What is your “process” for mounting acro frags?

[revhtree]

What is your “process” for mounting acro frags to your rock work?

Also what is your go to supplies for mounting them?

 

[lolgranny]

Super glue / putty. Glue on bottom and on top. Putty in center. Has always done wonders for me.

 

[saltyhog]

I do it much like @lolgranny but I use Tunzee 2 part purple epoxy .....https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/tunze-coral-gum-instant.html. I use Bob Smith gel super glue on the plug/frag then apply the epoxy then put glue on the bottom of the epoxy and press in place.

I like it because it adheres well, stays softer than traditional epoxy, blends with my corraline until it's covered and is not too difficult to remove if I want to.

 

[Mal11224]

I like to use reef glue by seachem. Works quick and doesn’t make my skimmer go crazy. I like to find spots where my light penetrates the best and PAR is highest for the most part. Minimal shadowing.

 

[madweazl]

Break it off the frag plug, grab a little epoxy, affix to rockscape in desired location. Every acro I have mounted grows over the epoxy substantially quicker than that of CA. Once the coral reaches my tank, the frag plug is useless.

 

[rkpetersen]

I remove every frag from it's plug before dipping for parasites. I don't like the look of frag plugs in my tank and they are also a common place to find pest eggs.

I just use CA glue to attach frags to rocks, for the most part. I was formerly a big fan of BSI IC-Gel, but their formulation appears to have changed recently and it doesn't adhere as well. Also they eliminated the metal pin that they used to have inside the cap, which means that the tip now clogs and becomes unusable much easier. Looking for a good replacement glue; trying one from Dynasty Corals that seems to be pretty good.

I always scrape away any coralline algae or other surface layer from the rock where I plan on attaching the frag. Otherwise, what may seem like solid attachment can come loose a day or a few days later as the organic layer dies and releases from the rock.

I'm very generous with the glue and when I place it on the rock, I rotate and grind it back and forth until I'm sure there is solid attachment. CA glue forms a surface film as soon as it hits the water, and you therefore have to break through this film manually so that the underlying fresh glue grabs the rock.

I've tried the epoxy glue sandwich trick but have found it to be more trouble than it's worth, unless the frag is large and I'm attempting to attach it horizontally.

 

[AdamNC]

A pair of diagonal cutters to clip off the plug stem and D+D two part pink putty. I just kneed the putty together, clip the stem, mash the frag disk into the putty and then mash it onto a rock. Once in place I try to smooth the extra putty around the plug.

Not the best pic but I just did this one yesterday.

 

[KingJason]

I use BSI IC gel. Not excited to hear they changed their blend . Good thing I have about 10 tubes left so that will last me a bit. Stuff has always worked well for me and does a decent hold.

Most of the time I find they mount pretty well. Making sure you have them in the right spot is always the trick.

 

[kschweer]

Super glue / putty. Glue on bottom and on top. Putty in center. Has always done wonders for me.

This has always works the best for me as well.

 

[Potatohead]

Just glue. I used to use epoxy glue sandwich but I find it mostly overkill now. Just a bit of glue and hold it in place for fifteen or so seconds and it's good to go.

 

[gtrider]

I remove the frag from the plug it came on.

attach it to a new clean plug w/ gel super glue..and typically will cut off the plug stem unless i find a nice hole.

apply a liberal amount of gel super glue to the base of the new plug.

attach to rockwork and hold for 30 seconds or so.

seems to work perfect for me. Epoxy makes my skimmer go NUTS for a couple days so i dont use it.

 

[Nilo]

Over the years, I’ve seen people comment about removing the frag from the plug begore dipping etc., does that mean it’s not a good idea to buy frags that have already encrusted? What’s the recommended best practice with regards to avoiding pests on encrusted frags? Thanks!

 

[vetteguy53081]

BCI glue , otherwise aquarium systems Holdfast

 

[mstockmaster]

Snap the frag off the plug. Throw some super glue on to it and mash it onto a rock. If there's any left on the frag plug it goes into the frag tank to grow out.

 

[Ksmmike]

Unless the frag is really encrusted over the plug ( I usually don't purchase them that way) I take the frag off the plug and dip. I live near the ocean,
I find small sections of sand dollars and bleach them. I allow the sand dollars fragments to sit in the sun and rain for a month. I then wash them off and put them in a
bucket of salt water that matches the salt I use in my tank. After a couple of weeks, they are ready to use. Occasionally I'll use a piece that wasn't in the salt water for a couple of weeks
and never had an issue. They are small pieces. Anyway, I then glue the frag to the sand dollar fragment and mount them in the tank. Since the sand dollars are flat, I find them much easier to mount then breaking off the bottoms of the plugs. They also look more natural since they look like a piece of the rock work within a couple of weeks.

 

[ca1ore]

A pair of diagonal cutters to clip off the plug stem and D+D two part pink putty. I just kneed the putty together, clip the stem, mash the frag disk into the putty and then mash it onto a rock. Once in place I try to smooth the extra putty around the plug.

Exactly what I do also - including using the same putty. It’s stickier than most of the other kinds, though takes longer to set.

 

[AdamNC]

Exactly what I do also - including using the same putty. It’s stickier than most of the other kinds, though takes longer to set.

Takes I think a few hours but I’ve yet to have a frag plug break loose. If I lose a frag, died, I have to end up using a screwdriver to get the plug off.

 

[Ferrell]

Super glue / putty. Glue on bottom and on top. Putty in center. Has always done wonders for me.

^^^ pretty much like this in the limited high light spots in my mixed reef

 

[salty joe]

Break it off the frag plug, grab a little epoxy, affix to rockscape in desired location. Every acro I have mounted grows over the epoxy substantially quicker than that of CA. Once the coral reaches my tank, the frag plug is useless.

How thick do you apply the epoxy to the rock? In other words, how deep is the frag embedded?

 

[madweazl]

How thick do you apply the epoxy to the rock? In other words, how deep is the frag embedded?

I make a little roll out of the epoxy that is long enough to wrap around the coral and about 1/4-3/8" in diameter. I then wrap it around the frag (about a 1/4" up), stick it in the desired location, and mash the epoxy into the rock work to hold it stable.