- Get ready because not only is it extremely satisfying
to watch these things shatter in slow motion,
(explosive shatter)
we also get to learn a little something about
adhesives, bond strength, and getting the right
aquascaping adhesive tool the first time.
(energetic music)
Just how strong is your aquascape bond
after 24 hours of curing?
Does it matter whether the rocks are wet versus dry?
When should you use epoxy over mortar or over superglue?
Well, that's what this BRStv Investigates is all about.
Today we have a three part experiment to put these seven
different aquascaping adhesive combinations to the test.
Jurassic Gel with and without Insta-Set,
BRS Extra Thick Super Glue with and without Insta-Set,
Marco Rocks Aquascaping Mortar,
Two Little Fishies AquaStik Epoxy,
and our own sticky hybrid combo of BRS Superglue,
Insta-Set and Marco Mortar sandwiched together.
The first two experiments are simple.
Cut off some branches of real reef rock,
secure the smooth sides back together,
and see if the bonding agent is strong enough
to hold them together through several stress tests.
The catch here is that the first set of branch rocks
will be cut dry, glued back together and cured for 24 hours.
However, the second set will be soaked in salt water
for 72 hours, then cut, glued, cured in air for 20 minutes,
then dropped back under water to continue curing
for another 24 hours.
What we're looking for in the first two tests
is to ID which bonds hold the strongest
when there's less surface area for the adhesives to bond to,
basically taking away the adhesive's ability
to gain strength from mechanical interlocking adhesion.
On top of that, we're adding in the variable of salt water
to see what impact, if any,
it will have on that same smooth surface bond.
The third experiment today is the really fun part
where we build seven similar arching aquascapes
using dry rock, bond them together with each adhesive combo,
let them cure overnight, and then we try our best
to break them into tiny piles of rock rubble
and see which one holds on the strongest.
So let's dive right into the first test results
with the dry branch experiments.
Starting with the Jurassic Gel Superglue,
which has a long history of being one of the top
super glue choices specifically for aquascaping.
First, we wanted to see if the bond
could support the weight of the branch base.
So we held the structure off the table for a few seconds
and to no surprise, the Jurassic Gel held firmly.
Next, we upped the stress test level
and gave the bond a vigorous handshake
where the Jurassic Superglue bond
wound up breaking pretty easily.
Upon closer inspection you can actually see
where the glue itself failed as it indicated
by that jagged cracked glue left over
on both sides of the branch.
But what if we spritz a little Insta-Set glue accelerator
on both smooth surfaces before adding the Jurassic Gel?
Will it cure the bond faster, make it more brittle?
Let's find out.
In the weight support test,
the Jurassic Gel and Insta-Set combo held up just fine.
However, just like the gel without Insta-Set,
it failed pretty easily at the handshake test.
Next up we have the BRS Extra Thick Gel
both with and without Insta-Set
and I'll save you the suspense here.
There wasn't much difference
between the Jurassic Gel results.
However, take a closer look at the BRS Gel only branch.
There's actually a sizeable chunk of rock
that seemed to fail along with the glue,
which would lead me to believe that it may have had
a stronger bond, which could be due
to the possible difference in cyanoacrylate forms
or that it might have different toughening agents added in.
But we'll discuss that a little bit deeper in just a bit.
Next step in the dry rock test
is Two Little Fishies Epoxy where
after following the mixing instructions and a 24 hour cure,
it breezed through the weight test
and the handshake test and was actually surprisingly tough
to break apart in the next level of stress testing,
where I used brute force to break apart the bond.
With as much force as it took to break that epoxy bond,
I was actually surprised that we didn't see the epoxy
holding onto a chunk of rock like the BRS Gel did.
On the other hand, the Marco Mortar also passed
the weight and handshake test and
took slightly less effort than the epoxy
to break apart with brute force.
However, the aftermath shows mortar material residue
left on both rock surfaces.
So in this test with dry rock cut in half,
I'd have to give the strongest bond award to the Epoxy,
but we're not done yet.
Let's see how each of these same bonds perform
when a rock has been soaked, cut, bonded,
and set to cure underwater for 24 hours.
Similar to the first test, the Jurassic Gel on its own
didn't make it past the handshake test.
However, the Jurassic Gel and Insta-Set
this time failed before we even got it out of the water.
These were interesting results compared to
the wet rock testing of the BRS Gel and Insta-Set.
Not only did both BRS Gel options pass the weight test,
they also pass the handshake test,
but they finally failed after some heavy convincing
with brute force.
So initially it would seem that the water
actually assisted the BRS Gel bond strength
while at the same time
rendering the Jurassic gel somewhat weaker.
But why could that be?
Maybe they're different forms of cyanoacrylate,
like either methyl-2-cyanoacrylate or ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate.
Or do they have different types of ratios
of toughening agents like rubber and hydride?
Unfortunately, it's difficult to answer those questions
since there isn't much information shared
for either glue type.
However, the two certainly show different properties
specifically when dry.
The Jurassic Gel looks to cure crystal clear
while the BRS Gel seems to cure more opaque or cloudy.
Now under the epoxy and mortar wet branch test,
the results were completely opposite of the dry branch test.
The epoxy fell apart as soon as it went back
into the water for the 24 hour cure.
And although the mortar
still had some residue on the branch,
the majority of it disintegrated
into a pile at the bottom of the bucket.
After these results,
I'd say that for gluing wet rocks back together
and curing them under water, BRS Superglue Gel
takes home the trophy on this one.
I can't say for sure,
exactly why just yet without testing further,
but my guess would be that it has something to do with the
reactive curing process of cyanoacrylate,
which is activated by moisture,
but we'll have to keep testing to learn more.
So now we get to the fun part
where we get to smash these aquascapes
in our third adhesive strength test.
Will epoxy remain number one as the dry bonding agent?
Will gobs of superglue cure completely through
in just 24 hours?
Will the hybrid combo of glue, Insta-Set and Marco Mortar
dominate as the aquascaping adhesive champion?
You be the judge.
After building seven of these archways
and letting each adhesive cure for 24 hours,
we roll out this experiment in four phases.
Phase one, we'll pick up the aquascape
from two points of contact near the base.
Phase two, we'll pick it up by this single rock archway,
phase three, we'll drop the whole thing
from a foot above the table and phase four,
if any of them make it that far,
we'll drop the entire aquascape from five feet
down to the ground.
Again, we start with the Jurassic Gel superglue on its own.
And before I even pick up the aquascape for phase one,
I already notice areas where thick globs of glue
are still tacky and not fully cured.
And as I lift it from two points of contact,
some of the joints feel flimsy and pliable,
but surprisingly it actually holds together,
but those weak bonds don't last long however,
because on phase two single point pickup,
the whole thing falls apart with a resounding fail.
Basically the exact same story plays out on both aquascapes
using Jurassic Gel and Insta-Set,
as well as BRS Extra Thick Glue and Insta-Set.
Joints not fully cured, flimsy in test one,
and a complete failure in test phase two.
The real surprise here was the BRS Extra Thick Glue
on its own.
It also had a couple of tacky joints and uncured joints
and felt slightly flimsy in test phase one,
but it actually held up all the way to the one foot drop
test where finally it crashed and burned.
Honestly, I'd bet if we gave these another 24 hours to cure,
we probably would have seen a completely different story.
Let's quickly take a closer look
at the joints of each of these superglue combos.
Not only were there spots left tacky and uncured,
what looks to be happening with the Insta-Set
is that a chemically hardens
the outside of the superglue mass
leaving the inside still tacky and uncured,
seemingly slowing the overall cure time.
Perhaps it's blocking moisture
from getting into the core of the joint
or something completely different altogether.
Up next is Marco Mortar and immediately it's apparent
that this bond is fully dried and feels far stronger
than the superglue options.
That said it breezed through test one and test two
without any sign of failing bonds,
but when I drop it from a foot,
although it looks to be in once nice single piece,
when I pick it up from the table,
we actually see that the bond was broken.
Upon closer inspection, it actually looks like
the rock itself and the surrounding mortar failed
rather than just the mortar bond,
which leads me to believe that the cement like bond
was so strong, the shockwave from the fall
traveled through the structure and found the weakest point,
being a small one inch bit of rock
held together by some mortar.
Before I get to the surprise top performer today,
I'm gonna jump ahead here and share that our dream
of a superglue adhesive Insta-Set mortar hybrid
also failed in a similar fashion to the mortar only tests,
and actually slightly worse.
The joint shared multiple failure characteristics
of both superglue and mortar,
some joints weren't fully cured
and others looked like the rock sheared away.
Okay, so I have to be honest here and say up front
that between Ryan, Brent, myself,
the epoxy was our least favored to make it through
the aquascape demolition test.
Maybe our predictions were skewed
by our own negative experiences,
trying to use epoxy on wet rocks
and then watching them fail to cure fully underwater.
However, neither of us actually used it on dry rock
with a 24 hour dry cure.
With that in mind, the epoxy stunned each of us
through tests one, two, and even three,
where it was the only structure
to pass the one foot drop test unscathed.
And even after a five foot drop,
I was astonished to see some joints still intact.
My guess as to why the epoxy took the gold
in this third test, comes down to flexibility.
Although we probably wouldn't be able to tell
with a hundred percent certainty that the epoxy
has slightly more give than the mortar
without an expensive high-speed camera,
it certainly seems that even a small amount of flex
in the adhesive material helped to absorb those shockwaves
of falling just enough to keep the bonded joints together.
So have I been wrong to not recommend epoxy to reefers
all these years?
Are there benefits to each one of these
that make them unique in their own way?
Well, I will absolutely stand here
and eat a little crow today and say that epoxy
is definitely a great choice for creating extremely durable
dry aquascaping bonds with a couple of caveats.
Epoxy wouldn't be my first or second choice
if working with wet or damp rock.
And because the final epoxy texture
tends to look a little unnatural in the tank,
If I were attempting to create completely hidden joints
like Ryan did in this
120 gallon NSA aquascape tutorial video,
mortar with a little superglue and some sand grains
can transform hundreds of tiny little rock rubble bits
into one stunning, seamless aquascape
you're sure to be proud of.
So check out how it's done right over here.