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How do YOU add frags to your tank?


Stephosaurus

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So I read this article:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/_/livestock/how-to-glue-coral-frags-r14

 

It was all very helpful, and I saw that in the article that he trims the frag piece itself before attaching it. I will be adding my first corals soon, and was curious on what method everyone uses to attach. Do you chisel the frag piece itself, and if so...what's the easiest way to do this? I was thinking maybe a dremmel? I've also read that many people detach the coral from the frag completely, but what's the best way to do that without damaging the coral? Any and all advice appreciated!

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fishfreak0114

I cut off the stem of the frag plug and then do the same glue epoxy glue as in the article. Stony coral cutters work well on cement plugs, but you have to be careful of where your fingers holding the plug are because if they are near the stem they may get cut. To detach a frag from the plug, stony coral cutters work well also. Just wedge the edge under the frag unless it has encrusted and it should pop off. A couple times when I was cutting stems the pressure made the actual frag pop off the plug so I had to reglue.

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gulfsurfer101

Usually with a sh!t eating grin on my face!

Some stainless bone cutters work well. Look on ebay for a frag kit. They are like 20 bucks and come with everything you need to remove coral from the disk.

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Haha! Yeah, I was looking at the bone cutters online...so hopefully whatever I get is worth a damn.

 

I've seen reefs where the whole plug is attached directly to the rock, and I was hoping that was avoidable. Do they still glue fairly well without the plug?

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Break coral off plug or disk. Cover bottom of coral in Loctite gel glue. Let it sit for a few seconds to get tacky. Put coral in the tank and press the glue onto the rock. Smear the ball of glue around on the rock to get it sticking and in the tiny pores. Give it a slight twist or two and hold it in place for 30 seconds. In a few months the coral will encrust enough that the glue will be covered and there will be a strong bond to the rock.

 

Leaving the plug on the coral, even if you put the bottom nub off will almost always be seen. Even if the coral encrusts you'll be left with a manmade looking bump.

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Break coral off plug or disk. Cover bottom of coral in Loctite gel glue. Let it sit for a few seconds to get tacky. Put coral in the tank and press the glue onto the rock. Smear the ball of glue around on the rock to get it sticking and in the tiny pores. Give it a slight twist or two and hold it in place for 30 seconds. In a few months the coral will encrust enough that the glue will be covered and there will be a strong bond to the rock.

 

Leaving the plug on the coral, even if you put the bottom nub off will almost always be seen. Even if the coral encrusts you'll be left with a manmade looking bump.

 

Definitely what I'm trying to avoid, I figured taking the plug off altogether would look the best aesthetically. Thanks for the step-by-step!

 

I'm just afraid I'm going to totally wreck it in an attempt to break it off :(

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fishfreak0114

For softies I just cut the stem and glue/epoxy/glue it. I don't mind the plug because if it's zoa it'll grow over, mushrooms are usually big enough to hide it etc. I really have no clue how one would go about securing them without it but it'd be nice to know.

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gulfsurfer101

A rubberband and a peice of rubble for softies. Or you can just pop a few holes in some tupperware and place it over them with a rock on top until the coral grows on the sand. You can then glue the sand onto the rock or frag plug. The other way is much faster in a healthy tank.

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