Aquascaping question

[scubasteve92]

I am looking for something to use on my wet live rock to secure it together before I start adding coral. have read alot about the e-macro 400 and that it works great for aquascaping. I have had the live rock in the tank for a few months and it has alot of stuff living on and in it... and the emacro requires an overnight sitting period.

The living things range from hermits, snails, brittle stars, a bristle worm (getting rid of him, thinking the over night thing could be a good way to catch him ), and also some hitchhiker zoas.

Can I get the zoas off of the rock? and How?

I can get the other critters out, they usually come out when i do my usual aquascaping.

Just curious to how detremental leaving the wet live rock out of the water over night would be? If this overnight period is not recommended, then is there anything I can use to mortar the rock together without adding alot of harmful chemicals to the water?

Thanks for any input.

[JasonJones]

I have heard of people using hydralic cement in these situations without problem. Here is a good thread on it: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=993625&highlight=crushed+oyster+shells+epoxy

[scubasteve92]

Thanks! These seem to have that cure time as well. Do you think the my rock would be ok if I left it out over night?

I really need something you can add in the water and leave in the water, but i dont know what that would be.

[AquaJohn]

superglue gel

[Teresa]

zipties (the clear ones) and they eventually get covered in coraline - not the best suggestion, but might work on pieces where you could hide the zipties in the back.

[scubasteve92]

thanks! I dont even know why i didnt think of those!!

[Aaarrrggg]

There are a couple of 2 part epoxy putties that work underwater.

There's one that's that's esp made for aquariums. You can get it in white and purple. I can't recall it's name, but I know I bought some of the white stuff from AquaTek before.

There's also Miliput, which you can find at craft stores like Hobby Lobby.

I've used both in my full tanks. The miliput can temporarily cloud the water and irritate corals/nems a little (used to make my RBTA go some funny shapes,) but they get over it within a hr or 2.

Of the 2 types; the aquarium putty from AquaTek was easier to work with, as it stayed stickier underwater and didn't cloud as much as the Miliput.

If you use either putty; make sure you get a small piece of LR and press it into any exposed putty. That way it will have the texture of LR and look much more natural when it's covered in coralline.

[scubasteve92]

That sounds great too! thanks for all the responses! I will be adding coral in a few weeks and need to get my rock situated.

[+etannert]

Tunze makes a good 2-part epoxy.

[ManImTheMan]

CAN BE USED UNDER WATER AND HAS PURPLE CORALINECOLOR! FISHY BUSINESS OFF BURNET

[Timfish]

You don't want to leave live rock out of the water very long. Use extra big zipties if you can the 1/4" usually get brittle and start breaking after 2-4 years. I use a 1/2" masonry bit to drill holes in the rock and stick PVC or PEX pipe through to stabalize the rock but it take a little bit of practice to get a feel for where to drill a hole and how the rock will look. Any of the epoxy puttys at Lowes or HD that are safe for potable water will work also but the aquarium products are usually a better buy.

[99taws6]

I drilled holes and used the fiberglass driveway rod from lowes. I say DO NOT use epoxy as I battled a foaming microbubble issue for weeks because of it.

[JasonJones]

What kind of epoxy caused the micro-bubble issue? I have used many of the epoxies mentioned in this thread with no problems.

[scubasteve92]

Thanks! I think I'm going to epoxy them. They are pretty stable but i just don't want any issues.

Thanks again for the replies