Hot Glue?

[Guest]

I was just wondering, is using Hot Glue gun for something you want to put in an aquarium ok? Its basically just melting plastic, so i don't see why it wouldn't be ok, any input? I know you could buy the aquarium glue stuff or something, but the point is, im cheep, and i already have the hot glue gun.. lol.

 

[greenmaji]

Ive heard that super glue is ok.. I dont know about hot glue though.. it depends on the type of plastic as to if its going to leach chemicals or not..

 

[Devilishturtles]

Use Super Glue Gel. Much much better.

 

[Guest]

ok.. the point is here.. again,I want to use what i HAVE, i don't want suggestions for other stuff to use... i know there are a ton of things that might work better, but i am on a budget.. a really tight one right now, and i just want to know if the glue i have will work if i wanted to make my own decorations out of something. It's just a normal hot glue gun, with the generic hot glue sticks. Shouldn't be a problem since its just plastic right? Is it safe?

 

[PurpleSmurf]

Silicon will cost about the same as hot glue and you'll know 100% that what you're using is fish safe.

Walmart sells tubes of it for about $3, one will be enough to put together a tank. 1 1/2 may be necessary if you're pretty liberal with the stuff.

 

[greenmaji]

Super Glue Gel is $1.50 at the Dollar Store.. I can usually fit that into a tight budget..
Not to mention the many other uses it has!

 

[Guest]

again, the piont is.. I HAVE the hot glue.. i don't want to go buy something, im not even that interested in making something, i just thought, hey i have hot glue, i wonder if that would work? I wish people around here would just answer the questions asked instead of suggesting buying stuff all the time. I even mentioned in the question "I don't want suggestions to buy stuff" I know what i could BUY but i don't want to, i just want to know, will what i have work.

 

[greenmaji]

Do you have any way of finding out exactly what the hot glue is made of? If it is just melted plastic does the package say what kind of plastic it is?
Sorry.. I didnt mean to upset you, I thought that you needed to do something and I was just suggesting somthing that was known to be safe.. 8O

 

[Guest]

i didn't mean to snap.. sorry, it just gets frustrating, because i did put in the question that i didn't want to go out and buy anything, i was mostly just curious if it would be safe, if anyone had used it or anything.

I don't know, i guess i could look into whats in hot glue, but i threw away the box and i just have the hot glue sticks in my toolbox, so id have to look it up.

 

[greenmaji]

I dont know what the stuff is made of to be honest with you.. I would think from my experiance with the stuff that it wouldnt hold anything for very long.. the bond it makes doesnt seem to last very long.. Im not sure... :? :? :?

 

[Guest]

oh i LOVE hot glue, i use it for all sorts of stuff, what i like about it is that it holds fast, but you can peel it apart easily too, so it doesn't have to be permanent.

 

[fishyrican]

AshleyNicole, You could actually buy . . . never mind. I have used hot glue to doctor up a cucumber ring feeder for my tank. I have never had any problems (that I can tell) with it fouling up my tank or affecting the fish. However, that does not necessarily mean all hot glue is safe because different manufacturers may use different formulations for their glue.

It is not permanent, however, so I have to reattach the parts every now and then.

 

[Guest]

AshleyNicole, You could actually buy . . . never mind

LOL.. thanks, just wanted to see if anyone had used it, i know its not permanet, but would be a quick fix if needed, anyway, thanks for all the input everyone... eventually i will "invest" in some aquarium silicon stuff. I was actually thinking about makinga PVC cave like one i saw one guy had.. but i just got a HUGE piece of driftwood that has TONS of caves.. awesome.

 

[DeFeKt]

again, the piont is.. I HAVE the hot glue.. i don't want to go buy something,

it'll be fine..I found the hot glue doesn't hold much.

 

[Guest]

right i know, but i still like to use it for a temporary fix.

 

[greenmaji]

right i know, but i still like to use it for a temporary fix.

Sounds good to me!
And I really liked the look of your new drift wood you posted in the plant area!

 

[Guest]

thanks

 

[greenmaji]

Your very welcome!!

 

[krap101]

id think that it wouldnt hold under water... i have some feeling if i tried it it wouldnt work. lol everything i try looks pretty bad anyway :? i usually end up buying it

 

[PurpleSmurf]

Hot glue will not work for any in-water applications. It may be fish safe (I'm not sure and not looking to find out) but hot glue isn't that great for holding things together unless it's in mass quanitity. It's not flexible, becoming brittle below about 40-50 degrees, and does not bond very will with smooth surfaces nearly as well as silicon or super glue does.

Stop complaining about a few bucks if you're looking to build something and do it right. Cutting corners hardly ever works when you're trying to use inappropriate tools to achieve something.