heavy metals in epoxy putty?

[sooju]

I bought some epoxy putty from the plumbing section of my LHS (a little joke - local hardware store - did any one else chuckle? come on, it's new year's eve!!!) to attach corals to the rock and I'm wondering if I need to worry about whether it's aquarium safe. There are no ingredients listed and I'm worried they may have used metals as fillers. What brand of epoxy putty do you use, and how do you know it's safe?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I only use the aquarium safe stuff, for the reason you note. I know many folks use stuff from the hardware store, so I know some of it is OK. But of all the brands out there, I have no clue as to what is OK and what isn't.

Oh... and yeah - I got the joke! Although it's getting harder and harder these days to find a truly "local" hardware store!

 

[ryshark]

I also use strictly the stuff that is designed for aquarium use. It is probably the same stuff you got and just relabled, but at least this way I don't have to worry about it.

 

[ccCapt]

What exactly did you use?
I use Plumbers Epoxy Putty from Ace Hardware, which is NSF approved for use with potable water. It makes my skimmer go nuts for a few hours, but never hurt anything in the tank.

 

[sooju]

It was also called "plumbers epoxy putty" from my local Ace Hardware and was rated for potable water, but I figured copper pipes are also rated for potable water so that doesn't say much.

 

[thincat]

Happy New Year!...Try it on your friends reef tank
Oops again..Happy New Year!