Quick Question About Fish Safe Glue

[piratedninja]

is the elmers school glue safe to put in a freshwater fish tank after it has dried?

im making a small cave for my platies and want to cover the ouside with sand but the only way to get the sand to stick to the plastic surface is by glueing it on
so would it be safe to use that glue?

here is a link to it
http/www.theconsumerlink.com/elmers/detail/TCL+E304/0

 

[Arimus]

One thought... it claims to be washable so might not exactly be a good idea inside a tank? So even if the glue is 'fish' safe it might not do its intended job for long....

 

[piratedninja]

ive tested this stuff in water and while it IS washable its pretty hard to get off a sanded plastic surface after its dried even after soaking it in hot water for a few hours
the thing with this type of glue is it works best when its really thick when wet that way theres more glue than water


the mild current in the water shouldnt effect it much

anyone know of the gluesticks will work? those are even harder to wash off

 

[geo7x]

when creating polystyrene background for instance, when people want to apply a sandy effect they stick it on with either aquarium silicone or there is another glue that is not meant for aquariums but is 100% silicone so essentially aquarium safe.

Here theyre sticking sand (well, similar anyway) onto polystyrene to make a rocky backdrop:

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...g.php?blogid=86

To get a nice surface I first covered the polystyrene with sealer (small areas at a time) using an old credit card and then pressed crushed Tufa rock, building sand and coral sand into to it.

The only thing about this is that i dont agree with using the building sand as it has all sorts of additives in it to make it good for building with.

I cannot tell you for sure whether that glue is aquarium safe, but im seriously questioning how durable it would be in the water. Yes, it may hold, but only short term, personally, if i was making what you are, i would do it properly first time to achieve a nice effect that will last.

 

[SkiFletch]

Regular elmers glue is probably fish safe. Little kids eat it all the time, so it can't be too toxic

However I would not use it since its water soluble. Longterm it will not hold up underwater.

Hot glue is for sure fish-safe. My rockwork in my saltwater tank is held together with it in places

 

[piratedninja]

just got a brilliant idea!!

i can apply a very thin coat of hotglue to the plastic surface
and then use a small blowtorch or lighter to heat the hot glue and then sprinkle some sand over it and pat it down with something to make it sink into the hotglue a little
and then reheat it and sprinkle more sand over it to give it more natural look


whatcha think?

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd be worried about burn marks with a blowtorch

 

[piratedninja]

its only to heat the glue up enough to make it sticky again so i can cover a larger area with sand much more quickly

the torch wouldnt be left in one area for more than 1/2 second, just a few quick passes over the glue to melt it a little bit

 

[KhaosInc]

For the most part, I have always used silicone. It holds things together quite nicley.