A Couple of Topics from Epoxy/Glue to Lighting

[Serioussnaps]

How it going....rather than starting 3 different threads I would like to offer them all in one as my topics of interest for the week. These 3 things are on my mind this week and would appreciated any help or thoughts.

First--->>> What glue/epoxies are you all using to glue your frags to rocks these days? I am interested in some that are good out of water and some that are good in water. Any suggestions or description of your process is appreciated!!!

Also...what do you think about gluing a monti cap to the glass or back wall??? Will the glue come off whenver you drain the tank one day??


Second--->>> Anyone notice that the underside of your Acros dont show near the color of the side exposed to the lights to a greater extent? I see people who have this but then i see people whose corals have perfect uniformity of color all around the coral. I notice on one of my acros that i have only had 2 weeks that the parts exposed to the light more have really colored up a gorgeous green but the underside where it is shaded more hasnt colored up as well...dont get me wrong its not bleached or due to predation just not as brilliant of colors and its noticiable if you turn the coral.

Does anyone rotate their coral to expose each side or any parts that are underexposed to the light to get them to color up uniformly?

Third and finally--->>>>I have some little white starfish in my tank!!! Ihad one come in on a new peice of live rock i just had to have because the way it was shaped and they have reproduced somewhat.

Are these dangerous to acros, montis or anything at all or are they simply algae/deitrus eaters and no threat to Acros?

 

[Serioussnaps]

NO ONE? SORRY ITS BORING STUFF AND NO EYE CANDY FOR YA

 

[Donkin]

I am intrested in the glue question you brought up. I was wondering if anyone knows of a safe underwater superglue? Fast drying and all that. Not trying to jack the thread just adding to the detail of one of your questions

 

[reefdood]

Loctite or Duro supergle gel is safe, can be removed from glass carefully with a razor when the time comes. Just scrape it off.

I'm not sure about the Acro color question. Sorry.

There are several kinds of ministars. The little white ons I had never harmed anything. But i've heard reports of some that are not reefsafe.

 

[Serioussnaps]

Yeah someone told me that the little white stars....they look and feel like dryed up sand dollars but in the shape of a starfish....arent reef safe and will eat at corals....but i wasnt so sure...i had them in my old 90G that was chocked full of different coral and they never harmed anything in that tank...was just checking on one of my thoughts this week.

BUMP FOR WHAT KIND OF GLUE YOU ARE USING ON YOUR ACROS...UNDERWATER OR OUT OF WATER? AND WHAT BRANDS ETCETC...

 

[old salty]

I have tried crazy glue gel with little luck. My turbo snails kept knocking the frags behind the rock where they eventually died (the frags, not the snails.) I have moved to Deltec epoxy. It's a bit pricey (about the cost of 1 frag), but I have not lost a frag since. It mixes to a purple/pinkish color which blends in nicely with coralline algae.

My corals are still small frags, so I really don't notice any color difference from top to bottom.

I see small starfish in my tank, but I just leave 'em alone. I haven't noticed them eating anything that I wouldn't want them eating. Then again, who knows??

 

[nwrogers]

Q1:

I use regular superglue gel from the dollar store and it works great in and out of the tank. You may have to take the frag out of the water a few times to reapply the glue but it will eventually start to grab a hold of the rock and stay put. When you are trying to place the frag on the rock with the glue just move it around in a circular motion until the glue sets. If you are going to glue a frag to an overflow or something than you need to have epoxy and superglue. You apply the glue to the frag and stick it to some epoxy. Then put some glue on the other side of the epoxy and stick it to the overflow or whatever.

Q2:

I have noticed the same thing about my corals and always assumed it was normal. I am not sure if it is normal or not so I am not much help here. Sorry.

Q3:

I usually remove these starfish because I don’t know whether they are good or bad. However I would recommend posting a picture here if you want to get any advice/info on them.

 

[polypman]

starfish question - The type of starfish you (and probably most of us) have in our tanks is in the Asterinidae family. The attached link describes them - look under the heading - Asterinid Stars.
Generally they are harmless.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rs/index.php

 

[Serioussnaps]

Yeah i have been watching the starfish....they dont go near any of the corals...been watching at night to with a flash light and they behave then too. I am not worried about them any more particularly after seeing all these successful tanks that have them as well!!!!

Thanks old salty and rogers...maybe some more people can chime in one their glue methods!

Anyone else with Acros notice the color difference on the undersides/sides less exposed to the light?

 

[jdmhonda954]

as for the epoxy question DELTEC.... its all i use and it holds better than anything IMO it is a little pricy but it works great and the purple looks like coralline algae so it kinda blends in. the starfish i dont know. about the color the only thing i could say is maybe change its position so more of the light hits the underside its just not getting the same light as the top. some of mine have it as well just not really noticeable. good luck

 

[blstravler]

starfish question - The type of starfish you (and probably most of us) have in our tanks is in the Asterinidae family. The attached link describes them - look under the heading - Asterinid Stars.

Generally they are harmless.

Far from Hamless

I have had several massive outbreaks of these stars in my tanks over the past 12 years. There are some that DO eat coral <5% however there is another issue with them that I have seen besides them eating coral. B/c they reporduce at such an amazinng rate they will start to hang out on both soft and hard coral, many times I have sene them sit on SPS and cause damage to them just from the simple fact that they are blocking light from getting to the coral. If I remember correctly the ones that do actuallly eat/harm coral usually have very small red spots on them and have more then 5 legs. To get an accurate count of how many you have, don't clean your glass for a few days and then early in the morning look and see how many are on the glass and figure double that number are in the tank. My last major outbreak in my 120 reef I stopped counting at 450.

Since my last outbreak I keep a these guys in my tank at all times, problem solved-

 

[jay24k]

The acro portion that isn't exposed to the light will always look less brilliant, even possibly a tan/whitish appearance. The reason you see most acros look uniform is because light hits it around all sides as it reflects off the reflector. Occasionally if I have to move a piece and reposition it, and light didn't normally hit it in the now visible spot, it will look pretty rough. Within a month, it colors back up and the other side that isn't exposed loses color.

As for glue, loctite works great. Sometimes you have to pull the frag back out and apply some more and twist it on. It works great gluing it to rubble outside of the tank and then using an epoxy or a portland cement based mixture.

Razor blades make quick work of super glue off the glass.