gluing corals

[teknopanda]

when people say they glue corals to LR etc, what is the process. i am assuming you have to do this out of water so what do you do about the coral. for glue to dry it would take possibly 24hours. won't the coral die? or do u put it upside down in a container filled with water only up to the point of gluing. also what type of glue is used? thanks.

[Nanook]

I use Loctite Quiktite super glue gel...not cheap but works well, never runs. I take the frag out of the water, dry the base, apply the super glue and then place it onto the small piece of rock out of water, then carefully submerge it for a minute or two...this is all it takes for affixing. When you put the glued frag underwater, it welds on quickly. I also will glue the frag and then just quickly stick it onto a big piece of LR down in the aquarium, it works this way too, just have to hold it still and in place for a minute or two. The frag isnt affected by being out of the water for this process.


Nanook

[Frick-n-Frags]

Also, the 2-part kneadable epoxy cures underwater and is relatively non-toxic also.

The Loctite gel is awesome. PLUS... the crazy plastic dispenser says 4 grams, but if you rip all that crap off, there is really a 5 gram tube inside.

GARF has even been gluing frags totally underwater with blobs of superglue. I think it is garf.org. I find that the bond isn't as good as when the two surfaces can be dabbed dry before gluing(obviously outside the tank) and this is a more durable bond. I have monster Mithrax crabs that just tear up crappy superglue jobs so I tend to do any permanent tank mounting with the epoxy.