# What type of glue for stone background?



## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

Hi, I order some tile stones for my 55 gal background and I have no idea what type of glue to use. Here's a pic of the stones:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... y?langId=-

My tank is cycling so is half way full, so its got to be something that would work on water and safe.

Any input would be great.


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

gr8Fan said:


> Hi, I order some tile stones for my 55 gal background and I have no idea what type of glue to use. Here's a pic of the stones:
> http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... y?langId=-
> 
> My tank is cycling so is half way full, so its got to be something that would work on water and safe.
> ...


Great Stuff, Pond Foam, Gorilla glue, Silicone... These are all adhesives that may work. You may want to try each one for best results, I think that the gorilla glue will be the best bet.


----------



## dawgfish (Feb 6, 2009)

I have been in the tile/stone business for 10 years and am familiar with this product. Keep in mind that the product will probably be attached to a mesh backing that keeps the pieces together. This mesh backing will dissolve in water so you will need to spread whatever glue you use across each piece. If there is no backing, this will obviously not apply. Hope this helps.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

mightyevil said:


> gr8Fan said:
> 
> 
> > Hi, I order some tile stones for my 55 gal background and I have no idea what type of glue to use. Here's a pic of the stones:
> ...


I wouldn't use any of those except the silicone. The foams will definitely break lose at some point and so may the Gorilla glue not to mention that also expands and wont look so hot around the edges as well as popping the stone off of the glass.

Use some black GE I or black aquarium silicone.

But why is your tank half full while cycling?


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Oh no, sir! Gorilla glue will not let go if applied well. It can expand but not so much, which will give it a nice 3d effect instead of all those little pieces staying at the same depth. Is it going to be time consuming? yes, can you stop the glue from expanding? yes, to a certain extent. I actually think that the silicone would budge before the gorilla glue would. I also think that the fastest method would be silicone though.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

mightyevil said:


> Oh no, sir! Gorilla glue will not let go if applied well. It can expand but not so much, which will give it a nice 3d effect instead of all those little pieces staying at the same depth. Is it going to be time consuming? yes, can you stop the glue from expanding? yes, to a certain extent. I actually think that the silicone would budge before the gorilla glue would. I also think that the fastest method would be silicone though.


In all the cases that I have used GG in water it gave at some point or another. Silicone would not budge or we would be in for trouble right from the start considering not only do we ( most of us ) use it for our BG's but it also holds our tanks together to begin with.

It is also a ugly yellow when cured and I have yet to figure out a way to get it to a strong enough bond and yet stay on a low profile.


----------



## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

dawgfish said:


> I have been in the tile/stone business for 10 years and am familiar with this product. Keep in mind that the product will probably be attached to a mesh backing that keeps the pieces together. This mesh backing will dissolve in water so you will need to spread whatever glue you use across each piece. If there is no backing, this will obviously not apply. Hope this helps.


You are right it does have a mesh and I'll keep that on mind. Thanks


----------



## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

JWerner2 said:


> But why is your tank half full while cycling?


There's no need to have a full tank for you to cycle a tank. So far no problems.

I think silicon is good choice for the proyect but I think it would not cure in a wet tank.
When the tank is cycled I'll be taking water out and thats when I'll be installing the background.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

gr8Fan said:


> JWerner2 said:
> 
> 
> > But why is your tank half full while cycling?
> ...


I never heard of anyone doing that. What are you doing about a filter and it being able to prime a half full tank?

There is no reason why at this point not to drain and start the tank over and secure the BG the proper way.

What ever floats your boat. The only thing thats gunna be safe with water in the tank doing it the way you are is super glue which will not hold. Everything else is going to be toxic till cured.


----------



## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Silicone is not always effective with rock. Many types, esp. sedimentary rocks, peel away from any silicone. They start out with poor adhesion and get worse with time. However these are ceramic tile and should stick pretty well to silicone. An alternative is mortar. Pond foam is designed to stick to roack, plastic, and hard surfaces so should be anothe good choice. Gorilla glue becomes nontoxic and waterproof once it dries. It needs to be well clamped until it dries/cures, and that might be tricky with tile, unless you can put weight on it. Any bubbly Gorilla glue should be removed. It has no strength so it is just an excess to be cleaned up or covered over.


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Like Mcdaphnia said the silicone does not hold too well to some surfaces, I did not know that the rock was actually ceramic and that is why I said that gorilla glue was the better choice IMO, it sticks to more surfaces than silicone does.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

mightyevil said:


> Like Mcdaphnia said the silicone does not hold too well to some surfaces, I did not know that the rock was actually ceramic and that is why I said that gorilla glue was the better choice IMO, it sticks to more surfaces than silicone does.


I actually experienced the opposite. I tried gorilla glue to glue wood to glass, plastic to glass, stone to glass and it sucked. I never ever once had troubles with silicone in vivariums, terrariums or aquariums.


----------



## wheatbackdigger (May 11, 2008)

Gorilla glue is a poor choice. I tried it in a sump, plastic to glass, two weeks later it failed to stick to glass. Silicone would be a better choice


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

hmmm... will have to try it on glass, interesting to hear it doesn't stick to glass. I guess I take it back for now. I remember trying gorilla glue for many things in my aquarium back in the day including gravel and small rocks and always worked great, I don't recall using it on glass but it is now a project for me. We will see...


----------



## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

Silicone wont work if the tank has water in it. It needs a clean and dry surface to adhere to...or it will just come off.


----------



## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

I was thinking, maybe glue the tile stone to a Styrofoam and then glue it to the glass. I notice that Styrofoam stick to glass(on those 3D backgrounds) so what you guys think?


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

That would work and would be easier to remove in the future IMO. :thumb:


----------



## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

gr8Fan said:


> I was thinking, maybe glue the tile stone to a Styrofoam and then glue it to the glass. I notice that Styrofoam stick to glass(on those 3D backgrounds) so what you guys think?


 :thumb: =D>


----------



## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

Thanks you guys for the suggestions but I notice a big problem. The stone tile is too heavy(total of six tiles), it will put a great amount of stress on the aquarium. I did my calculations and is 75 pounds, so I return it. That's alot weight on the background my opinion, I dont want to play with fire :lol:

Plan B...????? no idea.


----------



## dawgfish (Feb 6, 2009)

You should have been okay. I glued 2 pieces of 16x24 slate as a background for my 75g without any issues. Good luck on finding and creating a background.


----------

