. Glob more glue and stick it. But I'm convinced it's strong enough that you don't even need to do that. Just one glue application is probably enough.

Remember to turn off the flow for the next 30 minutes.

 

[mkpetersen]

I've been having issue too. I started with gorilla gel superglue, and then gorilla gel superglue+waterweld epoxy+superglue sandwiched.

My experience is that superglue absolutely sucks. So does epoxy. All of them were crap. They'd fall off if I even touched it while cleaning my tank.

I bought this Bob Smith IC-gel frag glue and this was a god send! It stick and holds within 5 seconds. Just effortless. Almost immediately. And it's incredibly secure.

I glued 5 frags on my rock within the past couple week. 3 of those today. My technique was put a glob on the coral. Dip it in the water for a couple seconds until it gets a little opaque. Glob more glue and stick it. But I'm convinced it's strong enough that you don't even need to do that. Just one glue application is probably enough.

Remember to turn off the flow for the next 30 minutes.

Awesome. Buying some now. Thanks.

 

[nano7g]

Awesome. Buying some now. Thanks.

Let us know whether it works for you

 

[bluemon]

I refuse to pay for “special” frag glue when they are all the same cyano acrylate glue.

You can get them for cheap at dollar stores or aliexpress (I find the aliexpress ones to be better actually)

The trick is to use a instant set liquid when working outside like mentioned out of the water, or when gluing onto rocks, using the epoxy sandwich method.

But often times just glue itself works fine glueing frags to rocks

 

[Marco_99]

I've been having issue too. I started with gorilla gel superglue, and then gorilla gel superglue+waterweld epoxy+superglue sandwiched.

My experience is that superglue absolutely sucks. So does epoxy. All of them were crap. They'd fall off if I even touched it while cleaning my tank.

I bought this Bob Smith IC-gel frag glue and this was a god send! It stick and holds within 5 seconds. Just effortless. Almost immediately. And it's incredibly secure.

I glued 5 frags on my rock within the past couple week. 3 of those today. My technique was put a glob on the coral. Dip it in the water for a couple seconds until it gets a little opaque. Glob more glue and stick it. But I'm convinced it's strong enough that you don't even need to do that. Just one glue application is probably enough.

Remember to turn off the flow for the next 30 minutes.

Hmm, i’ve just used Gorilla gel superglue and after 20 sec it’s good to go. I don’t skimp on making a big enough glob though but I’ve never not had it hold

 

[mkpetersen]

Let us know whether it works for you

Just had my first occasion to use the bob smith. Clearly a different product. Skinned differently under water. Had a much quicker "tack" than the original "super glue gel" brand. Time will tell if it holds better though. Really appreciate the recommendation. BTW, after a deep dive into CA glue testing on the net, bob smith is often the clear winner for bulk and sheer stress testing.

 

[mkpetersen]

I refuse to pay for “special” frag glue when they are all the same cyano acrylate glue.

You can get them for cheap at dollar stores or aliexpress (I find the aliexpress ones to be better actually)

The trick is to use a instant set liquid when working outside like mentioned out of the water, or when gluing onto rocks, using the epoxy sandwich method.

But often times just glue itself works fine glueing frags to rocks

I don’t believe they’re all made from the exact same material. While they all certainly use ethyl cyanoacrylate in some form, quality, and proportion, there are clear differences—especially when you look at shear and bulk stress test results. The Bob Smith brand is often a significant standout.


As far as I can tell, what this means for our specific application remains unclear. That said, after my first use of the BS brand CA, it definitely behaved differently than the super glue gel product I’ve been using. It skinned over differently in water— less haze when skinned over compared to the SG brand—and had a noticeably faster tack. That’s not to say it will necessarily perform better over the long term, but I’m pleased with how it worked initially.


It also seemed slightly less viscous, so perhaps the "gel" component in the other glue affects the rate of polymerization in water. Who knows. But I’ll strongly disagree with the idea that all CA glue is the same.