ISSUE # 6 page 1 JUNE 1997
Hello,
Welcome to the sixth issue of our online newsletter. This month we will continue on with our series on Brood Stock. I took my own advice last month and purchased 2 great looking Green Star polyp rocks in Seattle. I am glad that I did because I ordered at least 8 "green stars" along with our other brood stock orders. I can tell you I am not very pleased with any of the imported stock. I was glad to pay $29.00 each for the good colors. I had to pack them and drive them 500 miles but I will be cutting them for years to come.
If anyone has extra GREEN green stars I will be happy to trade for some great fast growing sps corals.
Keep getting the best colored brood stock you can find and your new reef farm will thrive in the future.
Enjoy this issue and I will see you next month!
LeRoy
After the cutting is made it is dried on the paper towel. Carefully apply several drops of the gel to the bottom of the cutting and allow it to dry for ten seconds. Place the cutting against the rock underwater and hold it for twenty seconds. We have learned that by twisting the cutting ninty degrees after it is in place the glue holds much better. If the cutting is not secure when you release it the first time reglue the base. The glue is applied directly to the dried glue and it seems to stick better this way.
Place the cuttings in a bowl of aquarium water.Choose a place in the reef aquarium for the cutting so that it gets good lighting and water flow. You can move the cuttings later so you can place them closer together than you would in show tank.
Place the fresh cut on the paper towel for 10 seconds. Apply the thick super glue to the cutting. Two drops are usually sufficient. Pick up the cutting and press the newly cut section on selected site. You can twist the cutting until some glue starts to stick to the base rock.
We try to place these cuttings near the top of the reef so they will get the best light and water flow. These types of polyps can be cut from the mother colony one at a time. The polyps are then placed in a gravel bowl until they attach to a small rock. The cutting can then be glued along with the rock to a larger rock.
These small polyps are a good cutting to add to mixed species rocks. With the super glue we can glue individual polyps of several types to the base rocks. Pick the polyp up with tweezers and place a drop of glue on the base. Several colors will grow into a mixed colony.
These cuttings can be placed 1/2 way down in the reef aquarium near the middle. This location is very good for these cuttings because they need good lighting and water flow.
We have found that by using extra glue when we attach these cuttings we can remove them later along with the extra glue. You can then cut the piece of glue into several parts with zoanthids growing on each one.
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A ball of glue the size of a pencil eraser will hold most frags in place. We pick a spot in one of the broodstock tanks, and quickly push the frag against the live rock. A slight twist to spread the glue on the surface of the live rock helps. Count to 30 and release the frag.
MAKING A CAVE ROCK
Fill the fish box 1/2 full of Carib SeaTM aragonite sand and dampen with fresh water - the sand needs to be only moist.
Hollow out a hole in the middle of the rock and pour in some Carib SeaTM aragonite sand. This sand will form the inside of the cave.
Cover the rock with Carib SeaTM aragonite sand and tap on the side of the box about 20 times with your hands -- this will settle the sand into the aragocreteTM
Let the aragacreteTM set for 24 hours before you remove the rock from the sand.
Soak the rock in white vinegar for 12 hours and rinse them in fresh water before you use them.
This is a simple form to make and it sells very well in several sizes.
STEP 1. Dig out the sand in your box to form the basic shape you want. Be careful not to expose the bottom of the box or your rock will have an unnatural flat spot.
STEP 2. Place the aragocrete mix into the mold hole and insert any sea shells or rocks you want use 1/2 way into wet aragocrete.
STEP 3. Cover the rock with sand - a very natural looking rock is made by using a different sand on the top of the rock. This will look like the rock was formed in the ocean.
STEP 4. Allow the rock to dry 48 hours and wash it in fresh water. Your rocks will be much stronger if you cure them in cold fresh water for 1 week.
The rock is placed in a grow out system with good light and water flow.
STEP 1. Treat the system water with extra SeaChem Reef Builder and Reef Calcium to start the coralline algae.
STEP 2. After the rock starts to grow coralline algae you can glue several small cuttings to the rock with super glue gel.
STEP 3. Allow the live rock to finish growing. Watch for unwanted algae and Aptasia anemones. We use Copper Band Butterfly fish and Reef Janitors in our grow - out systems to control these pests.
Materials and Methods
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PULSE CORALS -(WOODS POLYPS,CLOVE POLYPS ETC.)
These soft corals can be removed from the base rock with a sharp wood chisel. Start the cut 1/8" from the edge of the colony. Push the chisel into the base rock so that you remove a thin slice of the interconnecting base. Glue sections of the polyp colony to the base rock. Use a drop of the thick glue to attach any parts of the colony not glued down. These types of cuttings have been close to 100% successful.
ZOANTHIDS - (PAYLTHOA)
We create mother colonies of these polyps by gluing several pieces one inch apart on the tops of the aragocreteTM rocks in the brightest parts of the reef. These polyps will grow the fastest in strong current if they are fed often. PIPE CORALS - (CLAVULARIA, GREEN STARS, ECT.)
These soft corals form an incrusting purple or brown mass. The surface feels hard because of calcareous selerites embedded in the mesoglea. These corals can be removed from the parent colony with a wood chisel. Place these cuttings in a bowl of reef water. Dry the cuttings on paper towel for 30 seconds. Apply the thick glue to the prepared site and hold the cutting in place for 10 seconds. This method works because it holds the cutting tightly while they attach. Several small cuttings of different strains can be placed on the same rock. All colors will do well together, but large types tend to over-grow small types. SMALL POLYP STONY CORAL - ACROPORA - MONTIPORA - POCILLOPORA
Prepare the fragments by breaking a small branch from the parent colony. This can be done by using a small pair of pliers. We use side cutting pliers to snap the frags from the colony. The coral will break rather than cut. Grip the branch firmly and twist it gently. These frags are placed in a plastic pan of reef water.
Fragments of these corals do extremely well when glued to aragocreteTM with this type of glue. These corals look like they are almost floating above the base rock. Only the center skeleton is attached at first.
The most interesting thing is that none of the polyps around the base die. When we use epoxy some tissue always dies. Small pieces of Porites type corals can be glued to larger rocks by breaking off small pieces from the colony.
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
UNIQUE HAND MOLDED ARAGOCRETETM LIVEROCKS
ADD MORE PROFIT TO YOUR REEF PRODUCTION SYSTEM
MAKING ARAGOCRETETM LIVE ROCKS part 2:
16 MONTHS IN SALLY JO'S REEF AQUARIUM
MATERIALS:
in styrofoam fish shipping box for making mold.
for making aragocreteTM
INSTRUCTIONS:
Dig an oval hole in the sand that will be the shape of the finished rock.
Mix 5 parts Carib SeaTM aragonite sand with 1 part portland cement.
Pour the aragacrete into each hole in the mold.
SAND MOLDING AN ARCH SHAPED LIVE ROCK
CREATING A HAND MADE ARAGOCRETE LIVE ROCK
The sand molded rock is washed in white vinegar and rinsed in fresh water.
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