hey gang ...
i see many posts where people make the suggestion to "tie" certain plants to driftwood or rock. have seen the suggestion or comment where someone has said that they've used glue to keep a plant on a rock or driftwood. and most recently saw someone suggest using a stainless steel screw to hold pieces of driftwood together.

my question is please can someone post a pic as to how these methods are implemented. what on earth kind of "GLUE" can we use to secure a plant to a piece of rock or driftwood? wouldn't these things harm the fish? is this only suggested for set-ups that aren't housing live fish?
as always thanks all for any feedback and clarification ...

Superglue for tacking plants to rocks and drift wood. No it doesn't hurt the fish, mine survived using it to glue some Christmas Tree moss to driftwood a couple of weeks ago. It does leave a white spot however that will end up covered over with new growth. A small dab and touch the plant roots (not all of them just enough to hold it in place) or the plant itself (in the case of mosses) let dry for a few seconds and submerge, that simple.

hi FatherLandDescendant ...
thanks for chiming in!
so wait a second, i mean do you really mean like real super glue? like gorilla glue? crazy glue? or is there a specific brand / type?

Super glue, the gel formula works best.

Stainless steel screws, or marine grade. I have marine grade hose clamps that do not rust.

If you want to tie plants in place, cotton thread will rot, which does not hurt anything. Polyester or nylon does not rot, and might cause problems for the fish if it comes loose.

im kinda just freakn out over the thought of putting super glue in the tank!! LOL!!!

I was too, but it works well.

okay ....
im a little more at ease then. thanks guys!!

By super glue, we mean in particular cyanoacrylate. Most, but not all superglue is cyanoacrylate. Ideally you want one without additional additives.

In a very simple sense, cyanoacrylate cures instantly into acrylic upon contact with moisture. It has actually been used for field surgery when stitches were not an option: http://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/superglue/

There are a few guys that have used egg crate to attach driftwood to. I drilled holes in locations on the wood where it wouldn't be obvious to put the zip ties through. I also used some stainless steel screws to attach some of the branches together.

I also have plants (java fern and anubias) glued to the wood. I used Lottie gel super glue. You can attach them with the driftwood submerged but it is easier if it's out of the water. I learned that on my tank. It's not supposed to harm plants or fish.

Super glue works great for attaching plants to wood or stones. It also works on cuts to seal them. LOL I do that all the time.

Concerns about things in the tank are often overblown by people who have not tried it. Like metal in the tank? Is a 2-3 inch screw rusting down going to change your water so much that the routine water change will not remove the pollution? Keep in mind that your water is likely to have been in metal pipes, pumps, water towers and house plumbing for a whole lot longer than it is going to be in your tank. One of the major points of changing water is to remove any pollution that builds up and a half dozen little screws are not adding much to the load.
That big old fire hydrant out front might be adding a lot more?
There's not a house in the whole country that doesn't have metal in their water supply so don't sweat the small stuff just because you can see it.

don't freak out the reef community has bean useing it for years to atach coral frags.

Yea, just go to the Dollar Store and buy super glue. I have used multiple types of super glue from there for my reef.

cyanoacrylate? Pfht. Kragle! I've attached air plants to driftwood, they are fine. Don't use multicolor, day glo zip ties. Totally shows up in every picture. I like the idea of drilling holes in the driftwood. My LFS guy said to cut Java Fern down to its rhizome and tie to driftwood with cotton sewing thread. That way the leaves will grow back straight and not point in all directions. You need a lot of patience though and it will look funky for a while. Good for nano tanks though. I use netting from a bath poof and zip ties to wrap moss on rocks. You tube is your friend. I use multi color zip ties for everything because I'm in IT. :p

I've been using rubber bands to secure aquarium stuff for years with no problems. And as for the metal in the aquarium, I have been lashing the same butter knife to my bubble curtains to hold them down for just as long and had no problems with the bit of rust that accumulates.