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07/26/2017, 03:28 PM | #1 |
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Corals on plugs
I have several Zoas and a Meteor Shower Cyphastrea on plugs that I need to move from the sand to the rocks. I've successfully glued those that are on a small base to the rocks. How can I move those on plugs to my rocks?
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07/27/2017, 07:21 AM | #2 |
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Anyone know how to do this? My rocks don't have holes big enough to put the plugs in. If I just lay them on the rocks, it doesn't look good and they will get knocked off.
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07/27/2017, 09:16 AM | #3 |
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I would just cut the stem off with some wire cutters.
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07/27/2017, 11:27 AM | #4 |
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I second al's advice. I use wire cutters to clip the plugs off.
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07/27/2017, 11:38 AM | #5 |
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You have two options:
1. You can cut or break off the stems and glue the top of the plug to your rock. This works better for sps in my opinion because they will encrust over and you don't see the plug. With zoas, you still see some plug through. 2. Remove the zoas from the plug and glue them to your rock. I find the best way to do this is the same as I use for fragging. Use a scalpel to trim a thin layer off the top of the plug under the zoas, then glue that layer to your rock. Gluing zoas directly is difficult at best.
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07/27/2017, 06:43 PM | #6 |
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Thank you for your ideas. I tried cutting the stem with wire cutters and it worked, but it left a good sized piece that will not look good on a rock. Diving's suggestion about using a scalpel to trim a thin layer off the top of the plug sounds like the result would be what I want except I don't understand how this can be done with a scalpel without ruining the scalpel before cutting through the layer.
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07/27/2017, 08:28 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
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07/31/2017, 08:18 AM | #8 |
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Could use an exacto knife to do it as well, thats what I use. But if you trim off as much of the plug as possible and glue it to the rock, that will work just fine. Not sure why there was the comparison for SPS though, sure they encrust, but zoa colonies expand as well and will cover the plug in time too.
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08/01/2017, 10:29 AM | #9 |
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I bought an Exacto style Fiskars knife and tried to cut the plug. All I accomplished after about 5 minutes was just scratching the plug. I tried using my Rotozip with the same results. This coral was on a flat piece that had been glued to a plug. I tried to cut through the glue to remove it. Didn't work. Not happy with the results. I'll make sure none of the corals I buy from now on are on plugs. The stem does come off easily, but I don't like what is left.
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08/01/2017, 10:38 AM | #10 |
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Don't use a knife like that to cut the plug. Use wire cutters, same thing that cuts the stem. Or just leave the plug whole, that is what I usually do, they will grow over and cover the plug in time.
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08/01/2017, 10:48 AM | #11 | |
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Quote:
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08/01/2017, 11:31 AM | #12 |
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should have been more specific sorry, I use the exacto to cut corals completely off the plug.
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08/01/2017, 11:41 AM | #13 |
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OK - so I'm just cutting the stem off and gluing that to the rocks. Hopefully they will eventually cover the plug.
Thanks for the input. |
08/12/2017, 07:23 PM | #14 |
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Remove coral from plug and glue directly to rock, it will recover.
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08/12/2017, 07:25 PM | #15 |
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Glued last night.
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08/12/2017, 07:27 PM | #16 |
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Sorry here is photo
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08/12/2017, 07:28 PM | #17 |
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Wow, here you go.
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08/13/2017, 05:40 PM | #18 |
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This forum is dead.
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08/13/2017, 06:15 PM | #19 |
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08/13/2017, 07:50 PM | #20 |
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09/01/2017, 07:43 PM | #21 |
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An idea for you... rock is very brittle. Drill holes into your rock with a drill but the width of the plug. Little glue on the bottom if you want otherwise slide the plug in and the zoas will encrust over the gaps and spread to the rock to get your desired effect. Since you need to take the rock out anyways why not spend 30 seconds drilling it?
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