Your friendly devil may have been had...

[BEELZEBOB]

so i got this aquatic epoxy stuff to glue down some pieces of coral.

its called Hold Fast, and its made by marineland.

i got it at my lfs, and specificaly asked the homeboy if it was ok to bond under water in my tank, and he gave me a big 10-4.

so i start to doubt my purchase because nowhere on the package does it say that its ok to bond in tank.

so i decide to try and bond 2 rocks in a 5 gal bucket.

this stuff smells bad. like chemical warfare bad.

it stuck these rocks togeather, but the chemical odor is still overwhelming.

WTH? is this stuff kosher? im afraid to use it.

is this like the norm?

Bob needs some direction here.

[lcstorc]

I don't have a real answer but I say go with your instinct here. If it has that strong of a chemical odor I wouldn't use it.
Karma for testing it outside the aquarium.

[Frankie]

dito

[AQTCJAK]

I have used it so has Vicki with no ill effects

[Dentoid]

I have used it on several occasions and it was recommended by a old RS member JFKJR. I have never had any problems with it what-so-ever. Personally, I find it better than Suoer Glue gel, especially for those unusually lumpy pieces of rock and bigger pieces. Coraline algae will eventually grow on it and you'll never know it is there.

[BEELZEBOB]

ok cool. thank you all.

i just never used it before, and it smells very similar to the stuff i used to use landscaping. and that stuff was bone-a-fied toxic.

so im just gonna make a nice couple balls of this stuff and smush it between the coral bottom and my rock... right?

[Woodstock]

I use it a lot. When it cures, it is just like concrete!

[kathywithbirds]

This sounds a lot like bondo. My father was forever using it on his "remodeled" Corvair wtih a corvette engine (matching # on the tranny). He used tons of it to reconstruct the top of the car with a skeleton of some kind of metal mesh...

if it's similar, be wary of inhaling it. weellllllll, then again.... maybe pluming comes into play here : )

[Dentoid]

Originally Posted by BEELZEBOB

so im just gonna make a nice couple balls of this stuff and smush it between the coral bottom and my rock... right?

That's how I've done it. Another way is to smush the ball of epoxy onto the LR and press the coral into the epoxy then remove the coral leaving the impression of the coral end. Let the epoxy set, takes a few minutes, then use Super Glue gel to glue the coral into the previously made impression. This way you don't have to worry about using the epoxy up onto the coral to get mechanical retention. This method was described by Julian Sprung at a meeting I went to last Spring!

[BEELZEBOB]

well everybody's done and glued. everything looks real good

[aquaman3680]

I use this stuff just not the hold fast. It is usually around 12.99 but if you go to lowes you can get their epoxy for $4 it is black and white.

Matt

[Dentoid]

So this thread is closed?

[BEELZEBOB]

huh?