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Securing Frags and coral ...underwater? (1 Viewer)

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zeek

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Ok so I have been reefing for about 8 months now, and there is ONE thing I can't just get quite right, that's securing coral...

Please tell me whats YOUR trick? I've tried gel Loctite glue and that 2 part Oceanic stuff, and even some epoxy(reef safe according to some itnernet research) all work great... OUT of water lol.

My problem is I have some fairly big rocks and I don't want to tear my tank appart to glue corals, besides I don't want to play rock puzzle with corals attached to this large rocks, so once set-up is done and corals that fall EVERY day, what do you do?

I rubberband the stuff I can that will attach temselves (mushrooms, zoas, xenia, but what about SPS, I got some VERY forgiving acans and birdsnest that would love to hear any help as well as myself.

Thanks in advance!
 
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zeek

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trb

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One way they works pretty well, is to use the epoxy AND superglue gel. Mix the epoxy into a ball, squirt some superglue on one end, attach the frag to the superglue, and then squirt more superglue to the other end of the epoxy and mount on your rocks, pressing the frag into the rock so the epoxy gets into the holes. The superglue holds the epoxy in place until it cures. I have several old spots of the epoxy still on my rock that I can't remove easily, eventhough the frag was broken off from the epoxy a while back.
 

tmgrash

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Superglue gel works for me. Squirt about a 1/2 tube per plug let it dry for a couple sec, dip it in and out of the water, then set it where you want it and twist. Works for me.
 

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the trick with water weld is you have to mix it alot before you try and stick it in water it should be warm and firm the water will soften it a little so you want it nice and firm.

also as mentioned above the superglue sandwich works really good. or you could even super glue your sps to a piece of rubble and epoxy the rock inplace.

theres lots of way to do it just keep playing with it till you find something that works for you.... thats what she said.
 

tmgrash

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gabe_j said:
theres lots of way to do it just keep playing with it till you find something that works for you.... thats what she said.

Great sig line :cheers2:
 
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Superglue gel all the way for sps. If you use anything that warms you have a very good chance of causing RTN or bleaching the frag. They are already stressed when you frag them much less any additional stress of added heat. All you have to do is squirt a generous amount on a plug, attach the frag and twirl on the glue till you feel a little resistance, sprinkle with a little water, keep it out of the water for a couple of mins then stick it back in the water. A little coral slime-ing is actually good for them.
 

gabe_j

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really? i never had the problem. i always figured the volume of water would disapate the heat produced. but i got no proof on that one just a general assumption.
 

Mark L.

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another super glue gel user here. I just put it on the frag and wait 10 seconds or so. Then put in tank and press where ever I want it. Then I hold it in place for maybe 20-30 seconds then let go.
 

steveb

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trb said:
One way they works pretty well, is to use the epoxy AND superglue gel. Mix the epoxy into a ball, squirt some superglue on one end, attach the frag to the superglue, and then squirt more superglue to the other end of the epoxy and mount on your rocks, pressing the frag into the rock so the epoxy gets into the holes. The superglue holds the epoxy in place until it cures. I have several old spots of the epoxy still on my rock that I can't remove easily, even though the frag was broken off from the epoxy a while back.


I have used the above method with larger pieces and straight super glue w/success with little pieces.
 

d2mini

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steveb said:
trb said:
One way they works pretty well, is to use the epoxy AND superglue gel. Mix the epoxy into a ball, squirt some superglue on one end, attach the frag to the superglue, and then squirt more superglue to the other end of the epoxy and mount on your rocks, pressing the frag into the rock so the epoxy gets into the holes. The superglue holds the epoxy in place until it cures. I have several old spots of the epoxy still on my rock that I can't remove easily, even though the frag was broken off from the epoxy a while back.


I have used the above method with larger pieces and straight super glue w/success with little pieces.

Same here.
And I can attest to the bleach of sps stuck straight into epoxy.

Another tip when using superglue on small frags is to dab & dip, dab & dip, dab & dip... then place in the tank. In other words, put some glue on the frag and then give the glue end a quick dip in the water. This creates a bit of a shell on the outside of the glue blob. Repeat this a couple times and you now have a bigger sized blob of glue that will stay put. When you place the coral in, press it onto some rock and then blob will break. Hold it there for a minute or so then release.
 
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zeek

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Is it the brand then maybe? I mean I have tried and tried to use the super glue gel unsucesfuly, I noticed as soon as I stick it in the water it like rubberizes(if thats a word LOL) and just hardens and doesn't really stick.

I have tried the locktite version only it's the only one Home depot had, any other brands you guys recomend?
 

steveb

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I use this one
sg_ug_cntrl.png


and this one
epxy_putty.png


This one super glue only (lightweight piece)
IMG_1423.jpg


This one (its about 8" tall and heavy) frag->super glue->epoxy->superglue->rock
IMG_1350.jpg
 
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I use what ever is the cheapest at the time and available on the shelf. The key is you have to remove the frag your trying to glue from the tank. Glue it to a plug or piece of rubble, then use the putty to attach the rubble in the tank. I have seen many failed attempts to glue a frag directly to a piece of live rock already in the tank. If you want to glue it directly I would suggest removing the piece of rock from the tank first.
 

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"theres lots of way to do it just keep playing with it till you find something that works for you.... thats what she said."

Nice!
 

Llama

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Large frags or frags with plugs get the sandwich method. Small frags get the glue by itself.
 
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