my first frags- whoohooo

[Auryn]

so yesterday i found online for the listing of 'reef life' supposedly a lfs near my office

so i took a late lunch and took a trip

i came home with 3 nassarius snails at $1.75 each and a zoo frag for $5 and a green star frag for $5

I am so happy

been on cloud nine since

after a 2 hr acclimation process they all went into the tank and seem happy

the snails have been zooming around non stop the whole time (2 of them looked like they were doing the hibbity dippity this morning)

the zoos opened up almost immediately and the green stars started opening up this morning

ill probably end up spending the weekend looking at them

 

that was it

just wanted to share

ill try to post pics tonight

 

 

this store is totally great- its little but the guy is a total aquarium fanatic so everything is top grade and taken care of really well

and if ur a new customer he grills you to see how much you know about what your doing

ill probably be visiting him on a regular basis to get more grags andlook at all the cool stuff hes got

[yoshiod9]

welcome to the beginning of the end. you will soon start to notice a downward spiral in your checking account...if you're anything like me (which i hope you aren't!,)within a few months you'll think nothing of spending $70-100 on one piece of coral that you just have to have. once i got into keeping corals a few years back, i've been in a constant state of 'poor'. lol. but i've never been happier.

[Auryn]

well thankfully I just have a small 12gl nanocube

so I can't buy anything too big cause I already have a lot of rock in there

I'm hoping to be able to get a few more small frags and let those populate the existing rock

 

but yeah i went to the store the other day and spent $40 w/o blinking

[BrookR1]

Wow...if GSP and Zoas get you giddy...you're in for a real treat when you start getting into LPS, fish, and inverts. Sounds like the LFS guy sounds reputable. Always stay guarded with these guys, though. I've learned (am still learning), the good ones can only be trusted 80% of the time.

[Auryn]

here are a pic of the frags that i bought

sorry for the poor quality

ill try again tonight when they are more settled in

 

 

[FAC_WNY]

Isn't that the truth, Yosh...lol.

 

Between moving, the reef, the car, and having a very "active" social life (lol)....I've been mo' than po' for the past couple of months..lol. Thank god there will always be storms for people to call and yell at me about..lol.

 

Cheers,

Fred

[DiverDave]

The rock looks great. I really like the way you've opened up the structure to allow for good flow. In a few more months, your Zoa's and GSP's will be all over the rock. Keep the pictures coming.

[Auryn]

thanks diver dave

the fish really seem to love that piece of rock that all open

they are constantly playing stalker in it

i just wish the fish and the shrimp and hermits would quit knocking the frags off the rocks

[DiverDave]

How have you attached the frags? With both GSP,s and Zoa's I've used the GEL type crazy glue. The attached pictures of my tank show a small GSP that I glued to the back glass back in November last year, and what it looks like today. You can glue them to the rocks, plastic, just about anything.

 

 

[Auryn]

OH WOW

that tank is awesome - how big is it??

and this is Gel crazy glue you say?? do I put the glue on the rock out of the water and then stick it in or all underwater??

 

i handt glued anything down cause I was trying to figure out where to put it to get it to grow

 

I was thinking of putting the green stars on this piece of rock that looks like a branch (actually shaped more like a chicken foot) just cause I thought it would look cool once it grew

 

didnt know i could glue them to the wall though

 

hmm......

 

part of my problem too is that im not incredibly happy w/ the rock layout

i bought pieces of rock that were just bigand chunky and now I cant really do much with them - its like 3 round pieces w/ holes in the middle

its hard to find finger like pieces of rock around here

thats why i picked up broken pieces of coral in the keys to use in the tank

[DiverDave]

The tank is a 20G reg which is about 24" across, 16" top to bottom, and 13" deep.

 

To glue the zoos, or the GSP's, is fairly simple.

 

1) Prepare a small bowl of salt water.

2) Have a clean towl ready.

3) Have the gel type crazy glue ready to go.

4) Remove your coral from the tank.

5) Lightly dry/pat off the water from the base of the coral with the towel.

6) Apply the glue to the base of the coral.

7) Quickely press the coral to its' destination in your tank and, with a firm swirling motion, let the glue attach to the destination.

8) Hold in place for approx 60 seconds.

9) When you remove your hands, lightly tap the coral to determine it's hold. If it is slightly mobile, that's OK, the glue will further solidify. If it seems weak, repeat the steps above.

 

I've always had good success with this method. The thought of putting chemicals in a reef tank may seem a cause for worry. It's not a bad idea to have some carbon/Chemipure/ in place. Again, I've never experienced a problem, but I'll do this just in case.

 

Thanks for the complements. You're tank will be there sooner than you think!!!

 

DD

[Auryn]

allright

guess i have to go buy crazy glue this afternoon

will home depot have it?

 

will the gsp get enough water flow current if i put them towards the back of the tank? mine is just your standard 12gl nano

 

id put them on the wall but id be afraid that if in a year i want to frag them i cant cause they are attached to the wall

id feel much better just breaking off a chunk of rock then scraping them off the side of the tank

[DiverDave]

Yes Home Depot will have the glue. Look for the stuff in the grey bottle with the blue side (LOCTITE SUPER GLUE Gel Control). You don't have to put anything on the sides of your tank, that was my choice. Your idea of mounting on rock is just as good. In my pict above you'll see GSP's that I put on a piece of rock. It also is growing very well. As for water movement, I have a grand total of 4 GSPs with 1) full time current, 2) alternating current, 3) Low current, and all do well. Just give it good light and It'll be fine.

 

Keep us all informed!!!

 

DD

[limulus]

Hey Auryn,

I'm working in So FL this week until Thurs. If you can, send me a PM about the LFS. I need some snails for my 12G DX and I may even pick up a frag or two for my carry on baggage.

 

Also, just an FYI: Be very careful when fragging zoos. They contain a toxin. Wear gloves and even goggles...you can be blinded!