Reef Putty Drives me nuts!!

[topmav1]

Am I the only one who seems to have a problem using this stuff? I mix it together...its very sticky but then once I put it in water it becomes useless.
Some help here. What am I doing wrong/what other gluing products do you use???

 

[armani4o3]

super glue gel is all I use works great

 

[wonderballz]

I make a divit (sp) in the putty, and put a few drops of CA glue in it. It usually helps.

 

[afernandez]

Like epoxy?? If it's epoxy all you have to do is mix the colors really well and attach it once it's underwater it will harden .. I've used epoxy and worker fine .

 

[Tommy Boy]

works fine for me, it wont stick to surfaces that are flat or grove-less.

 

[KathyC]

Epoxy isn't a 'glue' per se. It will act like a 'cement' to attach multiple rough surfaces together, but it is near useless on smooth surfaces.

What are you trying to stick together?

 

[jrobbins]

are you mixing it until it gets warm/hot in your hand? in my experience if the epoxy is crumbling underwater it normally means you didn't knead it for long enough. also, it isnt exactly going to just glue the rocks together. you need to form it around some crevices, sort of mush the rocks together, and then let it cure (with no load on the joint till it cures)

if all else fails just ziptie the rocks together.

 

[jerl77]

ic gel does it all

 

[InfernoST]

My skimmer goes ballistic the second that stuff hits the water then calms down a few minutes later, other than that It has worked well for me but as the others said it is near useless on smooth surfaces.

 

[topmav1]

Basically all I want to do is attach some frags to the rocks or attach a couple of my frogspawn to the rocks. Not using it form rock scaping or anything. I knead it for a while and its very sticky ion my hands but once i take out lets say a frogspawn and put the epoxy on the skeleton or "trunk" it becomes much less sticky and the frag comes off .

 

[Salty Dog]

putty is a waste of time, SUPER GLUE GEL is what you want and its a PIA also

 

[armani4o3]

Basically all I want to do is attach some frags to the rocks or attach a couple of my frogspawn to the rocks. Not using it form rock scaping or anything. I knead it for a while and its very sticky ion my hands but once i take out lets say a frogspawn and put the epoxy on the skeleton or "trunk" it becomes much less sticky and the frag comes off .

as i said b4 use super glue gel. its the poor man ic glue gel

 

[ming]

like kathy said, epoxy is like wet cement. While its still wet, it can't hold anything and you may even need something to prop it up. Once it cures (also like cement, at least an hour or a day is even better) it holds things up pretty well

 

[tentacles]

IC gel (or any brand of super glue gel that is made out of cyanoacrylate) is much less of a hassle. IC also makes an accelerator spray that dries the glue instantly. I personally do not like the epoxy method at all.

 

[topmav1]

I think thats the best way to go with small frags.

 

[Reef Reaper]

I put super glue gel onto both surfaces and reef putty in the middle. It works about 3/4 of the times!!

 

[topmav1]

I put super glue gel onto both surfaces and reef putty in the middle. It works about 3/4 of the times!!

That's some recipe! :splitspin

 

[jcs11236]

sorry to hijack thread but how long before the putty actual changes color.. its jus ugly and grey

 

[wonderballz]

It takes time got the coralline to grow on it. I guess it's dependant on you're tank

 

[Wes]

I use superglue gel for most frags but for bigger stuff epoxy putty is a necessity.