Super glue gel to glue plants to driftwood?

Hi,
Can i use any super glue gel to glue plants to driftwood, or does it have to be a special one ?

thanks

 

The super glue gel is whats recommended, however, in my experience, its tough to use. It sets up quickly. If you have any visible, its super white and weird looking underwater, and if you change your mind, you'll have an ugly white patch on your wood to scrape off.

But i do use it, just carefully. I make sure to use only enough to hold it, so its hidden. And I also use a tooth pick to hold it in place while drying so i don't get glue on my fingers

 

I use clear hair tie rubber bands from the dollar store. They turn white under water in a few days, but you can clip them off when the plant is attached good.

 

As long as the only ingredient is cyanoacrylate, you're good with any brand. I will reiterate what has been said about it turning white, so be careful with how much and where you use it .

 

You could always try sewing thread or something similar. over time it dissolves and by then your plant should have enough roots to keep itself attached. I personally like this way because if you ever wanna move it or something it'll be easy to do.

 

Tie it down with mono-filament fishing line and then cut it out when it attaches. It's designed to be invisible underwater.

 

Tie it down with mono-filament fishing line and then cut it out when it attaches. It's designed to be invisible underwater.

Mono is visable. Fluorocarbon is the invisible stuff.

 

I've tried all of these. I prefer the Super Glue gel myself. I find it's much easier to do than to try to tie thread or fishing line, which is tiny, with my fingers and eyes that don't work as well as they used to.

After getting the gel all over my fingers the first time that I used it, I use Q-Tips now and they work really well.

 

I prefer super glue gel for attaching plants. It’s not hard and yes it will turn white. The gel is way easier to work with than the regular stuff. Moss on the other hand I’m all for string because the super glue will show through.

For more precise gluing, I use either a sewing needle or toothpick to move the glue or place a tiny blob. All you really need is a tiny blob on the plant and wood. Just enough to hold it in place until it anchors. I can take the tooth pick/ needle and scrap away excess. The white does eventually fade over a few months to become much less noticeable.

 

Thank you!!! Last night after cooking the wood I put it in the emergency tank and added tetra safe start so some good bacteria would grow on it (although no amonnia?) i is ied the plant with cooking cotton string. Can I use super glue although the wood is wet? Or does it have to be dry? Image attached

 

If you don't mind looking at it just leave the cooking string until it attaches. I think the wood have to be dry to glue it.

 

If you don't mind looking at it just leave the cooking string until it attaches. I think the wood have to be dry to glue it.

ok, ,thanks. do you know how long it takes for the plant to attach itself?

 

Thank you!!! Last night after cooking the wood I put it in the emergency tank and added tetra safe start so some good bacteria would grow on it (although no amonnia?) i is ied the plant with cooking cotton string. Can I use super glue although the wood is wet? Or does it have to be dry? Image attached

Liquid/moisture works as a catalyst on cyanoacrylate. A lot of hobbyists will spray/mist water on it so it will cure quicker. The wood can be moist/damp, but not dripping wet.

 

Liquid/moisture works as a catalyst on cyanoacrylate. A lot of hobbyists will spray/mist water on it so it will cure quicker. The wood can be moist/damp, but not dripping wet.

ok, great! thanks!

 

ok, ,thanks. do you know how long it takes for the plant to attach itself?

Not super sure.......... but probably a few weeks to a month.

 

You can glue to damp wood. I’ve done it. If you take it out of the water and blot the surface dry with paper towel it will dry it enough to use glue without curing it.

ok, ,thanks. do you know how long it takes for the plant to attach itself?

It depends on the type of plant and lighting. Faster growing plants under good light will attach faster.

Moss usually attaches by two weeks for me. Anubias takes about a month or more. Java fern about a month.

 

Thank you!

 

Mono is visable. Fluorocarbon is the invisible stuff.

Mono is plenty invisible enough, particularly at super light weights, and about a third of the cost.

 

A tip from Canadian Karen A. Randall on using super glue that was passed on in person at a lecture and we were told to share.

This is so obvious it might blow your mind?

When using super glue and plants throw a pinch of dirt in the wet super glue as you work and you lose the white colour .

 

flyfisha, great tip, wish I had seen it like 8 months ago, lol.

Personally I use flurish glue. It is basically super glue, really inexpensive, and is made for aquariums. And I've been more than happy with it except with the more open type plants like java moss.

My plants for my now cycling new shrimp tank should be here tomorrow and I am going to use your suggestion with the java moss. Granted the already going shrimp tanks java moss has overgrown the white areas from the glue, I still like the idea of starting things off looking clean right off the bat.

 

Hi ladies
I am on my way to LFS. What fertilizer do you recommend? Image of the plants I have is attached. Thanks

 

Hi ladies
I am on my way to LFS. What fertilizer do you recommend? Image of the plants I have is attached. Thanks

LADIES
Ladies
ladies

What about this big lovable, huggable teddy bear?

I'm so offended

But I can't help you. I only have Java Fern and Anubias, and use Flourish Comprehensive, but have been told Thrive-C is better...

 

O, my, big lovable huggable teddy bear (fits my description these days, lol) my apologies, ladies and gentlemen (And all others) thank you all for your advice. I ended up buying glue for aquariums for cad 3.99 and it worked beautifully. I did make a mess and there are some white spots, but for now, I don’t mind. My fish love new “furniture “ in their house.

 

This thread reminds me, I once glued some new plants to driftwood using Flourish glue and I had a very inquisitive Festivum who came along straight away and pecked at this enticing white stuff and got his lips stuck together. I thought he might die but 24 hrs later he finally got his mouth open properly. Thereafter he was known by everyone in the household as 'Stickylips'.

 

Ferns and anubias are not heavy feeders and slow growers. Since you do not have a lot (at least pictured), adding a fert may cause algae issues. If you attach them to drift wood, they will wrap their roots around the wood and draw from it. With that being said, they won't get much. Same if they are attached to rocks. They'll get the most by absorbing though the water column.

Try a liquid fert. like Seachem Flourish, or you could go more comprehensive with Nilocg Thrive C if you can get it up there. I would go with Flourish since anubias and java fern do not need much, but if you ever decide to dabble more with plants, a more comprehensive fert like Thrive C will be the way to go.

On a side note if you still have any ferns or anubias in the gravel, make sure you didn't bury the rhizome. That is the green part the leaves are attached directly to. From your pictures it looks like it could be covered, but I cannot actually tell. Covering the rhizome on these plants will kill them. Just pull them up out of the gravel so the rhizome is exposed to light.

 

Thanks. At the LFS today they told me the same, to make sure rhizome is not covered. I added a new driftwood with freshly glued plant this afternoon and will uncover the rhizomes tomorrow when I do water change. I had no idea how it works. Thank you again.

 

I thought it might be fun to share how using super glue project worked out. You can see it is done by amateur but it worked!

 

Doesn't look amateurish at all, looks great.

 

Agree! good job!

 

Doesn't look amateurish at all, looks great.

Thank you ☺️

 

yeah, don't know what you mean by amateur. Looks just fine to me!