Hydrophona

[bohlke]

I recently added a hydrophona to my tank and I love it except for the "thing" it is attached to. I think its plaster or something like that (see pic below). Anyway should I attempt to remove it from this plug and attach it to a piece of rock or is that too dangerous? I am also trying to figure out if there is a good way to hide the mounting plug.

 

[cristhiam]

You could use epoxy and just mold around it, stick it to a rock and in a few moths it will be covered with coraline algea.

 

[Justin74]

The Hydnophora can be easily sliced,snapped,snipped off the plug, from there superglue gel would make it ez to mount to your existing rockwork, or you could go the epoxy rout. Dont worry if it's not a clean snip, actually even better! Then you'll have some encrustment on the plug and you can let that grow out to give,share,trade with your buddies

-Justin

 

[bohlke]

Is there any superglue that works best?

 

[Justin74]

I usually get the cheap stuff from the dollar store or wallmart. Dont get crazy glue or some super duper glue or two part concauction, just plain ol' superglue gel w/active ingrediant cyanoacrylate

-Justin

 

[bohlke]

Also any suggestions on what to snip it with?

 

[Justin74]

put a couple of dabs on the fresh cut(which also helps to seal from infection/algae nuiscant) and prop up on a clean section of you rockwork. After your dabs of glue you have about 15-20 seconds before it cures underwater, so know exactly where you want it, cuz it dries fast But much cleaner and inconspicuous compared to epoxy IMO.

-Justin

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8379433#post8379433 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bohlke
Also any suggestions on what to snip it with?

A clean pair of utility scissors, garden shears, dremel, dikes etc. Ideally stainless steele unless you dont mind them rusting from the saltwater. Sometimes Ive just had to use my hands and be as gentle as you can, remember being a kid and trying to get the biggest peice of the Thanksgiving wishbone? Ya, like that


-Justin

 

[bohlke]

Ok so I shouldnt expose the coral to air right? Do I pull out just the base, snip it, dry it, glue it, place it back in the tank and pray?

 

[Hormigaquatica]

Hydnophora wont have any problem with brief exposure to air; theyre Real durable. Pull it out, snap it off, and stick it back wherever youve got space. Shouldnt have any issues at all.

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8379541#post8379541 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bohlke
Ok so I shouldnt expose the coral to air right? Do I pull out just the base, snip it, dry it, glue it, place it back in the tank and pray?

The only thing I know that shouldnt be exposed to air if at all possible is most sponges.


-Justin

 

[bohlke]

Is it possible to give the hydrophona too much flow? I have spot in the tank for the plug and whatever remains of the hydrophona after I cut it but its in the direct flow path of the powerhead. Can I put that in the direct path of a powerhead?

 

[Justin74]

Yes its possible. It all depends on the strength of the powerhead and the distance it is from it. Too close and you could quite easily peel the flesh off it's skeleton, but again this depends on the pump and how close.

-Justin

 

[bohlke]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8393544#post8393544 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Justin74
Yes its possible. It all depends on the strength of the powerhead and the distance it is from it. Too close and you could quite easily peel the flesh off it's skeleton, but again this depends on the pump and how close.

-Justin

Its an MJ1200, and its about 5" from it. Right now its in a spot that is not directly in the path of the flow

 

[bohlke]

Well this could have gone better, I tried to clip the Hydrophona and it broke into 4 pieces (5 if you count the plug). I did manage to glue the largest piece to the spot on the LR that I wanted it to go. I glued the other smaller pieces to some LR rubble and hopefully I can find a home for them. Anyway I wasnt sure how close I can have these frags to each other in the tank. Here is a pic of the two large peices:

The lower frag is not glued, it is just wedged into the LR. I think they are probably too close. Here is a pic of the two smaller pieces:

And lastly here is the plug, will this survive? It is highest in the tank.

 

[Skateboarder]

It will most likely survive

 

[bohlke]

It wasnt the cleanest cut, I had to pull off some shrapnel. Next time I will use my "laser"

 

[Justin74]

Just an idea about fraggin, not a rule but a good idea. With the thought of natural fragmentation in mind in the wild we can best emulate this process and ensure faster growth/quickest recovery by actually layin the frag down as opposed to straight up. The thought behind this is 1. when natural fragmentation happens in the wild you can bet that they dont fall to the substrate below sticking straight up 2. By having them on there side/laying down there exposed to the maximum amount of light per surface area for that piece of coral inturn allowing the coral to utilize its photo process to ensure faster growth/recovery and secure encrustation. One of our clubs members first introduced me to this and when I thought about it, it made sense. And later was eloquently reiderated at our WMC by Mr. Calfo. But again not a rule, just an idea

-Justin

 

[bohlke]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8395106#post8395106 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Justin74
Just an idea about fraggin, not a rule but a good idea. With the thought of natural fragmentation in mind in the wild we can best emulate this process and ensure faster growth/quickest recovery by actually layin the frag down as opposed to straight up. The thought behind this is 1. when natural fragmentation happens in the wild you can bet that they dont fall to the substrate below sticking straight up 2. By having them on there side/laying down there exposed to the maximum amount of light per surface area for that piece of coral inturn allowing the coral to utilize its photo process to ensure faster growth/recovery and secure encrustation. One of our clubs members first introduced me to this and when I thought about it, it made sense. And later was eloquently reiderated at our WMC by Mr. Calfo. But again not a rule, just an idea

-Justin

Do you flip it periodically?

 

[Hormigaquatica]

No, the frag will attach itself like that after a while. The healthy tissue in contact with the substrate will grow quickly and anchor the piece down. With Acropora and Motipora, the individual polyps that were once on the 'side' of the branch would now be facing up- and rather than having just 1 termial polyp on the point of the frag growing up, all those polyps lining the piece would modify themselves and become terminal polyps of a bunch of individual new branches. I dont know if it works that way with Hydnophora, but Im guessing youll see something similar.