First arcopora coral.. questions

crichard6069 · 09/09/2007, 07:52 AM

Morning all..

I have a 24g Aquapod with a 150w MH light. It's been running since april of this year and I'm finally ready to put my first acropora in it. Right now my live stock is:

1 Clown
1 Neon Goby
1 Clam
1 Star mat
1 Galaxy coral (which has not been doing the greatest)
1 Toadstool leather

I'm going to order my acropora online - how will it come to me? Will it already be attached to a rock? If not, how do I attach it to a rock? Any information on this would be helpful to me!!

Thanks

Capt_Cully · 09/09/2007, 08:22 AM

I use this stuff. Works great for me. I take a small ball of it roll it around until it turns white. place a few blobs of GEL super glue (has to be gel, other stuff is way too runny) on the epoxy ball. take your coral and stick it in/on the epoxy and superglue. put some more superglue, put it on the bottom of the epoxy and stick it to the rock. takes a while to harden, but should stick right away. you'll get the hang of it. completely safe for your reef.

anyway, that's what i do. i'm sure there are other methods.

good luck

Capt_Cully · 09/09/2007, 08:22 AM

Sorry:duh....

http://www.aquatichouse.com/Maintenance_files/Epoxy.asp

IslandCrow · 09/09/2007, 09:19 AM

You can also buy Aquamend epoxy putty at your local hardware store (Home Depot usually has it). There are other brands of epoxy putty, but not all are reef safe.

Depending on how big the frag is, regular Superglue gel (Loktite and Duro are popular brands) will probably be fine. I don't like to use epoxy directly on a coral's skeleton, since it has a tendency to kill off whatever it touches along with some of the surrounding tissue. Generally your frags are going to come on some sort of frag plug or disk, though, and epoxy putty is quite suitable to use on the plug/disk if you need to attach it more firmly to your rockwork. Just be sure to really work it into the cracks and crevices of the rock as well as up and over the top of the frag plug. The putty doesn't actually stick to the rocks. It just hardens, so it acts more like an anchor and less like an adhesive.

jgoodrich71 · 09/09/2007, 09:35 AM

What is wrong with your galaxy? Why is it not doing well? If there is a reason your only stony coral is not doing well, what makes you think an Acropora will?

09/09/2007, 07:52 AM	#1
crichard6069 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 591	First arcopora coral.. questions Morning all.. I have a 24g Aquapod with a 150w MH light. It's been running since april of this year and I'm finally ready to put my first acropora in it. Right now my live stock is: 1 Clown 1 Neon Goby 1 Clam 1 Star mat 1 Galaxy coral (which has not been doing the greatest) 1 Toadstool leather I'm going to order my acropora online - how will it come to me? Will it already be attached to a rock? If not, how do I attach it to a rock? Any information on this would be helpful to me!! Thanks

09/09/2007, 08:22 AM	#2
Capt_Cully Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 13,574	I use this stuff. Works great for me. I take a small ball of it roll it around until it turns white. place a few blobs of GEL super glue (has to be gel, other stuff is way too runny) on the epoxy ball. take your coral and stick it in/on the epoxy and superglue. put some more superglue, put it on the bottom of the epoxy and stick it to the rock. takes a while to harden, but should stick right away. you'll get the hang of it. completely safe for your reef. anyway, that's what i do. i'm sure there are other methods. good luck __________________ People say cars are a bad investment. Those people don't have reef tanks. Current Tank Info: 120, Radion Gen 2 Pro x 2

09/09/2007, 08:22 AM	#3
Capt_Cully Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 13,574	Sorry:duh.... http://www.aquatichouse.com/Maintenance_files/Epoxy.asp __________________ People say cars are a bad investment. Those people don't have reef tanks. Current Tank Info: 120, Radion Gen 2 Pro x 2

09/09/2007, 09:19 AM	#4
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	You can also buy Aquamend epoxy putty at your local hardware store (Home Depot usually has it). There are other brands of epoxy putty, but not all are reef safe. Depending on how big the frag is, regular Superglue gel (Loktite and Duro are popular brands) will probably be fine. I don't like to use epoxy directly on a coral's skeleton, since it has a tendency to kill off whatever it touches along with some of the surrounding tissue. Generally your frags are going to come on some sort of frag plug or disk, though, and epoxy putty is quite suitable to use on the plug/disk if you need to attach it more firmly to your rockwork. Just be sure to really work it into the cracks and crevices of the rock as well as up and over the top of the frag plug. The putty doesn't actually stick to the rocks. It just hardens, so it acts more like an anchor and less like an adhesive. __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?

09/09/2007, 09:35 AM	#5
jgoodrich71 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 849	What is wrong with your galaxy? Why is it not doing well? If there is a reason your only stony coral is not doing well, what makes you think an Acropora will? __________________ "For some reason I can't blow right." ~ crp "By the way Brian, nice colon." ~ Orchids Current Tank Info: 65 gal reef