Equipment Review and Discussion :: Turtle dock ?

[daredevilgirl013]

Ok so I got my new medium sized dock today and it doesn't seem constructed like my other one. The plastic foam can be seen and if I scratch it good enough it'll flake. I'm worried the turtle might eat it. Is it supposed to be like this? If it isn't can I put super glue around the edges to seal it all in?

[missibsu]

I don't know the answer to your questions, but I swear this must be the reason that some people have problems with these docks and others don't. I have never had a problem with mine, but I've heard other complain. I'd send it back personally. I know you don't want ot wait, but that's just me.

[steve]

You should be able to exchange it. I think Jen had a store replace one before, and I received one that was a bit shoddy (returned for a full refund + shipping).

[daredevilgirl013]

I ordered it from Big Als but if super glue can seal the areas that aren't then I'll just do that cause I really need the dock for my turtle to bask on because his other one is too small.

[marisa]

If you can't/don't want to return it, and want to try to seal it, use aquarium silicone rather than super glue.

[daredevilgirl013]

Where can I get that stuff at and how much does it cost?

If super glue is bad let me know because the turtle pulled on his plants apart out of it's holder and so I super glued the holder back to the plant. (it's not in the tank yet)

[sonyj]

Here's what I found on the toxicity of super glue:

Studies have shown that methyl-2-cyanoacrylate (SuperGlue and CrazyGlue) degrade fairly rapidly upon contact with living tissue. This leads to the release of formaldehyde and a toxic response.

Sounds like you don't want to use it just in case.

Try "hot" glue if you don't have aquarium silicone. I've researched that one in the past and it has virtually no toxicity.

[marisa]

You can get aquarium silicone at any petstore that sells fish/aquarims. Walmart sells it as well.

I'm not sure I understand the info on glues above---unless the brand SuperGlue is toxic but generic stuff (also called super glue?) is not?

[daredevilgirl013]

Yeah I'm confused on the super glue as well. The piece that I've superglued on the plant won't come into contact with tissue it was just putting piece a into piece b to get it to fit again. And if Wal mart sells it I'll go to Walmart tomorrow and get it cause it looks like as of right now if I put this dock in he's gonna need a bigger tank (which I have a 45 gallon one) because he's going to lose a lot of swimming room so I may be needing to run to Wal mart to get another filter and a bigger heater anyways. Plus I need to build a screen with hardware cloth as well tomorrow to get this all ready. I just know I didn't want to wait four more days to get another dock.

[sonyj]

Sorry guys... another case of doing to many things at once!

I meant "hot glue" instead of super glue at the end. It would work with the plants but I doubt hot glue would help the dock, more than likely melt it. Aquarium silicone is probably the best bet.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Ok so I got my new medium sized dock today and it doesn't seem constructed like my other one. The plastic foam can be seen and if I scratch it good enough it'll flake. I'm worried the turtle might eat it. Is it supposed to be like this? If it isn't can I put super glue around the edges to seal it all in?

I wouldn't use super glue to seal it. My turtle would have already eaten half that dock, super glue or not. I personally would not want to use super glue inside my turtle tank. It is epoxy glue, which has tons of nasty chemicals in it.

Best to just get one like the other dock you have, especially if it worked out well.

[fishandcandy]

I've used hot glue in my tank and it doesn't really hold all that well.
The aquarium silicone is about $5 at Walmart.

[jenaero]

Those things are so darned expensive (I pay extra shipping because i'm in Canada) that there was no way I was gonna try and fix it myself. I called and told them that they sent me a p.o.s. and they were happy to replace it. Call and insist they send you another. I offered to send the other back to them as proof but they said it wasnt necessary.

[steve]

Hey Jen, where did you order yours from? It's always nice to get responsive customer service...