Better to do all putty work in one go, or stagger?

[Anonymous]

I've a few pieces of coral that I want to putty into position soon. But I was wondering whether I should try and do them all in one session or stagger the work. The main reason for the question is uncertainty about just how much impact it will have on the skimmer. If the impact is virtually non-existent doing one at a time and severe doing all at once, then it might be worth staggering it. If it will go crazy for a while no matter how much I do, then I assume it would be better to get it all done at once.

I'm talking about attaching maybe 4-5 corals to give an idea of the scale of the job. Not a massive amount. My skimmer is an Octopus Super Reef Internal 1000.

 

[Anonymous]

not knowing what type of epoxy(you ARE using epoxy for this right?) you're using, I really couldnt say - some epoxies cause skimmers to foam up more than others have in my exp.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd do them all at once but shut the skimmer down for 24 hours. The few putty's I've used seem to make the skimmer go nuts. Lately, I've used a cyanoacrylic product which has worked quickly with no effect on my skimmer.

 

[Anonymous]

not knowing what type of epoxy(you ARE using epoxy for this right?) you're using, I really couldnt say - some epoxies cause skimmers to foam up more than others have in my exp.

Yeah, sorry, should have said epoxy. The stuff my local LFS sells is Grotech Coral Bond, which looks to go under the Kora Fix Stick name in the UK, not sure about the US.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd do them all at once but shut the skimmer down for 24 hours. The few putty's I've used seem to make the skimmer go nuts. Lately, I've used a cyanoacrylic product which has worked quickly with no effect on my skimmer.

Thanks Mitchell. Is that the same as Superglue? My LFS sells Grotech Korafix, which is pretty much superglue (cyanoacrylate as far as I can make out). I've actually used standard gel superglue from the convenience store for most of my small frags, but I'll need something with a bit more substance to affix LPS whose base doesn't match the rock I want to fix it to too well.

 

[Anonymous]

yes, cyanoacrylate is Superglue(brand name).

never heard of Growtech, but it looks to be the usual two part stuff -depending on how many frags, I agree with Mitchell, turn the skimmer off and do them all now

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks both. That sounds like a plan. I'll probably take another week or so to find the time to get up to the LFS, but then will set aside a day to get it done. I'm guessing it might be best to do it just before a water change...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Mitchell. Is that the same as Superglue? My LFS sells Grotech Korafix, which is pretty much superglue (cyanoacrylate as far as I can make out). I've actually used standard gel superglue from the convenience store for most of my small frags, but I'll need something with a bit more substance to affix LPS whose base doesn't match the rock I want to fix it to too well.

Here's the secret.

Make up the smallest amount of epoxy you can for fitting around the base of your coral and the rockwork. Now, take some superglue and put a generous amount on the side of the epoxy that will go around the coral. Put the epoxy and the coral together, hold for 30 second. Now put a generous amount of superglue on the side of the epoxy that will be pressed into the rock. Wait 30 second for the superglue to skin, then go ahead and press it into the rockwork where you want it.

Et voila. You get a super fast bond that gives you more freedom in coral placement than just using the epoxy and you get to use less epoxy.

 

[Anonymous]

I know how to repair cracks in ABS plastic using cyanoacrylate and the catalyst that's used for acrylic nails. Usually the combination doesn't smoke, until you put it on ABS plastic.

 

[Anonymous]

Depends on the vulome of water. It didn't have any affect on my skimmer on my 300G. But on my 24G, my skimmer always goes nuts no matter how little epoxy I use. Doing a water change a few days after it cures make it stop.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys, helpful advice. Chuck - that sounds like a useful method - I might just try something like that.

 

[Anonymous]

Charlie forgot to mention sniffing the superglue just before submersing it. This helps significantly