[Guest]

How many of you have the weldbond/coco background as a drip wall? I have just turned my pump on for the first time a few hours ago, and the glue mixture has gotten pretty soft. It is holding, and is not sticky at all....it is just sort of spongy if you know what I mean. Is this normal, and more importantly, will it hold up???

 

[Moe]

Weldbond doesnt hold up being submerged with water. It will soon rehydrate, turn white, and wither away. What i'd do is, cover the space your using as a dripwall with silicone, then mix the cocofiber.

Good luck,
M.N

 

[Guest]

totally depends on your mixture when you mixed it. if it had a large portion of coco bedding, it probably would get spongy. Also, how long did you let it cure? usually that stuff takes 48 hours to cure completely.

 

[Will]

This seems to standard for the weldbond/coco mix, when wet it becomes a little spongy. For the most part it should hold up, but its durability will depend on its thickness and structure. And as far how long it will last (years) it's hard to say. I've used this method in different situations and I'm still not sure how much I like it.

 

[RSines]

I let my weldbond/co-co mix dry for 2 entire weeks. I used it as a drip wall... within hours it was a mess.

I ripped it all out and am starting over. Weldbond is overrated and too expensive in my opinion.

I am going back to the silicone method.

-Richard

 

[Guest]

how thick did you make the structure with the weldbond? i found that if you put it more than 1/2" thick it will never dry. Did you use the mix over expanding foam? I have gotten it to work once, but i think it was an accident and i dont remember the mix i used =)

I like the silicone with bedding packed onto it method better. I have been "practicing" building tanks recently, finding out what method works best, and how water affects it all. one tip on the silicone, make sure that the bedding you pack in is bone dry and mix it with a little bit of silica sand. this seems to give it a better hold into the silicone. Also, use black silicone rather than the brown, that way it wont look like plastic.

 

[RSines]

Yes,
The bedding has to be 100% dry... like dusty dry for it to work. I never have added sand, but I think I may next time. Also... silicone dries fast so don't try and coat the entire tank and then start packing! Do like 8x8 inch parts.

I used a 1:1 weldbond:water ratio. The first attempt was so runny it ran down the contors of the tank, so the lower areas were rock hard and the peaks were junk. I did it again with 1:2 ratio and tried to make it more soupy. This held up for a little bit, but it can't deal with water.

I say incorporate a peice of wood or rock structure for a drip wall.

-Richard

 

[Guest]

how thick did you make the structure with the weldbond? i found that if you put it more than 1/2" thick it will never dry. Did you use the mix over expanding foam? I have gotten it to work once, but i think it was an accident and i dont remember the mix i used =)

I like the silicone with bedding packed onto it method better. I have been "practicing" building tanks recently, finding out what method works best, and how water affects it all. one tip on the silicone, make sure that the bedding you pack in is bone dry and mix it with a little bit of silica sand. this seems to give it a better hold into the silicone. Also, use black silicone rather than the brown, that way it wont look like plastic.

The mix is between .25" and .5", and has been drying for about a week with lights, and at times a space heater on it. I know the mix was dry. It is definitely spongy but it is holding up ok so far.

 

[kyle1745]

Ok here are a couple points on the weldbond:

1. If mixed very soupy it will dry very hard almost rock like, if not it will be spungy and soak up water.

2. It needs much more than 48 hours to dry, more like 7+ days!

3. I do not have water running on mine, but I do have a seciton that has been touching water for over 3 months and it has not rehydrated. I have also heard of people having water flowing over it for a year or more with no issues. So it is a matter of application and allowing it to dry. The stuff can be used a concrete bonding agent so I doubt it would work well if it did not stand up to water.

4. 1:2 ratio of weldbond to water is what i have used, and it is working well. After that is mixed mix in the eco earth until it just starts to get lumpy.

5. I have found that using disposable plastic gloves also helps a ton when applying the mixture.

I can tell in my one tank places where I did not have it soupy enough as it is more spongy, but it is not breaking away. Silicon is much more of mess. I still like cork the best for my tanks, but have also had good luck with weldbond/eco earth mix. Another thing to note is that if you use eco-earth, you need to expand it and then dry it out first, if not it can not soak up the water weldbond mix and will not dry right. I let my eco earth dry for about a week spread out on a garbage bag in my basement before I used it. It is good to soak it in the weldbond water mix to so that it is good and soaked into the eco earth.


Maybe I will run a test, I will create a small fake wall and then run water over it in a bucket to test, but I think if it is applied right it will last a good time.

How many of you have the weldbond/coco background as a drip wall? I have just turned my pump on for the first time a few hours ago, and the glue mixture has gotten pretty soft. It is holding, and is not sticky at all....it is just sort of spongy if you know what I mean. Is this normal, and more importantly, will it hold up???

 

[RSines]

Another thing to note is that if you use eco-earth, you need to expand it and then dry it out first, if not it can not soak up the water weldbond mix and will not dry right. I let my eco earth dry for about a week spread out on a garbage bag in my basement before I used it. It is good to soak it in the weldbond water mix to so that it is good and soaked into the eco earth.

Kyle, I wonder if this is where I went wrong? I may try this method again if I can get my hands on some more weldbond.

-Richard