Frag Pucks

just an easy general question here. When you buy frags they come on the pucks. Do you leave them on there when you get them home? Do they stay on there forever and just grow around it? I have a few SPS that i just bought that i have up higher on rocks to get more light and either the fish or the flow knocks them off.

How do you solve this?

 

They stay on the pucks(plugs) and grow over it. You can use superglue gel or epoxy putty to secure them to rockwork.

 

this is special glue right? super glue would release toxins in the water

 

nope plain super glue gel works best

 

I usually use this stuff:
Two Little Fishies Aquastik Aquarium Epoxy Putty
Sometimes I use Bulk reef supply gel super glue. It's easier to work with under water than normal superglue.
It just depends on the location where I want to put it. I usually break off the stem on the frag plug unless it sits in a nice little hole.

I keep my eyes out for rubble at the fish stores. Sometimes you can get a whole bucket. .. or just break up some live rocks for mounting frags. I much prefer to mount my frags on a small rock (frag plug and all) than to mount them on a big rock. It just depends on where it's going but if you have it mounted on a decent size piece of rubble it makes it easier to move the frag around and take it out in the future for cutting frags/inspections.

 

If they are SPS you can remove the frag from the plug with stainless clippers from a frag tool kit and then use super glue to glue on a rock. This is what I do. I don't like plugs in the tank personally.

 

Im with Matt on that one. Esp encrusting varities, then you always end up with a little donut in the center of your colony!!! I usually take wirecutters and cut the frag plug back as much as possible and then add soem epoxy around it to hold it into a crevice in the rockwork. Works pretty well, although I suggest minimizing handling when you first get it. Buy it, accliamte it, place it in your tank, and a few weeks later trim it up and make it look pretty. Doing it all at once is very stressful and I have lsot some pieces due to that mistake a few times I fear.

Also as a sidenote, reef putty works great but sometimes you need something different. Superglue from walmart has been fine for me in the past. I recently switched to using the extrathick superglue from BRS though. Most prodcuts are safe believe it or not I used the locktite with the blue label from walmart many times no problems.