Attaching coral to rocks

recess62 · Nov 22, 2016

i have been having problems attaching encrusted chalice to my live rock. How do you do it without breaking the coral? The chalices I have been trying to attach are in plugs without abstem. I have been using cyano gel to the bottom of the plug remnant then epoxy then cyano again then to the rock. The plugs just don't want to stick to the rock. How do you get the cyano/epoxy to stick to the LR without pressing down on the coral and injuring it?

Whipples · Nov 22, 2016

If you are using a thicker super glue it will develop a film like bubble around it as soon as it hits the salt water, which may be why it is not sticking for you. I've glued a big branching hammer using a healthy dollop of IC Gel and once I have it where I want it, I spin/twist/otherwise agitate the super glue to break that film layer and hold it there for a minute or two to set. remember to have at least your circulation pumps off for 10-15 minutes to really allow it to hold.

You can also try gluing it to a piece of rock rubble to ensure it will stay put first, then glue that rock to your live rock. Just make sure you use a healthy amount of super glue and to break the film.

recess62 · Nov 22, 2016

I like the idea of first attaching to a piece of rubble. That will give me something to hang onto rather than the edges of the coral

Whipples · Nov 22, 2016

Definitely. For encrusting corals I like to leave the circular part of the frag plug in tact and just trim it down a bit to make it less obvious. The flat surface can help with gluing and it gives your fingers somewhere other than the coral to press/hold.

Salty1962 · Nov 22, 2016

When I've had a problem with attaching a frag to LR, I:
Make up some epoxy and press against the LR
Pull molded epoxy from LR and let it harden
Clean area of LR to get as much algae, etc as I can off the LR
Used super glue and attach epoxy to LR
Super glue frag to epoxy
I have also mixed super glue with the epoxy and attached to LR, then place frag on epoxy. It's worked very well for hard to get spaces on my LR. Just make sure it's where you want to keep it as it is VERY hard to get off LR. Good luck!