Mounting corals

[DmitryB]

So I've got a bunch of frags (teeny weeny some of them). They're on plugs, which I don't particularly mind if I bury the plugs in a live rock. The question is: how big of a live rock piece do you need to mount them? Now with Zoas, I guess mount to the rock you want covered with Zoas. But what about the rest: what happens if you mount a Hammer or a Torch to a small rock - does that affect how they develop and grow? Favias, Leptoseris, etc.

I drilled holes in a few pieces of live rock that will fit a plug, then glue them in there. But are these rocks big enough?

How do YOU mount your frags?

 

[StartingATank]

I really just look for suitable flow and lighting, and put them there. For some reason, Zoas don't grow quickly in my tank, so I don't really have to worry about that too badly

 

[Fish Fan]

The R2R #reefsquad I'm sure can help with this

 

[tbrown]

The rock that you use just has to be big enough for stability of the coral as it grows to keep it from flipping over.

 

[KrisReef]

Corals that encrust tend to cover whatever you glue them too. Branching corals, go two ways. Torches and other LPS grow up without usually growing down much so the base attachment point may never "grow over" Branching acro's may / usually will form a base, growing down and over the plug as well as upwards.

 

[DmitryB]

Corals that encrust tend to cover whatever you glue them too. Branching corals, go two ways. Torches and other LPS grow up without usually growing down much so the base attachment point may never "grow over" Branching acro's may / usually will form a base, growing down and over the plug as well as upwards.

If Hammers and Torches grow up - would you ever put Zoas under them on the same rock? That would be a cool look of a Hammer towering among a field of Zoas, but will Hammer sting down?

 

[KrisReef]

If Hammers and Torches grow up - would you ever put Zoas under them on the same rock? That would be a cool look of a Hammer towering among a field of Zoas, but will Hammer sting down?

I would not put soft corals under a hammer, just because I hate the potential for conflicts, while I have seen other tanks with rich mixtures of both. WHen they mature, then you have to start pruning stuff to keep the warfare and growth spread in check. In nature, corals seem to generally war until one type or species occupy an area. These spaces tend to be huge compared to our tanks, so a tank can allow for a lot of unnatural beauty compared to the wild.

 

[StartingATank]

Corals that encrust tend to cover whatever you glue them too. Branching corals, go two ways. Torches and other LPS grow up without usually growing down much so the base attachment point may never "grow over" Branching acro's may / usually will form a base, growing down and over the plug as well as upwards.

If Hammers and Torches grow up - would you ever put Zoas under them on the same rock? That would be a cool look of a Hammer towering among a field of Zoas, but will Hammer sting down?

My guess of what would happen would that the zoas would grow into the hammer skeleton, stress it out, and the hammer would polyp bailout, but that is just what I think

 

[DmitryB]

My guess of what would happen would that the zoas would grow into the hammer skeleton, stress it out, and the hammer would polyp bailout, but that is just what I think

Well that would be bad!

 

[Rocks reef]

I mount frags by cutting the stem off the frag plug.
I make a small ball of JB water weld (two little fishies epoxy works well too).
I put a drop of superglue… ball off JB weld… superglue. Push them down where you want it mounted.
If the frag plug is small, like a 3/4” one. I cut the stem off and glue a 2” frag disc to it so I have something to hold on to and not damage the coral

 

[DmitryB]

If you attach your frags to your permanent rock structure - what happens if you decide the coral needs to move?

I'm really fascinated by the Lepto corals. Do they just basically encrust whatever shape the rock under them happens to be? I'm seeing some weird photos online; like this one posted on R2R in 2017 by bsagea.

 

[tbrown]

If you attach your frags to your permanent rock structure - what happens if you decide the coral needs to move?

I'm really fascinated by the Lepto corals. Do they just basically encrust whatever shape the rock under them happens to be? I'm seeing some weird photos online; like this one posted on R2R in 2017 by bsagea.

Yes, they encrust whatever they touch. They can span some gaps though so it's not necessarily the shape of the rock.

As far as encrusting the permanent rock structure - if that happens, Kalk paste can kill portions of the coral. The "recipe" posted above by Rock allows you to "pop" the coral/frag plug off the rock work prior to it encrusting if you catch it early enough but you'll want to pick the best permanent location for corals prior to placing them in the tank. Moving them around can be bad for the corals.

 

[mmorrison55]

Do yourself a favor and pick up some of this poly glue.

AF Poly Glue Adhesive (250mL)

New adhesive technology. AF Poly Glue is easy to use polymer-based glue that can be reused and only requires warm water to use, and won't leave you feeling rushed to finish. AF Poly Glue will change how you frag corals and aquascape your tank. The small glue granules only need hot water to be...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

It won’t stick to your hand. It’s pliable when it’s hot for a minute or so until you stick it in the water and into a rock crevice and then it will easily form to fit the crevice or hole, and then solidify. If you want to take it a step further add a dab of ca glue before shoving it in the hole and it will hold better.

If it’s a hard coral, I remove the coral from the plug and just sink it into the poly glue, it if it s a soft coral, I cut my stem of the plug off and affix the poly glue to the underside of the plug.

Or you can leave the stem if your rock structure will fit the stem where you are mounting it.

 

[GuppyHJD]

I mount frags by cutting the stem off the frag plug.
I make a small ball of JB water weld (two little fishies epoxy works well too).
I put a drop of superglue… ball off JB weld… superglue. Push them down where you want it mounted.
If the frag plug is small, like a 3/4” one. I cut the stem off and glue a 2” frag disc to it so I have something to hold on to and not damage the coral

I just broke my aquascape trying to break off some montipora but the rock broke first. Can I use JB Water Weld to stick it back together?