adhesives

[wal999]

I need to fix an ornament in my tank. Can I use something as simple as super Glue without hurting inhabitants? Are there alternatives to the Epoxy putties seen in fish stores?

 

[AndyL]

Standard 5 minute epoxy like you find at your home repair center is just fine, super glue is excellent. If you look on the reef sites, you'll find much discussion of adhesives as they've pretty much tried everything... There are very few epoxy's and superglues that aren't fish-safe - and they all cost extra (for anti-mildew, anti-fungal etc properties) so if you buy the cheap stuff - you'll almost definitely be good.

Andy

 

[Daemonfly]

Super glue can become brittle after a while, so I'd go with epoxy or even aquarium safe silicone adhesive, depending on the ornament.

 

[izabeau]

I have used regular hot glue in the past on ornaments, including plants and it does not hurt the fish at all. plus it's fast and you don't have to wait like 48 hours to put it back in the tank. I usually let it sit for about 2-3 hours, rinse it off, anf put it back in.

good luck!

 

[FroggyFox]

Careful using hot glue on anything that might get soft though because it will cause the glue to come apart from whatever its attached to. If you wanted to use hot glue I think I'd stick with using a tank silicon.

 

[Purple]

A rule of thumb with tanks and adhesives is - if, after 3 days, that type of glue still smells - don't let it near your tank.

You need a glue that dries fast and permanently - if it smells then it's still drying, eg sweating solvents - not good for your fish.

Slightly flexible is probably a good idea too - and "super glue" aint