Need some advise/suggestions.

[gman0526]

I'm having a hard time getting my scroll coral to glue to the LR in my nano.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/Gman0526/S3010114.jpg

In this picture it was attached with a big dab of reef epoxy, but when I introduced a new piece in the vicinity I touched the scroll and it came right off. Now it won't keep glued wherever I put it on.

Also, I tried the super glue gel method with a mushroom frag and by the time I get the frag in the tank the glue is already halfway dry and won't stick. :evil:

I got a montiopora capricornus at my LFS waiing to be picked up, but I'm hesitant to bring it until I have this glueing frags stuff down. Any help/advised would be appreciated.

[FishinInTheDark]

I've had the same trouble. I've begun using Aquamend. I mold it over the front of the frag, and wrap it around the rock. I never have had luck just putting some between the two pieces that I want to stick. It isn't pretty at first, but the coral overgrows the putty eventually.

[tdevil]

i have always used gel, not really sure why, just havent tried the putty

one thing i do is get a bowl with tank water, take the frag rock out of the tank and dry it with a paper towel (or what ever :) ) then i frag the coral, i put on a heavy blop of gel on the rock, then i dry the edge of the coral (if its a SPS), then i dip the rock in the tank water (in and out) this gives the gel a "crust" and helps it to stay in place, then i put a bit of gel on the coral and dip it in the water ("crust" thing again) teh i put the 2 together and put that into the bowl and let it set there for a few mins then i try to place the frag as close to the mother as possible

that is the way i do it, it has worked for me

here is a pic of my scroll and the frags, i glued 2 to 1 rock for the LFS and i let them do what they want (i dont waste my rock, lol)

Jay

[Condiman]

I do a similar methood to what Tdevel dose but I have also done it FITD way also and that works quite well to.

I use Sally Joes Reef Glue Gel from GARF. Its some awesome stuff and works great!!!

[Frick-n-Frags]

Well, those have been excellent suggestions. Sometimes the sheer weight of a plate of coral to be glued at its edge gets a little tricky

I agree that doing your supergluing outside the tank where you can dry the areas to be glued results in the easiest and best bond. In fact, I have glued sets of frags to plastic CD csaes that I cannot get apart now by drying the glue surface of the frag and attaching it to the dry plastic :D doh! SG works ridiculously well on clean dried surfaces.

Having a little glass or test kit syringe of tank water to pour/squirt on the SG helps to "skin" the SG while you are waiting for it to bond. Water kills SG. It also can help keep the frag wet to minimize stress.
I personally have found that SGing underwater is very tricky, wastes a ton of glue and doesn't work well all the time.

OK on to epoxy.....

One thing to keep in mind regarding epoxy is that it is not a glue. It is a resin that needs to set up. To use epoxy effectively, you have to fashion sort of a holder, and while it is curing, it cannot have any stress on it, or it will flex and lose its fit to the coral piece.

I have often done my epoxy work in two stages, maybe the first stage is to form a piece of epoxy onto the frag as a holder with a tab/projection sticking out. Once this is cured(setting the frag back into the tank like on the bottom in a quiet place and waiting for 10-15 minutes or so) THEN I can use this extension piece to wedge in between the rocks or now easily fasten it to a rock with a second piece of epoxy.

I have also rigged up something to prop the piece, like another piece of LR , coral skeleton, piece of eggcrate, what have you, while the epoxy sets up to ensure there is absolutely no force on the epoxy joint while it cures. Once cured, epoxy is very strong.

So, bottom line (for me anyway) is if I have to attach things in the tank, I prefer to use epoxy and if I can do the work outside the tank, I generally prefer SG.

I have also used both: A) create a flat holder from epoxy then B) SG the frag to the epoxy holder.


Regarding SGing softies. They have a whole range of sliminess. Xenia probably being the most slimy and lets say Sarcophytons/Lobophytums being the most solid and least slimy. The less slimy, the easier it is to SG the softie. Remember all softies can put out some slime and they can change their size, both of which enable them to slip the glue.

I tend to rubberband, bridal veil or set into gravel my slimy frags vs attempting to SG them. (Many people toothpick or sew them down too)
Good luck, HTH

[Sugar Magnolia]

F-N-F, great post. George it's virtually impossible to super glue a shroom. As Frick mentioned they just slime too much. The method that I've used that works best for me is to get a small plastic cup, fill it near to the top with LR rubble or gravel and place the shroom on top. Place some netting over the cup and secure the netting around the cup with a rubber band. The shroom should be snug against the netting, but not smooshed. Place it in a low flow area and it will attach within a week or two.

[gman0526]

TY F-N-F. As afr as the mushrooms they were actually attached to a rock not "running free", I guess what I'm trying to get away from is taking the rocks out of the water. Anyways Ty everybody for your responses.