Initial coral placement and associated moves

[WildChurchMonkeys]

So I see plenty of talk of starting corals low in the tank and slowly moving them upward as time progresses. I know that it depends on the tank and lights, but do you start all coral being placed directly in the middle of the sand to start and move from there, or do you have other tips? Also, if you see some receding/bleaching/ or browning how big of a move do you usually make? (an inch, two inches, go to middle of tank height but on the outside, etc). Hypothetically, I don’t want to go toward extreme moves and cause extra stress if I don’t have too but also want to make sure it gets where it needs to be. I’m sure it’s a feel move more than anything but anecdotal evidence can be helpful at times. Thanks!

 

[Euphyllia97]

I always put the coral directly at the spot I want it to be... That way you can see whether the flow pattern is good and you don’t have to disturb the coral anymore later on. If you see that the coral is showing some problems due to lighting and has the tendency to start bleaching or not opening up, I move them to the sandbed to get acclimated to the lights.

 

[WildChurchMonkeys]

I always put the coral directly at the spot I want it to be... That way you can see whether the flow pattern is good and you don’t have to disturb the coral anymore later on. If you see that the coral is showing some problems due to lighting and has the tendency to start bleaching or not opening up, I move them to the sandbed to get acclimated to the lights.

That makes sense. I've always seen images of frag plugs littering the sand bed so I assumed that’s the route most people went. Thank you for your insight!

 

[ReefGrammie]

I put "lower corals" (mushrooms, zoanthids) in the spot I generally want them from the start. I will usually put others on the sand for a few days, then up maybe a few inches, wait a few days more, up a few more inches, etc. I've heard others say leave them for a month before moving them up, but I don't wait that long. I look at the coral opening up and polyp extension. If the coral is staying closed, I try another location. I did that this weekend with a ricordea that I think was getting a little too much flow in the initial location.

I also hate frag plugs and tend to glue the plugs to a piece of rubble. If you have turbo snails, or in my case, a goby/pistol shrimp, frag plugs can get mowed over in the sand or knocked off the rock. I used to glue them to the live rock, then snap them off to move to a different location, but that's too much of a pain! Once I decide on the final location, I'll glue the plug (or the frag itself) to the live rock.

 

[WildChurchMonkeys]

I put "lower corals" (mushrooms, zoanthids) in the spot I generally want them from the start. I will usually put others on the sand for a few days, then up maybe a few inches, wait a few days more, up a few more inches, etc. I've heard others say leave them for a month before moving them up, but I don't wait that long. I look at the coral opening up and polyp extension. If the coral is staying closed, I try another location. I did that this weekend with a ricordea that I think was getting a little too much flow in the initial location.

I also hate frag plugs and tend to glue the plugs to a piece of rubble. If you have turbo snails, or in my case, a goby/pistol shrimp, frag plugs can get mowed over in the sand or knocked off the rock. I used to glue them to the live rock, then snap them off to move to a different location, but that's too much of a pain! Once I decide on the final location, I'll glue the plug (or the frag itself) to the live rock.

Thank you for your insight as well. It’s amazing how different everyones takes are for even “simple” tasks in this hobby and still make it work for their situation.
Secondary question since you brought it up; when you say you glue the plug on to a piece of rubble, do you cut off the extension and down size the plug surface prior to gluing on rubble or just the extension on the bottom of the plug? I’d be nervous about the trying to get the actual frag off of the plug without causing harm.

 

[ZoWhat]

Do yourself a favor and DONT just keep stacking LR so the end result is all your LR is locked into each other.

Best to LAY LR against each other in sections....

Because it's great having the ability to PULL LR out for manual cleaning in extreme cases and the whole aquascape doesn't collapse

 

[Susan Edwards]

Do yourself a favor and DONT just keep stacking LR so the end result is all your LR is locked into each other.

Best to LAY LR against each other in sections....

Because it's great having the ability to PULL LR out for manual cleaning in extreme cases and the whole aquascape doesn't collapse

Good Advice except for arches usually. In my first tank, I did this and part of the landscape didn't work out. It was difficult to redo as 3 pcs were glued together. In my newest tank, I don't remember if I cemented any but if I did, they are on the bottom. But I'm thinking prob. not. Also, even using cardboard as a template, my "planned" scape never fits or goes in the same way. The rocks are hard to fit exactly! Even marking them. Next tank, will be larger--at least wider. I may play with some ideas but as I'd be using some new as a "foundation" and the current on top, I'll just build it in the tank.

 

[ReefGrammie]

Thank you for your insight as well. It’s amazing how different everyones takes are for even “simple” tasks in this hobby and still make it work for their situation.
Secondary question since you brought it up; when you say you glue the plug on to a piece of rubble, do you cut off the extension and down size the plug surface prior to gluing on rubble or just the extension on the bottom of the plug? I’d be nervous about the trying to get the actual frag off of the plug without causing harm.

I generally don't remove the frag altogether. There have been a few instances where I have, such as a monti cap. It's hard to get a monti cap in a good spot on a frag plug!

On the few I did last week, I glued the entire plug to the rubble. Most of my rock pieces are about the size of an oddly shaped golf ball. I try to find an indention for gluing the entire plug, usually by the stem. Occasionally, I will snap off the stem, depending on what I'm working with. Hope this helps!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Good discussion so far.