Montipora keeps falling down

Cory · Feb 8, 2020

So ive had this monti cap about 6". It fell off one day because i broke it. My wave maker blows it off and it flips upside down. Ive tried epoxying it down and it keeps falling off. I even epoxied over living tissue in the hopes it would stay put. Nope.

So i just put a big rock on it. You think it will grow on it eventually? 1/3 of it is shaded now. Need this coral to encrust. Thoughts?

ScottR · Feb 8, 2020

Do you have pics? I have a mariculture monti cap that came on a rock. But eventually the monti grew onto other rocks and also a neighboring corals skeleton. I picked it up to trim it and noticed that it broke off where it had encrusted onto other rocks and now I have little montis growing everywhere.

Cory · Feb 8, 2020

ScottR said:
Do you have pics? I have a mariculture monti cap that came on a rock. But eventually the monti grew onto other rocks and also a neighboring corals skeleton. I picked it up to trim it and noticed that it broke off where it had encrusted onto other rocks and now I have little montis growing everywhere.

No because its nightime. The problem is my surge dumps 40 gallons in 7 seconds right passed the monti. And since its a plate its like an uplift effect of an airplane. Im just worried the rock will kill it. Probably not right? Like should i drill a hole through the center and then epoxy it? My last resort was to place a rock on it lol.

ScottR · Feb 8, 2020

Cory said:
No because its nightime. The problem is my surge dumps 40 gallons in 7 seconds right passed the monti. And since its a plate its like an uplift effect of an airplane. Im just worried the rock will kill it. Probably not right? Like should i drill a hole through the center and then epoxy it? My last resort was to place a rock on it lol.

Wow. If you drilled a hole, you might end up with many pieces. Can’t you epoxy the bottom of it to a rock? Usually a monti cap will grow relatively quickly and hopefully epoxy will keep it there long enough for it to encrust onto rock. I had mine roughly 9 months just sitting there. When I moved it, it took a slight bit of force to pull it off.

Cory · Feb 8, 2020

ScottR said:
Wow. If you drilled a hole, you might end up with many pieces. Can’t you epoxy the bottom of it to a rock? Usually a monti cap will grow relatively quickly and hopefully epoxy will keep it there long enough for it to encrust onto rock. I had mine roughly 9 months just sitting there. When I moved it, it took a slight bit of force to pull it off.

I thought of this but it seems hard to do because of the oval cup shaped body and you cant see whats happening. Plus the bottom is smooth. Dont wanna waste more epoxy ive tried 4 times lol. Must be a way. I agree drilling would probably break it into many. Sigh.

ScottR · Feb 9, 2020

Cory said:
I thought of this but it seems hard to do because of the oval cup shaped body and you cant see whats happening. Plus the bottom is smooth. Dont wanna waste more epoxy ive tried 4 times lol. Must be a way. I agree drilling would probably break it into many. Sigh.

Like you said, weight it down. It’ll die where it is weighted but it’ll grow back. If it’s the type that grows more upward, it probably won’t ever encrust.

Cory · Feb 9, 2020

ScottR said:
Like you said, weight it down. It’ll die where it is weighted but it’ll grow back. If it’s the type that grows more upward, it probably won’t ever encrust.

Oh i never thought of that. Its more.of the plating type. Almost flat. I guess well have to see what the rock does.

mborn · Feb 9, 2020

Epoxy putty plus super glue gel sandwiched together works for me.

Sierra_Bravo · Feb 9, 2020

Can you disable your surge for 24hours to allow the epoxy time to fully cure?

Agree with superglue-epoxy-superglue connection to rock. I've always had really good results, enough that you need to pry it off the rock with a small tool. Don't be afraid to use a lot of super glue. Of course, apply the superglue and epoxy to the monti first outside the tank.

Good luck.

Cory · Feb 9, 2020

Well its staying in place with the rock on it. I think ill leave it be. However from my carlson surge the bubbles it produces sweep right over the monti and it seems to be sliming at the edges. Normal? Okay?

ScottR · Feb 9, 2020

Cory said:
Well its staying in place with the rock on it. I think ill leave it be. However from my carlson surge the bubbles it produces sweep right over the monti and it seems to be sliming at the edges. Normal? Okay?

They will release mucus when under stress. Maybe with all the bubbles (air) it is protecting itself from desiccation.

Cory · Feb 9, 2020

Sierra_Bravo said:
Can you disable your surge for 24hours to allow the epoxy time to fully cure?

Agree with superglue-epoxy-superglue connection to rock. I've always had really good results, enough that you need to pry it off the rock with a small tool. Don't be afraid to use a lot of super glue. Of course, apply the superglue and epoxy to the monti first outside the tank.

Good luck.

I could but i dont really want that. Make a cup with two hands like your catching falling water, thats the shape of my monti except the flesh is the top of your hands. Really annoying to epoxy this.