Coral Plugs and You

[markgsu]

Anyone have a good solution for removing the bases off of coral plugs? I got an ORA coral yesterday from Creation and the plug on it is huge! I wanted to shorten possibly even remove it so that I can apoxy to a rock. Which brings me to my second question, whats the best way to get them to stay in place once I have found a good home for them?

 

[thanh386]

I have never removed the Ora plugs, but for everything else bone cutters clip them right off.

 

[misu]

let it grow a bit, frag it and sell the plug with what's left. Those ORA plugs are a pain to cut.

 

[mustangcaleb]

he is correct, alot of people use bone cutters, i usually just use a standard set of dykes. and to mount the plug, there is epoxys you can use, ive seen some at optimum aquarium. but i usually use super glue gel, thats how ur frags are mounted to the plugs. they have these awesome little 5 tube packs of it at the dollar store. or if you need some asap, i can give you one of the little tubes

 

[landon]

I do not have the big daddy bone cutters but I tried shortening an ORA plug with my small clippers and those things are strong. I never could trim it. If the frag has not encrusted the plug, you can typically pull them out gently or snip the base where it meets the plug.

The cutters I use are from CVS. They are really meant for heavy duty toe nail clipping but work great for the tank. Make sure you get stainless.

 

[CoralShop]

bolt cutters make it cake.

 

[liverock27]

dremel tool makes quick work of the plug. Other than that they are PITA to cut through.

 

[thanh386]

Honestly this Ora plugs are nice for frag racks, nice and heavy

 

[spiderman097]

Just take a 1/2 inch drill, and drill a hole in your rock. It's perfect and you don't need any epoxy

 

[markgsu]

Mustang your plugs aren't the problem, that ORA pulg is almost 3/4 inch long. Its crazy big!

Ora plugs are nice for frag racks, nice and heavy

I don't have a frag rack and my rocks don't have holes big enough were my birds nest needs to go.

 

[thanh386]

If you are unable to trim it, try using epoxy, and attaching it front thr side, then place a rock over it to cover up the epoxy .

 

[mustangcaleb]

want to borrow a dremel?

 

[markgsu]

I got a dremel, but thanks! The GSP really opened up this morning when the lights came on, awesome frag!

Mustang, you said you were using super glue of some kind. Is there a specific kind that we need to use in SW or will any super glue work?

 

[mustangcaleb]

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[thanh386]

Dollar store glue lol

 

[landon]

I use superglue a lot. Like others have said, you have to use the gel and most people will say you need to look for the word Cyanoacrylate on the packaging.

 

[aholley19]

Is the super glue gel not toxic to fish? I'm assuming it's not. Will the super glue cure in the water? How exactly do you go about gluing a frag that's already on a small piece of live rock to a big piece of live rock. I have a polyp frag currently just sitting on my LR that hermits keep knocking out of place. Stupid questions i know but just got into the saltwater world about a month ago...

 

[dawgface]

bluffmagjeff;638381 wrote: The superglue is NOT toxic to the fish and does cure underwater.

For me, the most effective way to attach a small piece of live rock to your rock structure is by using putty. Go to HD or Lowes and you'll find Aquamend (it's WB Weld for H2O). I use the putty with superglue on both sides, and it works great. For superglue, it's more manageable using the superglue gel.

+1

I've tried just apoxy and just SG gell, by themselves neither work as effective as I would like. Together they are a god!

 

[aholley19]

Thanks for the advice, picked up some krazy glue gel and relocated the polyps and their rock. They are MUCH happier now