A better way to glue down frags?

 

My latest try with the 2-part epoxy in a tube is the "3 Little Fishies" brand... I open the wrap, cut off a slice, roll it around in my palm to mix together as throughly as possible, apply the blob to the bottom of a wiped-dry frag, apply the now "blobbed" frag to a piece of rubble rock... sometimes I have a frag that is already on a piece of rubble rock and I use the epoxy to attach the frag-on-a-rock to a larger piece of LR. In any event, what happens is about 60% of the time the frag or frag-on-a-rock comes loose in the minutes before the epoxy has a chance to harden underwater; another 25 - 30% of the time a day or 2 will pass and the frag will suddenly come loose. So, my actual long-term success rate is only around 10 - 15% of the time do I experience success. I have also noticed that at least sometimes when a frag comes loose the next day the epoxy is kind of "mushy" on the inside and I would think it should be stone-hard throughout by that time.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

 - Am I using too much of the epoxy putty per frag? Should I use it very sparingly, like superglue, or is a blob of it OK? For a normal sized tube, I can usually glue down about a dozen frags... so I use may 1/12 of the tube per frag. Is that too much per frag?

 

 - I think I am hand-mixing it for a long enough period of time (usually 4 - 5 minutes) because the entire slice goes from light outside / dark middle to a uniform gray throughout by the time I am done... but should I wear gloves while doing this? Could my skin oil be getting mixed into the putty and affecting the bond?

 

 - DO I need to dry off both the frag piece and the rock first for a prolonged time period? Usually I just dab the actual bottom of the coral frag with a towel to get off any excess water / mucous and then dry the rubble rock a little more thoroughly

 

 - I have tried superglue but the result pattern is very similar... most attempts the glue doesn't bond, especially if I am trying to bond underwater (like gluing a frag to a large piece of LR inside the tank, for example)

 

SO HELP ME OUT HERE  as I feel like an idiot; because, obvously, there is a right way to do this - I buy frags from others here that are attached quite nicely and STAY attached - I just haven't figured it out yet...

 

?????

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When using Superglue Gel I dry the area of the plug or rock I am glueing to and dry the end of the frag. I put a small amount of glue on each and press them together. Once it dries I return the frag to the tank. I have tried using the Gel under water with mixed short-term success and little long term success. I have had Superglue Gel "let go" after 18 months or so.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Mike

 

 1) Cleaning the rocks involved with a toothbrush to remove corallines or other algaes and debris / detritus before applying any glues (this one is probably my biggest omission and a logical reason why my stuff won't hold - it's like trying to glue stuff together with dirt)

 

 2) Applying glues to both surfaces and try to make sure the glue gel gets into all the "nooks and crannies" of the rocks in question

 

 3) letting the first glue application set somewhat, then apply a second application over the first

 

 4) In some instances multiple layers of glue may be necessary beyond just 2 applications

 

 5) And almost nobody is having much luck with the 2-part epoxy method except Mike; superglue is the adhesive of choice for most

 

Personally, I would like to use suprglue myself vs. the epoxy as there is no "cutting and rolling" involved with the superglue... I am actually fortunate that I can usually handle the superglue without getting it on my fingers, but I amy go with gloves just to elimate the "skin oil contamination" angle...

 

I have a couple of frags already mounted to rubble that I tried attaching to my larger LR with epoxy that held for a bit then fell down; I already have a "tank toothbrush" and should still have some superglue gel somewhere...

 

Perhaps tomorrow if I have time before work I'll grab the toothbrush, "prepare" the araea on the LR to receive the glue, use a couple of layers to form a generous amount in total, and try to adhere the "prepared" rubble with the frag on it to the "prepared" section of the LR using only superglue and none of the 2-part epoxy...