PITA question

Now that i have been doing this for awhile, I would like to know if anyone else finds it a PITA, placing and securing corals to your reef? It seems like every time I do it. I end up frustrated. The rock wont sit right, the plug wont stick, the putty wont stick, bumping into other corals and damaging them. The list goes on and on. I always eventually get it the way I want it, but it always seems to be a battle!!!

 

its a pita to me because it f's up my skimmer for like two weeks every time I add a frag because I have to use epoxy putty or my snails knock the corals off

 

Definitely a PITA

 

Agreed, if it's more than a couple frags. My skimmer just started working again today after I puttied my whole reef empire order like 2 weeks ago.

 

Wow...I have never really noticed the skimmer change after putty was applied.

 

It was for me, but Tangster changed that

method
make a ball of epoxy and put a small well in one side (I used the back end of a pen for this)
fill the well with superglue
attach that side to the frag plug
then make a well on the other side and fill that with superglue
press that down onto your target rock

it secures instantly using this method - snail cant knock them over like they can with any plugs you just epoxy

and the reason its better than just superglue is

superglue skins over as soon as it contacts the water so unless your quick, it wont set 1st time and you end up removing, adding more glue and trying again (well I know I used to LOL)

With the well of superglue method only the surface has skinned over so when you press it down the skin breaks which means the uncured superglue is now in direct contact with the rock

Steve

 

I've had success with super glue gel but you need a ton of it and you need to work it a certain way until it starts to firm up.

I normally apply a ton of gel, submerge, then start scraping it against the rock I want to place it, always working excess glue toward the middle and spinning the frag/plug while working it. After about 15-20 seconds the glue starts to form more of a putty than a gel. That's when you smash it against the rock and it should hopefully stick.

 

good tip.. and super glue gel is better than the thin stuff.

 

Nice Steve...I do understand the theory behind that. Thanks for the tip...I will try that next time.

 

It most certainly a PITA I never liked gluing frags down in case I wanted to move them, but I'm over that now and use super glue gel....sorry little critters but your terror has come to an end!