Super glue tank safe?

[wuhungsix]

I bought some Manzanita and a couple pieces are were broken during shipping. Wondering if Super Glue is aquarium safe. Or does anyone have any recomendation to glue together wood. wood glue?

[kyle3]

no data

but my instinct says NO WAY

a little tube of silicone is cheep

cheers-K

[hokuryu]

I don't know - I've seen many people attest to super glue being tank safe (as long as we're talking true cyanoacrylate). I was considering this myself when thinking of ways to attach some driftwood to slate I intended to anchor in my new tank. The one issue I've seen is that the longevity - which I suppose many talk about using super glue gel to attach nana to rocks and driftwood, for instance, but I haven't seen a good deal on using it to permanently anchor driftwood or fix structural problems in the tank.

[Homer_Simpson]

Actually, when another poster on this forum mentioned using crazy glue to stick java ferns to driftwood. I thought the same thing.....NO WAY, and was ready to jump at his throat and scold him. But before doing that, I thought I would do some research. Googling the topic of using crazy glue in aquariums, I found numerous references to people using crazy glue in salt water tanks as well as freshwater tanks for ornaments, etc., without incident. I didn't come across a single reference referencing any crazy glue related fish deaths, although I guess that would be hard to prove since fish could die from so many causes. Either way, I am not convinced that it is toxic to fish. A month ago, I crazy glued some java ferns to river rock and placed them in 3 of my tanks, to date no fish have died of toxicity. And even in the tank where I have mostly Amano Shrimp(shrimp are generally the most sensitive to water toxins), the shrimp are still all alive and about, eating, appear healthy and are accounted for. They show no symptoms of crazy glue toxicity, at least not yet, but time will tell.

[metageologist]

unless it states non toxic i would not try it and even if i day say non toxic i wouldnt trust it. that stroncg odor you can smell from it is VOC's and what will be left are SVOC's that will leach into the water over time. both of these groups are so toxic in water that some areas have a groundwater limit of 0.5ppm

[BiscuitSlayer]

Some people use it to glue java fern and anubias to wood. Many people swear by it.

Personally, I would go the silicone route along with a zip tie or two.

[suebe333]

I did research and have found that alot of aquarist use the gel super glue and swear by it

[kyle3]

interesting that i can give off toxic fumes int eh air and not release the same chemicals in the water

but like i said in the first line of my post- no data

cheers-K

[kid creole]

Originally Posted by kyle3

no data

but my instinct says NO WAY

a little tube of silicone is cheep

cheers-K

I would have the same gut feel based on the smell and the outgassing, but I know that after it is cured there is no smell or taste.

Many reefers use it, and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

[kid creole]

From the wikipedia page:

The fumes from CA are a vaporized form of the cyanoacrylate monomer that irritate sensitive membranes in the eyes, nose and throat. They immediately are polymerized by the moisture in the membranes and become inert.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

[solution7]

Wow this is really interesting. I would have never thought of using sup[er glue. I just attatched a fern to some wood by using sewing thread to tie it on and what a pain in *ss that was..

I might try the glue next time

[brion0]

I used a tube an a half gluing ferns an anubias in my 55g. Tried using it under water but it works better if you take the wood or rocks out. Fish didn't appear to be affected buy it. Think its very common for reef tank people to use it in attaching corals.

[purgatori27]

Unless I am mistaken, silicone also smells VERY strong when in the tube, but is harmless after cured. I would figure super glue would be the same way. Having said that, I still wouldn't use super glue. As mentioned in the posts above, I'd probably choose a safer route of string/zip tie, silicone or even a low temp hot melt gun over super glue. I didn't even know you could use super glue on something as porous as wood. Never tried duck tape either though, so I wouldn't know. =}

[kyle3]

purgitori27 good point

lord knows thread is a pain-glad to know there's another option

cheers-K

[epicfish]

Super glue is safe.

Despite it's toxic smell, etc...it will film up (polymerization reaction) almost immediately when in contact with water. It was originally used to close open wounds in humans when suture material was not readily available.