Your tanks are absolutely gorgeous!!! Thanks for the detailed explanation. So the regular hardware store epoxy is safe to use? Do you have a build thread? So beautiful.
Thanks Amanda! I liked the Edge, but my corals got bigger and started stinging neighboring ones...so i switched to a 20 gal long.
As far as the epoxy, every type for general use is safe, the king i recommend is called Propoxy20, here is a pic:
It costs around $9 at hardware stores and once mixed(you mix 2 types of putty together) is grey in color. It is completely harmless to corals and fish and all other animals, and is in my opinion the best option. Other brands made for reef tanks(aqua-stick...etc) are pricy and dont hold as well. Once you put in the water on the rocks, your skimmer might get a bit overactive for a few hours(produce more bubbles), but then comes back to normal. That is completely safe. Anoter good thing is, once the rocks age in your system after you glue the pieces, the whole rock gets a darker color and the epoxy blends in, giving it the natural reef look, you wont be able to tell it was glued.
Unfortunately i dont have a build thread, but i would recommend you try a few pieces and you should be completely successful with little time. If you are trying to sculpt branches, try doing that outside of the tank first. Glue the pieces the way you want and let it dry outside. that way you can make turns, and sculpt it well. When you go attach the branch to a rock, mix the putty and wait until it starts to harden(around 2-4min) then glue it to the piece and glue the piece to the rock. When attaching the piece, hold it in place for about 1 minute, and it should then be safe to stay in place. By letting the epoxy cure a bit before you glue it,avoids the weight of the piece to force the bond to break.
Let me know how it goes! good luck, and if you have questions, ask anytime
