Fraggin corals

68shelby · #1 05-30-2010, 05:13 PM

How do you guys get the corals to stay attached to rocks when you frag them, I have zero luck, My monti just broke off and Im ready to let him die because I cant get him to stick to anything. He is awesome too about 10-12 inches across . Now all his edges are chipping up cause he keeps falling over. HELP!!!

whatcaneyedo · #2 05-30-2010, 05:23 PM

Epoxy works for me. Secure the coral so that the growing edge will encrust onto an adjacent rock surface. With plating Montipora its generally easier to attach them to a slight incline so that as they grow out they will encrust over the rock face. If you put them on a flat surface they tend to plate outwards and may not grow over the rock that they are sitting on.

Securing Propagated Corals by Anthony Calfo
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-1...ture/index.php

68shelby · #3 05-30-2010, 05:29 PM

how do I get him to stick to the epoxy with all the mucus coming off of him? and how long do I have to hold him secure till it sticks? And do I do this with him outside of the tank or in the water?

whatcaneyedo · #4 05-30-2010, 05:58 PM

Epoxy sold for this industry isnt sticky. I generally make a small ledge out of it to support the coral and hold it firm for a few weeks until it begins to encrust. Some brands harden within 20 minutes while others take over an hour so you'll want to do this under water. Its much easier to do it smaller pieces that weigh less. I would personally just find or create a relatively flat surface in your tank to just sit yours on if you want to use the whole thing. If you have a specific spot you really want it to grow on you may need to break a smaller piece off in order to epoxy it there.

Another idea would be to use some super glue gel to attach an acrylic rod to the bottom. Super glue sets in a few short minutes and should only be used out of water.
You could then drill a hole in your rock where you want to the coral to go and peg it into place. Depending on the surface you are dealing with you could even drill a hole through the coral and run the rod through it and maybe not bother with the glue.

I've also used rubber bands and fishing line to attach them and they all work well for attaching small pieces.

Albertan22 · #5 05-31-2010, 12:56 AM

What I do is use a combination of superglue gel and epoxy. Outside of the water, I make my ball of epoxy, then place a gob of superglue gel on it and stick the coral to it. I then place another gob of gel on the underside of the epoxy ball and press it into the rock (in the water) where I want the coral to go. The superglue holds the coral in place on the epoxy, and keeps the epoxy held to the rock until the epoxy hardens. You have to be generous with the superglue you're using on the rock/epoxy step because it skins over as soon as you put it into the water, so you want a good gob so there's still unhardened gel when you press it into the rock.

I've used this method with great sucess. Some of my more sensitive corals close up for a day after doing this in my tank, but if I run some carbon, they're always happy again within 24 hours.

lastlight · #6 05-31-2010, 01:08 AM

So are you using just a tiny ball of epoxy for some interface with the gel or is the epoxy ball large enough that it wraps around the base of the frag? Do you have a pic of one freshly mounted?

o.c.d. · #7 05-31-2010, 02:42 AM

sewing them like a button works as well. Two very small holes in the frag about 1/2inch apart then two more in what ever you are mounting too. then sew them together with spider wire (very small transparent fishing line). Many times I'll use a combination of gluing small rubble in between monti and mounting disk to tighten up the sewing.

68shelby · #8 05-31-2010, 03:24 AM

Thank you all, I got my monti. remounted (took two tries) but he is doing well only chipped off along one edge. managed to find a rock I could wedge his previous base into. Wrapped the base in aquascape epoxy and held him in place for a few minutes, then put him back in the tank, Turned off my powerheads so as to not blow him around unneccesarily. He is doing well now.

Albertan22 · #9 06-01-2010, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lastlight

So are you using just a tiny ball of epoxy for some interface with the gel or is the epoxy ball large enough that it wraps around the base of the frag? Do you have a pic of one freshly mounted?

I've done both depending on where I'm mounting the frag on the rock. If it's a flatter surface, a small ball is all that is usually necessary, but for some of those tricky nooks sometimes you need a bit of a bigger ball. The main purpose of the epoxy when using the method I described above is to create an interface between the flat frag plug and the not so flat liverock. Here's an old photo I found of a fresh mount:

Lance · #10 06-01-2010, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albertan22

What I do is use a combination of superglue gel and epoxy. Outside of the water, I make my ball of epoxy, then place a gob of superglue gel on it and stick the coral to it. I then place another gob of gel on the underside of the epoxy ball and press it into the rock (in the water) where I want the coral to go. The superglue holds the coral in place on the epoxy, and keeps the epoxy held to the rock until the epoxy hardens. You have to be generous with the superglue you're using on the rock/epoxy step because it skins over as soon as you put it into the water, so you want a good gob so there's still unhardened gel when you press it into the rock.

I've used this method with great sucess. Some of my more sensitive corals close up for a day after doing this in my tank, but if I run some carbon, they're always happy again within 24 hours.

This is exactly what I do and it works great. In fact I think I may have got the idea from you in a post quite a while back. I've recently been using the Coralstick epoxy from O.C. It's the best I've seen yet.