Mounting New SPS Immediately

[CastAway]

My experience, as a relative noob, is that SPS frags seem to have accelerated growth once I mount them permanently.

Moreover, that a little damage at the base seems to spur growth, like they want to heal.

Beyond simple acclimation, time on a rack vs mounting immediately was a topic of some discussion today I'm my Reef Club meeting.

Thoughts or comments?

 

[Rob.D]

"Set it and forget it"!!!! Well maybe not forget it but maybe, keep an eye on it. I've always heard the idea of placing frags in the sand bed then slowly raise them or move the frags to different spots, all that adjusting just seams counterproductive.....but I could be wrong.

 

[wpeterson]

I think you should acclimate new corals carefully and do any dipping. After they've been in your tank for a few days, there's no reason not to mount them permanently. They will adjust to the lighting/flow if they are appropriate in a few weeks. Better to let them adjust once or twice vs. multiple times.

You have the added benefit of removing any bad hitch-hikers on the frag plug (nuisance algae or pests) by mounting quickly and tossing the plug.

 

[CastAway]

Yeah, I should clarify, acclimation over a few days, of course. But, pieces I've had on the rack for a while just seem to blast off once mounted. Maybe I just didn't know better, especially seeing so many pictures of frags on racks as opposed to mounted colonies. It just seems he SPS on a rack is the norm, but......

 

[Salty1962]

IMO, after you have acclimated your frags to your lighting, mount your frags and leave them alone. Especially SPS don't like to be moved around much once they get used to the location you out them in. Find the sweet spot and leave it there.

 

[luke33]

Agreed with above. When i frag a sps or get a new piece i put it in a spot and do not move it for a month. Generally fresh cut this works great and i have encrusted plugs within 2 weeks. Once they encrust you can move them where you want them.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I'm always afraid to even touch SPS frags at first! Interesting thought though?

 

[prsnlty]

I like mine mounted asap but sometimes they don't like their location. So I tend to mount them to a small piece of rubble rock and then move them if necessary. If they like where they're at I'll mount the rock permanently to that location.

 

[tautog83]

ya i always get nervous especially when they have encrusted some of the plug or most of it, most of the time i mount them to a piece of rubble and then i can move it if i have to. Once its happy though set it and forget it

 

[Mr V]

I always cut them off from the frag plug and mount them to the rock work. Everytime I getting new frag, I should already has ideas how the frag grow out and where I want to place them.

 

[hybridazn]

I usually keep my newly aquired sps frags on the rack for a week or so to really let them settle in before I mount them permanently. Then just as you have observed, they take off in growth.

 

[Sabellafella]

My experience, as a relative noob, is that SPS frags seem to have accelerated growth once I mount them permanently.

Moreover, that a little damage at the base seems to spur growth, like they want to heal.

Beyond simple acclimation, time on a rack vs mounting immediately was a topic of some discussion today I'm my Reef Club meeting.

Thoughts or comments?

Same with me. All my acros go on a frag rack when first brought in. When i decide to mount, theyll explode with growth. Coincident? Maybe. But it does happen in my tank and i look forward to finally mounting them lol

 

[Peanut]

I agree with the observation. I have always attributed it to the fact that once it is mounted the lighting it gets is consistent, angles, intensities, etc.

 

[CastAway]

Agreed. I wonder if even the tiny, even unperceptible, movements of an unmounted frag inhibit growth. I think the small amount of damage that comes from discounting and mounting, not to mention what I might do to the base on purpose; anything that prompts the corals to shed mucus, aides in the healing and accelerated growth. It really makes me question the whole idea of purposely healing frags to a plug, even if only to acclimate.

If I know what it is, and it's preferences, I'd rather buy a fresh cut I think.

Quick healing broken pieces are a natural means of propagation, perhaps more so than spawning. Not sure.

 

[Sabellafella]

Agreed. I wonder if even the tiny, even unperceptible, movements of an unmounted frag inhibit growth. I think the small amount of damage that comes from discounting and mounting, not to mention what I might do to the base on purpose; anything that prompts the corals to shed mucus, aides in the healing and accelerated growth. It really makes me question the whole idea of purposely healing frags to a plug, even if only to acclimate.

If I know what it is, and it's preferences, I'd rather buy a fresh cut I think.

Quick healing broken pieces are a natural means of propagation, perhaps more so than spawning. Not sure.

Lol, my friends out here think im crazy but this is just my experience. For some odd reason, i have better luck with fresh cut frags opposed to already healed and encrusted.The reason for this is because i like to use my own frag plugs otherwise i feel guilty chopping half the encrustment off to just throw it out. In my tank, i feel like the already healed frags take a while to settle in before it starts to grow. Fresh cuts start to skin down right away. Hopefully more logical statements can appear, so i can not as much feel like a doof for every frag i buy lol

 

[CastAway]

...as an example, I hope to buy a nice high end frag, freshly cut, from a fellow reefer soon. I know his tank somewhat, and the conditions surrounding the mother colony, and my intent is to temperature acclimate and dip only, and then to promptly grind this piece into a hole and apply a little epoxy.

I actually feel safer doing this than having it on a plug in my tank for any length of time.

 

[CastAway]

Lol, my friends out here think im crazy but this is just my experience. For some odd reason, i have better luck with fresh cut frags opposed to already healed and encrusted.The reason for this is because i like to use my own frag plugs otherwise i feel guilty chopping half the encrustment off to just throw it out. In my tank, i feel like the already healed frags take a while to settle in before it starts to grow. Fresh cuts start to skin down right away. Hopefully more logical statements can appear, so i can not as much feel like a doof for every frag i buy lol

I'm with you, 100%.

 

[fragit]

In my last tank, I didn't know any better and didn't dip any new frags. Luckily no invaders! With my new set up I plan to dip everything, and I'm with @Sabellafella the thought of cutting of a frag and throwing away and encrusted plug does not sit right with me. However I don't want to introduce any eggs on the plug, nor do I want any Bayer in my DT that may have stayed in the pores of the plug. I would rather just get fresh cut frags and glue them to my rock. The upside is by cutting off an encrusted plug you sort of have a built in back up frag.

 

[North Borders]

I'm mounting some frags from battlecorals this weekend that I've had on a frag rack since the 4th of July. They've encrusted about half the plug so far on each, but I'm hoping I'm in the 'explodes with growth once mounted' category! *fingers crossed*

 

[watchguy123]

I always remove frags from plugs. Depending on my busyness, I will either 1) glue the frag where I want it on rockscape or if busy 2) reglue them to a new plug and sit it on my frag rack . I don't have objections to fresh cuts locally.