Wessbond Aquapatch Wet Surface Epoxy Putty

[Achilles Tang]

I have been using the Wessbond Aquapatch Wet Surface Epoxy Putty for some time already and it feels, smells, looks and works exactly like the versions sold in LFS ie. green with a white centre.

The Wessbond Aquapatch epoxy come in a much smaller tube at 35g and if you shop around, you can prices ranging from $4.90 at commercial DIY shops and at 1 or 2 dollars lesser if you go to neighbourhood hardware shops.

Application is similar to the LFS version: cuts or break off estimated amt of epoxy, knead until the green and white portions before totally blended and white.

Apply white mixture to the surface of the frag or rock and it will harden within 15 to 20 mins.

Squeeze as much of the epoxy into the cracks of the rock so it will have a tight grip.

As frags can be rather heavy, it may be necessary to use a larger amt of epoxy to anchor the frag to the rock. Normally, to prevent the weight of the frag from deforming the epoxy, I will let the epoxy on the frag harden for a while before I attach it to the rock.

Attaching 'fresh' can be frustrating as the epoxy doesn't hold and grip and may even crumble.

So let it soak in a container of water to cure and once 80% hard, it can be applied to the rock and will retain its grip and shape.

A good suggestion, courtesy of TTBoy, would be to tie the frag with fishing line so that in the event that the epoxy wouldn't hold, the frag won't tumble behind rockwork and be lost.

As with such underwater epoxy, the icky feeling on the fingers and the smell is a major turn-off... hee hee... but so far, I have not seen any side-effects from using this epoxy.

Be careful when buying epoxy for use in a reef tank, some of them are for fixing metal and may contain metal compounds for strength so please check the labels so you won't get the wrong kind of epoxy.

Some aquarist may report their skimmers foaming a lot more after using epoxy but rest assured its a temporary thing.

I hate to think how skimmerless tanks may react!

[CKS]

..

u slapped me real hard with this review..

i paid S$20 for AquaMedic epoxy stick!

Anyway thanks for the review

At least now i know what to get next time..

[souphamster]

i can use this to connect all my LR right without super glue rite?

[Achilles Tang]

i can use this to connect all my LR right without super glue rite?

Superglue is recommended only for very light small SPS frags or soft corals and gorgonians.

It's impossible to glue LR with superglue!

[robe]

Hi At,

I have another epoxy that is much better and hardens very fast which reduces the period of trying to hold the coral while the putty hardens.

The brand is from Selleys " Knead It Polymer Repair system". IT hardens so fast that this afternoon I was kneading it for two minutes and then got my frag from the tank and paatted it dry for a minute and sheez the thing hardened already that I had to make a new batch.

I fastened the frag from LCk and it was big but the epoxy held on in less than two minutes after I fixed it which is normally not the case with ordinary uw epoxy that crumbles and exudes a milky substance.

[Achilles Tang]

Cool, Robe!

Have you used it before? So you know whether it affects LS?

How much is it? Can do a product review?

Thanks!

[piero]

If its very difficult for me to remove my LR, can this product be applied directly on my LR underwater??? will kill my other corals or not?

[robe]

The price for the Knead it is $4 per 50 gram tube. I bough it from the DIY shop. So far I fastened my LCK frag with it, as well as 3 others. No effect in my tank including my corals.

[Stenopus Hispidus]

Yeah, I used the same thing Robe uses and I don't see any apparent problems with my tank inhabitants too. I can only assume its OK but as a side note, I do have my Purigen, Cuprisorb, Matrix & Phosgard in my tank together with a running skimmer...if it means anything at all.

Previously, I was using the Salifert Coralstick (S$30.00) - Red outside, Green centre. Also noted the fact that Selley's cure faster and IMO...better.

Wow! so many smilies...

[Phang]

Yeah, I used the same thing Robe uses and I don't see any apparent problems with my tank inhabitants too. I can only assume its OK but as a side note, I do have my Purigen, Cuprisorb, Matrix & Phosgard in my tank together with a running skimmer...if it means anything at all.

Previously, I was using the Salifert Coralstick (S$30.00) - Red outside, Green centre. Also noted the fact that Selley's cure faster and IMO...better.

Wow! so many smilies...

Heh heh heh........

Welcome back.....

Do post pics of your reef again .......

Like the specimans in your reef very much.....

[pet]

Guys,

I've a 1/2 KG Wet Epoxy Putty that cure in 2 hrs @ $20. Taking 35g Wessbond @ $4.50, It will be 70% CHEAPER getting the 1/2 kg pack for new tank setup. You probably take 1/2kg of this bond to get 200kg of LIVEROCK ON A 4X2.5X2 FT tank without the egg crate support - referring to Berlin setup.

Anyone need the tip-off on the shop - PM me for info

PET

[Achilles Tang]

Pet,

I hope you are sure that this epoxy is reef-safe.... best if you can take a shot of it and the back cover... so the ingredients and application instructons are clear.

I used the wessbond because it is similar to the one-piece epoxy sold by LFS.

[pet]

Yah, safe for human thru water piping, if human can take it, I guess it should be reef safe?

Thanks,

Pet

[Morgan]

Yah, safe for human thru water piping, if human can take it, I guess it should be reef safe?

Thanks,

Pet

Hi pet

It will be a cheap epoxy alternative to use if it is completely reef safe.

Safe for human does not mean safe for reef.

Some questions

Have you tested it out yet?

"Cure time of 2 hours" is that fully cure time?

What is the pot life like?

[Achilles Tang]

2 hours to cure??

I missed that!

Err... what's pot time?

[Phang]

2 hours to cure??

I missed that!

Err... what's pot time?

How long it can stay in the pot without spoiling/curing????

[Achilles Tang]

What kind of potty?

[Morgan]

Err... what's pot time?

It is pot life.

That mean how long you can use the stuff after mixing before it harden.

[pet]

HI guys, haven;t got the time to read thru the manual. But on the outside, it stated 2 and max 3 hrs to be cure for use. Max strength is 24 hrs and after. So do not move the part or whatever you have paste with. Have not use it since waiting for my new tank to arrive. BTW the attached picture is the small tube. I got the half KG(500g) type. HDB use it to glue pipe leakages....I don't any Singaporean dead? It's the same with Wessbond in terms of application and BEST OF ALL...IT IS MADE IN SINGAPORE!

[Achilles Tang]

Pet, I have that. I used that to seal leaks in my pvc pipes.

Once hardened, it's like stone... extremely hard. And it's YELLOW in colour.

I do not recommend using it as marine epoxy! I think it needs to cure outside water. 2 hours is also very long for LR to be outside the water.... you could get a lot of die-off.

If you really want to attach LR together, I suggest that you drill tiny holes and insert black cableties to hold the LR together.

[Tanzy]

I use the same epoxy as pet. Doesn't cure well underwater. Epoxy cured underwater is not hard but porous and brittle. I know for sure that it doesn't leach any harmful stuff cause I do use quite a lot at one sitting to glue down all my frags.

[piero]

Any suggestions for epoxy that glues well under water?

[Stenopus Hispidus]

This is what I'm using. It looks and smells exactly like the Salifert's Coralstick except that the outer layer is whitish (see pic) and of course....its very much cheaper.

Interesting, it seems like we all use different brands here. Do feedback if there are any unusual observations occurring in the use of these epoxies. Perhaps this will put an end to another one repackaged product in the list of many other rip-offs tagged to the name of this industry.

Some relevant info mentioned in the leaflet: Contains epoxy & Amine resins, Working life 2-5 minutes, Strong bonding in 5-10 minutes.

Piero,

I have worked using 3 kinds of epoxies to date and IMO, none of them have convinced me that they glue well underwater. Its best to take the job out of the water (if you can) but that does not mean it won't work underwater. I only achieved best results underwater when I use "extra generously" but this can be quite unsightly. To sum up, epoxies can still glue underwater, but its harder (may require several attempts), more wasteful (gotta use a lot) and the bonding may not be as strong (some corals glued purely underwater seemed wobbly to me).

[Catfish]

Hi Stenopus,

Any particular DIY shop i can go to get ur kind of epoxy? Pls direct.

Many thanks!

[Catfish]

Pardon me, I was enquiring on the brand Selleys " Knead It Polymer Repair system"

Thank you.