Earlier this year, Tunze unveiled a new coral adhesive that was far different than the other two-part epoxies that most aquarium keepers use to affix corals to their live rock structure. Instead of using actual epoxy, they borrowed technology from the dental industry. The Coral Flex is made of the same material that dentists use to make molds of their patients’ teeth, and it works great in aquariums. We got to spend a little time with this adhesive at MACNA earlier this year and we were surprised at how clean it mixed together and how flexible it stayed after drying. The Coral Flex doesn’t leave any residue from what we could tell, which also means not cloudiness in the aquarium, and in less than two minutes it is completely dry. Despite drying so fast though, it still remains somewhat flexible, which is great for the rock structure that might shift a little as the tank settles in or critters dig sand out from underneath the rocks.
The Tunze Coral Flex currently comes in a 4 oz bottle with a retail price around $20. This is obviously more than the traditional epoxies (about 2x more actually), but the price is mostly due to the fact that using dentist putty as a coral adhesive is patented and any company selling the product has to pay royalties. Despite the royalties, Tunze stands by this product and feels it is far superior to traditional epoxy, and for the most part we agree. It is medical grade and 100% toxin free, sets very quickly, and doesn’t make a mess.
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