frag frustration!!!!!!!!

[beano]

OK so its been along time coming....FOWLR for a whole year....finally go buy some frags. some are attached to rocks and some on on plugs...big giant plugs. the LFS guy was attaching some frags to plugs when i got there so i ask what he is using and what should I use when i get home. he gives me ic-gel ethyl cyanoacrylate gel. he says make a little pile of glue then stick it against the rock and hold for 30 seconds. sounds easy. i try, i try making a bigger pile of glue, i try sticking to a new spot, i try holding it longer, and longer. i can not get a single plug or rock to stick to anything else. should i be doing this out of the tank? apply glue to dry plugs? i have no idea what i am supposed to do (well i have an idea but its not working) and i dont know what i am doing wrong. needless to say i am frustrated and my girlfriend is now having doubts about my competence. i dont have a specific question but can someone help me? now all my exciting corals are just sitting in the sand waiting to be given a new home...and some are just sitting atop the liverock waiting to be knocked over...

 

[mm2meyer]

Try super glue. I've heard a lot of people use it and apparently it works wonders! Just use the gel stuff. Someone with more expierience should chime in shortly

 

[ndepratt]

super glue gel, dry the two surfaces pretty well... the saltwater causes the gel to form a skin pretty much instantly....

 

[beano]

the guy at the store said i could do it underwater. the big problem is that the rocks i want to atttach most of these guys to are at the bottom of the tank and there is almost no way i can dry them off. should i use epoxy?

 

[Smitty]

:dunno:I may be wrong, but I thought super glue gel could be used underwater.

 

[Bifferwine]

Super glue gel can be used underwater. You need to use a lot of it though. For some frags, I've used half a tube. It's definitely a skill that takes practice, so don't get discouraged, you'll get it!

 

[daugherty]

you just have to use a lot of it and hold the coral for a while until the glue sets

 

[winyfrog]

they got you covered.

 

[beano]

will the glue grow coraline on it?

also, these plugs they used are huge! the polyps will grow around them I'm sure but I have a feeling it will still look funny. anybody do anything about that or should I just get creative with where I stick the plug?

I was thinking of gluing it sideways so it doesn't stick out so far from the rock.

 

[winyfrog]

eventually the coralline and the coral will grow covering the plug. I will usually try to put the plug in a hole in the rock to help hide it.

 

[Bifferwine]

Winy is right, as soon as coralline covers the plug, you won't be able to see it. And coralline tends to cover plastic very quickly.

 

[beano]

hanks I will try again when I get home from work and let you know how it goes. so frustrating I can't even glue two things together!!!!:helm2:

 

[mm2meyer]

we've all had those moments, just keep on truckin and you'll get there

 

[scummy]

I have given up on the gel and now waiting for my two part epoxy putty to show up. Hopefuly it will stand up against my snails a little better than the get.

 

[dcantucson]

I hate those plugs, and prefer to use live rock or rubble. Most of the time I will remove reattach the frag myself. Super glue will work under water but it takes practice like Biff said. If I can't attach it out of the water I use epoxy in the water. It takes a bit longer to set up but I have found it to be easier. Super glue always ends up all over my fingers!

 

[daugherty]

make shure that epoxy is safe it must say safe for potable water. as for the gel put a big huge glob on the plug than put it were you want it and hold it there for a couple minuets and it will stay put

 

[beano]

woo hoo!

tried a big glob of lfs glue and it didnt work so i picked up some super glue gel. instant success. i dont know what the difference is or if it was just a placebo thing but my frags are now stuck to rocks in my tank. i found it much easier to glue to the plug to a small piece of rubble and then glue the rubble to a larger rock. also the frogspawn withe the extra large plug, i broke it off the plug.

thank you everyone for your advice and support, now i have to go buy some more frags....

if i didnt have an embarrassing amount of hair algea right in the frame i would post a pic :D

 

[yote]

You might as well some hairy pics.The rest of us have:D

 

[WarmSoda]

You might as well some hairy pics.The rest of us have:D

Did I interrupt something?
:D

 

[yote]

Did I interrupt something?
:D

NAW,Not around here:D