# Glueing Driftwood?



## DBL TAP (Apr 27, 2008)

Good question... 

Would it be possible to drill a hole in both pieces and then connect the two with a small wood dowel?


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## Yassmeena (Jun 29, 2008)

DBL TAP said:


> Good question...
> 
> Would it be possible to drill a hole in both pieces and then connect the two with a small wood dowel?


Well, I am not sure about putting non-driftwood wood into the tank. Hmmm...

But I do have some other ideas for providing some sort of mechanical integration of the peices (i.e. cutting in wedge/slot fittings), but I don't think this alone will be enough.

For chemical assistance, I discovered something called aquarium epoxy. I know it is used for adhering stones and coral reef. Has anyone used it for driftwood-to-driftwood adhesion?


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## vance71975 (Jun 4, 2008)

Yassmeena said:


> I have a couple of pieces of driftwood that I'd like to attach to one another to form a tree like structure.
> 
> Can I glue them together using silicone, providing that I shape the contact points to make good contact by cutting with a saw?
> 
> If this is not the best method, what else can I do?


They sell a tank safe Epoxy that works great!

here is the link!


http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~action~view~idProduct~RW2111~idCategory~FIMTEP~category~Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies-Maintenance-Epoxy~vendor~.html


OR 
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idproduct~AS4711.html

Both would work well just remember to score the contact points for a good bond.


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## youareafever (Mar 18, 2008)

marine epoxy itself isnt really sticky at all so people often use superglue to help them adhere better to what they are sticking it too. i know in salt water tanks there are no issues when it comes to using epoxy putty and super glue as long as you use the right stuff. people do it all the time when fragging corals, they use either superglue, epoxy, or both when attaching corals to their frag plates.

home depot has some stuff called aquamend that is safe for saltwater aquariums. ived used it before with no problems but cant speak for its use when it comes to freshwater applications. as for superglue i really like this product called ic gel. <--i find it more forgiving then regular superglue underwater. but again i cant speak for it when it comes to freshwater use.


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## TLH (Apr 20, 2008)

Just silicon the pieces together. There is no real need to shape the pieces first, unless there isn't much contact, just glue them. You may need to hold them together with something while it goes off and hardens though.


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## Yassmeena (Jun 29, 2008)

TLH said:


> Just silicon the pieces together. There is no real need to shape the pieces first, unless there isn't much contact, just glue them. You may need to hold them together with something while it goes off and hardens though.


Silicone will hold up? the glue will be suppoting peices that will otherwise fall off, i.e. I am gluing little branches to a central "trunk" so they look like branches protruding from a tree.


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## TLH (Apr 20, 2008)

Yes it should do so long as there is good solid wood and the surfaces are clean and free from grease and dust etc.. If you are trying to glue something with a small footprint you may be better off with the epoxy as it is stronger by far but if you have a good surface contact point silicon works well.

Can you post a pic of what you are intending to do?


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

To get a really good bond, you can use stainless steel dowels. That would add a lot of stability to the connection.

I didn't try to make branches, but I did connect several pieces of driftwood together at the bottom to make it into a single piece, so to speak. I used ss screws to hold them onto a piece of slate.

I'm honestly not so sure super glue or silicone would work very well since you're trying to glue two porous surfaces. If you're going to use a glue, definitely use an epoxy. Most epoxies are safe after they've dried. Even hot glue is safe after cooling off.

The last time I needed to use an epoxy in my tank, JB Weld was highly recommended by others here. And I will agree that it is fabulous stuff. If any glue can do it for you, that would be the glue to get. I found mine at Lowes.


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## Yassmeena (Jun 29, 2008)

I will attempt to post a descriptive picture later tonight. It may be difficult to get the peices to stay in the desired orientation, but I'll do my best. 

As for the stainless steel dowels, certainly sounds like a secure connection. I suppose installing them would entail the following:

1 - drill holes slightly smaller than dowel diameter (but how much smaller?)
2 - force dowel into hole on one piece of DW
3 - force other end of dowel into hole on other piece of DW

Perhaps I can use some epoxy in addition around the dowel to prevent any torsional (rotational) movement. 

Does this sound about right?

Also, does stainless steel have any effect on the water chemistry?


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Stainless steel has no effect on water chemistry. As far as drilling the holes, I'd drill them slightly larger and then insert the dowels with lots of epoxy inside. The nice thing about the epoxy is that it can be wiped away with water while it's still wet, but it's hard as steel once dry.


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## prototyp3 (Dec 5, 2007)

I would NOT use aquarium sealant if the pieces of driftwood are large and buoyant. Silicone is more sealant than it is adhesive. You're better off using stainless steel screws to anchor down large floating pieces.


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