Dos & Don'ts while using super-glue with mosses

[faizal]

Could someone acquaint me with the dos & don'ts while using superglue on mosses please? Do you just lay down a drop of glue, press the moss down & let it (the glue) to dry?

Will the leaves of the moss die if the superglue sort of accidentally spreads over its surface?

Any input is worth a lot. It's my planting day tomorrow in the evening. 😳

 

[Johno2090]

dont let the moss dry out or it will die, just a tiny amount smeared over a surface and then press the moss into it works fine for me.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
You don't want the wood absolutely wringing wet, I take both moss and wood out of the tank, blot the moss and just rub the spot where I'm going to put the moss (both blotting and rubbing with some kitchen paper) and then dab the glue onto the moss and "dried" spot. The super glue is cured by moisture, you can try this by gluing your fingers together wet and dry, it is much more entertaining trying to get them apart again when your fingers were wet.

I like to put a staple in as well, thus giving me the chance to both glue and staple my fingers together.

If you get too much glue on it doesn't seem to bother the moss too much, but you get a big white streak on the wood etc where the glue has run.

cheers Darrel

 

[collins]

Hi all I don't mean to hijack the thread but is gluing a better method of attaching moss compared to the riccia line method? Also which glue is best? Sorry in advance if this looks like a hijack, this is not intended

 

[viktorlantos]

Hi all I don't mean to hijack the thread but is gluing a better method of attaching moss compared to the riccia line method? Also which glue is best? Sorry in advance if this looks like a hijack, this is not intended

In some cases you just do not have chance to use riccia line. Luckily there's the glue then.

Only use the GEL form to attach mosses.

 

[Derek Tweedie]

Can I use glue to glue moss balls to wood? Or will it kill it?

 

[hotweldfire]

Well I've had a wealth of experience gained on this topic over the weekend. Probably got through a tube and a half of the stuff. When trying to tie to manzanita wood sometimes the riccia line is more hassle than it's worth.

Agree with Darrel in that moisture is key. If the wood is too wet you get superglue run resulting in horrible white smears. And the moss doesn't always take. I found that the best method is to apply the glue then take a bit of moss, touch it to the glue but don't try too hard with the tweezers. Drop 'em and dab the moss and surrounding wood (to deal with streaky runs) with some kitchen towel. This will bring the glue through the moss and bind it.

If you use clumps of moss that are too tiny then you risk getting the glue on your tweezers and pulling said moss off when you pull away. Too big then you won't get decent growth.

Also, keep your tweezers clean (wipe on the kitchen towel). If there's any bits of moss stuck to the tweezers then the bit you're trying to attach is likely to get stuck to that rather than the wood.

Apparently the best method is to do the lot underwater. Haven't tried that though.

 

[faizal]

Cheers guys!!! 😀

That was more than I was hoping for. 😀

..... Sorry in advance if this looks like a hijack, this is not intended

My dear Collins,...I don't see any hijacks at all 😀 .

In my most humble & absolutely unexperienced opinion,.....I think the super glue provides the utmost ease to the entire process of trying to grow mosses on wood or rock because I for one have very clumsy fingers,...just can't seem to get that knot tight enough . I think we should use the transluscent gel like variety just as Mr Lantos had advised there.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I found that the best method is to apply the glue then take a bit of moss, touch it to the glue but don't try too hard with the tweezers. Drop 'em and dab the moss and surrounding wood (to deal with streaky runs) with some kitchen towel. This will bring the glue through the moss and bind it.

If you use clumps of moss that are too tiny then you risk getting the glue on your tweezers and pulling said moss off when you pull away. Too big then you won't get decent growth.

Also, keep your tweezers clean (wipe on the kitchen towel). If there's any bits of moss stuck to the tweezers then the bit you're trying to attach is likely to get stuck to that rather than the wood.

That is really useful as a guide, I might give it another go.

Also which glue is best?

You need "cyanoacrylate super-glue", any will do, but the gel would be easier to work with than a liquid.

cheers Darrel

 

[collins]

thanks guys.....i have sone thin roots that i cant get moss to attach to using line so this has really helped, would ordinary loctite superglue do the job? just wondering about the chemical effect on the fish?

 

[hotweldfire]

The other thing is to use glue in a bottle with applicator buttons rather than a tube. E.g.

I used this stuff but I'm sure other brands do it too. This makes controlling how much you put on the wood so much easier.

Hi all,

I found that the best method is to apply the glue then take a bit of moss, touch it to the glue but don't try too hard with the tweezers. Drop 'em and dab the moss and surrounding wood (to deal with streaky runs) with some kitchen towel. This will bring the glue through the moss and bind it.

If you use clumps of moss that are too tiny then you risk getting the glue on your tweezers and pulling said moss off when you pull away. Too big then you won't get decent growth.

Also, keep your tweezers clean (wipe on the kitchen towel). If there's any bits of moss stuck to the tweezers then the bit you're trying to attach is likely to get stuck to that rather than the wood.

That is really useful as a guide, I might give it another go.

Only down side to this with finer mosses like fissidens is that it does coat them a bit in white marks because the kitchen towel draws the glue/water mixture through the moss. OK eventually I hope as the moss grows in.

 

[hotweldfire]

One more tip, that I learnt tonight through a painful lesson. Don't use the applicator type I just suggested underwater. If fills up with water.

Now I'll readily admit I wasn't entirely fully clothed doing this. Major tank rescapes being a wet and messy business after all and me wanting to avoid my jeans getting soaked. When I took the glue out of the tank and realised it had got water in it I gave it a good shake not thinking that the water might have mixed with the glue.

It had. Splatters all over my legs. I am a rather hirsute gent. So you can imagine the pain and grief involved in recovering from this disaster.

Thank god I was wearing my pants. Otherwise the consequences would have been too horrible to contemplate.

 

[flygja]

Sorry mate... couldn't help it. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Bobtastic]

Thank god I was wearing my pants. Otherwise the consequences would have been too horrible to contemplate.

O M G that made me laugh out loud! Sorry to hear of your pain, but thanks for sharing! All good advise Hot!

 

[collins]

Thank god I was wearing my pants. Otherwise the consequences would have been too horrible to contemplate.

Legendary!!!!

 

[cheebs]

ehehhee!

Sorry for laughing mate 😉 but thanks all the same

 

[chris521957]

I have superglue at work(freeby).It is cyanoacrylate adhesive by Homeline, medium viscosity. It is used at work for gluing plastics together. Does anyone know if this would be ok to use in the aquarium. There is no further info on the bottle or the packaging it comes in except for the usual warnings about sticking bits of your body to other bits of your body. Cheers, Chris.

 

[O'Neil]

If it is of the solvent weld variety, I don't think it will work.
I have no evidence to back up my theory nor am I glue expert....but I think these glues work by temporarily dissolving two plastic surfaces and then once the chemical reaction is over allowing them to fuse together.
Would be interesting to find out if it would work tho.