Placement of SPS frags

[SlickSkimmer19]

Hello,

I just purchased some new SPS frags for my aquarium. They are on frag plugs (the super long ones) currently and I have a few wedged in some of the LR, but one of them keeps falling from the spot I place it. I see that most people epoxy the frags directly to the Live rock, but I'm afraid to permanently place a frag somewhere in my tank, where it won't be the most beneficial for growth. Some species need more light than others, but I'm not exactly sure how each frag will respond to their placement because they are new....therefore I don't want to affix them to an area just yet. I guess my question is, are there any tricks of the trade to prevent frags from falling off rock without permanently sticking them to a piece of LR? And for all those reefers that do permanently stick their frags to LR, what if the coral isn't doing so well?...do you break it off from the LR again and reposition it multiple times???.....Is it trial and error?

Thanks

 

[acrohead500ppm]

use super glue gel, epoxy is a pain,
esp when you want to move something

 

[TRENT_G]

I'm no expert here but I glue them to a large piece of RR. This way I can move them if needed but rock is heavy enough it won't tip over.

 

[SlickSkimmer19]

@Trent - Thats what I was possibly thinking about doing. I might just try and cut the frag plug at the base and glue it to some pieces of LR

Any other experiences/suggestions?

 

[smichaels68]

I use the Loctite epoxy (blue roll) from WalMart or Lowe's (it's cheaper at WalMart). It holds frags securely, and is pretty easy to remove with a good tug or a screwdriver. Nothing permanent, but a good hold.

 

[007Bond]

Placement of corals

Placement of corals

Looking or some help / information on the placement / locations of corals in your tank. You see all of the TOTM's and others tanks here at RC, they look like coral gardens. I have read that you are to put your corals in place and then keep your hands out of the tank. Question is there a site with information on proper placement of corals? Any info will be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Bond

 

[am3gross]

the placement will be different with every tank... you have to take into consideration the flow and light that people use...

how i have always done mine is to see what the coral likes best... what gives the coral the best polyp extension etc... i always put my frags on a rack and adj to the light first..once i get the coral use too my lights i stick the coral in about the same distance from the light on the rock......

hope this helps even tho its not the answer to your questions...

 

[007Bond]

Yes, Thank You. I guess if starting out with frags or small corals one would need to know what the end growths will be. I was looking for some sort of a road map to speak of, so you would not have to rearrange your whole tank every time you buy a new coral. The grown out tanks are so beautiful, I'm looking for input on starting positions.Bond

 

[am3gross]

i would start out placing them no more then 6 inches aprt from one another... it will take years for little frags to grow into the 6 inches but they will eventually get there parameters allowing... you can place them closer but you may be fragging a little more often..

 

[chessmanmark]

I use AquaMend, an epoxy you will find in the paint dept at Home Depot. Just because you epoxy it in your tank doesn't mean it is permanently affixed to that spot. Once the coral encrusts over the plug and onto the rock it is more permanent, however you will have more than enough time to decide if the placement is good for the coral or not. If you find the coral is not doing well, or the growth form will create a problem in that position you can always remove the epoxy and try another spot. Placing corals is a true talent. Like a good gardener you learn with experience. After my first two builds I started to rethink positioning of certain corals. What you consider your centerpiece corals as you begin your build quickly become less important as new acquisitions garner more interest. The problem I had was with my Valida and Pearlberry. They looked so nice up high as the began to grow but grew so quickly that the line of sight on these corals wasn't optimized. They don't look as nice when you are viewing the underside of their branches, unless you are looking at them from a top down point of view. I also place my Red Planet too high as it began to spread in the busy area rather than to open space. A Red Planet will do fine in a lower location where it will keep the green color as well as the red. Which corals are you questioning? Try to find them in the tanks you find on this forum and see if there are any similarities in placement.

 

[Justdrew]

I use my dremel to cut the bottom of the frag plug off to make a smooth mounting surface. I then use AquaMend and superglue to place them on the live rock. This way I don't disturb where they have encrusted, and I am able to easily move them if they are unhappy in that spot. I also keep the bottoms I cut off, just in case I need to move something temporarily back to the rack. A drop of superglue and you have a plug back.

Drew

 

[mc-cro]

I typically use epoxy/super glue to fix my frags to pieces of rubble like someone else said. Then they have a solid base, are not easily knocked over, but are still very mobile for cleaning, relocation, or whatever.

 

[neoalchemist74]

You can cut the stump off of the plug pretty easily with a pair of wire cutters and the two part epoxy is easy to pry or pop off with any sharp tool as others have stated. But when I want to get permenant I use a superglue - epoxy - superglue sandwhich.