Rjohn Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I had a loose mushroom so I put him in a small glass bowl with some crushed coral. He has attached a layer of crushed coral so I'd like to glue that to a larger piece of rock. What should I use to glue him? While I am glueing him and waiting for it to dry, how long can he stay out of the water and live? The mushroom is about 3 inches across when he is open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Rick - I think most just use Super Glue GEL. There are many different varieties but they are supposedly all the same so long as the primary ingredient sounds like it has something to do with Cyano (Cyanoacrylate). The mushroom or zoas should have no problem being out of the water the short period of time that is involved. I get the rock - dry the spot slightly - apply a little SG - grab the frag - apply a little more on the bonding surface - stick the two together for maybe 20 seconds and put it back in the water. You can tell pretty quickly when it has set. It is much easier, for me, to glue frags to rocks, than to glue the frag rocks to other rocks in the tank. That's all I know Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjohn Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 You mean put the gel directly on the coral itself, then attach that to the rock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 It all depends upon the coral type. If you are working with that mushroom then failure is almost certain. After you glue them down they shed a slime coat and drift away. As you said before, isolate the mushroom on some small rocks until it has attached itself. Once accomplished then glue that rock with super glue gel wherever you'd like. With SPS frags you can apply the glue directly to the coral. When I mount SPS frags I remove the coral from the water for about 1 minute and lay it on a towel. I keep plenty of small pieces of dry reef rock near the tank, when ready I will pick a small rock and glue the frag to it. I generally bring in a small bowl and fill it with tank water, place in the area of work. Take the frag, dab the end that will be glued with a towel, place a small spurt of gel on the rock where you want the frag, place the frag in the glue for a few seconds and then place it in the bowl of tank water. The glue will begin to harden in seconds under water. After about 2 minutes remove the rock from the bowl. Dry the bottom of the rock. Place some gel on the rock and then place it in the tank. Work the glue around until it begins sticking to the main display rock work. In a few weeks the frag will encrust onto the small piece of rubble. By gluing the rubble, you can break away the rubble piece and move it around the tank if the need should arise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjohn Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 OK thanks Mike. Time for a trip to Walmart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 My mushrooms are too slimy, i've never gotten superglue regular or gel to stick. The crushed coral it's adhered to, however, is another story. They seem pretty tough, a few seconds to a minute out of water shouldn't hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckin Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Some of the "dollar stores" carry the superglue gel pretty cheap. (Don't be surprised if the tube has some air bubbles.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 You mean put the gel directly on the coral itself, then attach that to the rock? Yes - the whole point of having it in the crushed coral or small rubble bed is to have something not so slimy to put the super glue on. Shroom attaches to lil rocks, superglue lil rocks to bigger rocks. Even with shrooms or zoas it is okay to get a little glue on the specimen. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.