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Each of these methods work very well on some cuttings. Several methods work on Sarcophyton and other rigid type soft corals. Sinularia and Lytophyton type soft corals that grow in branching forms have been more difficult to attach. Polyps of colonial anemones can be attached to base rock with rubber bands. This method is difficult to use when small polyps are attached. The rubber bands have to be stretched tightly across the polyps to hold them in place. This method of attachment often cut the small zoanthids in half. Pipe coral sections such as green star polyps have to be held tightly in place so the section can bond to base rock. The rubber bands can cause the polyps to die where they cover them. This problem can be treated by using Hydrogen peroxide, but on small specimens the success rate is low.
Many red and brown algae are very slow growing, and they are difficult to attach to base rock. Acropora and other small polyped stony corals can be attached with epoxy type glues. We experienced the loss of the polyps covered with the epoxy and several rows of polyps above the glue. Goniopora and other corals produce offspring that tend to get lost in the aquarium. It was difficult to attach these poylp balls to a base rock. Many members of the foundation are growing live rocks. This diverse group is always trying new methods of attaching clones to the base rock.
At first you will have more success when you use dry substrate such as aragonite base rock that has not been in a marine aquarium. ( Dry base rock will not have a bio-film. Any bio-film will tend to repel new cuttings.)
Prepare the base by locating the site of attachment. Set the rock on a table and visualize how the piece will look when the cuttings have grown. Place cuttings on opposite ends of rock if they will compete for space. Try to position cuttings so the rock will be balanced in the aquarium. If you are producing the rocks for sale, put easy to grow cuttings on larger rocks, and put more difficult to grow species on smaller rocks. Beginning aquarist tend to purchase rocks with leather corals and zoanthids before their aquariums are filled with specimens. They will choose large rocks with small cuttings if they have the chance. When the aquarist and the aquarium are ready for small polyped stony corals many aquariums are full of live rocks and other specimens. Another small rock with a healthy cutting will fit in the aquarium if something else is moved, cut, or sold.
BASE ROCK PREPARATION
Clean the surface of the rock by washing it in tap water. When the rocks are dry put a drop of liquid glue on each attachment site. Two light coatings applied several minutes apart will seal the surface. This glossy patch should be slightly larger than the freshly cut surface of the clone. This precoating will prevent the thicker glue from being absorbed into the base rock.
GLUE SELECTION
We are testing many types of super Glue. The best type that we have tried is the brand _ Super Reef Gel. Several other brands cost less but they do not produce the plastic-like material that is so good at attaching the softer corals.
Leather corals can be prepared several weeks in advance. This method will increase the success rate to nearly 100%. The selected leather coral is first cut into sections. Do not remove these sections from the parent coral. Visualize the soft coral as a clock face. Starting with a coral that looks like the upright mushroom cut almost one half way thru the cap at 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, and 10:00. Do not remove these cuttings from the stalk. Keep this cut coral in clean water and a good current. It will heal in about three weeks. Do not worry because the coral stays closed for many days. When the coral has opened up the cuts will have started healing.
When the cut surfaces have healed you can remove every other section with your scissors. Place these cuttings in a bowl of aquarium water. Choose the base rocks and prepare the attachment sites. When the coatings of liquid glue have dried select the newly made cutting. Place the fresh cut on the paper towel for 10 seconds. Apply the thick super glue to the prepared site on the base rock. Two drops are usually sufficient. Pick up the cutting and press the newly cut section on the prepared site. Place the cutting and base rock into the bowl of aquarium water for 2 minutes. Place the new cuttings in the reef aquarium so that the cutting receives adequate light and strong current.
This type of soft coral has been very difficult to attach using rubber bands and fishing line because they are so soft. The super glue method has two advantages. The glue seals the cutting and protects it from infection. The cuttings stay attached until they grow onto the base rock.You can attach these cuttings in much the same way as the leather corals. You do have to dry the fresh cutting better by blotting the fresh cut on several paper towels. Hold the fresh cut onto the thick super glue for 15 seconds before placing the cuttings into the bowl of water.These cuttings have attached best when they are covered with course netting. I have found that these cuttings often attach better if they are glued by putting the glue on rock and placing the cutting on it's side. This method allows the undamaged portion of the coral to touch the base rock.
The research we are conducting here at the Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation in Boise, Idaho requires me to establish dozens of separate reef tanks. Each set of aquariums are being used to test base rock from Idaho quarries for suitability as aquaculture material for invertebrate culture. When these aquariums are first set up they are stocked with 150 lbs of the dry based rock. Each tank is then stocked with 40 lbs of seeded live rock. Seeded live rock is the most important ingredient in this type of reef system!
These tanks have been tested both in our lab and in several of my students homes. When an aquarist has the proper training many types of aquarium systems will support marine organisms. I have been keeping marine animals alive both commercially, and on a research basis since 1972. I have often maintained large quantities of delicate organisms, such as Chambered Nautilus, using all types of filtration. For the research I am conducting I needed to develop a "cookbook" type system that can be operated by people that have never kept marine aquariums.
I choose to use standard 55 gallon aquariums for this project because they are readily available. These tanks also allow me to use the standard 4 foot 40 watt lights. The list of materials used in these reefs is quite basic. All of the products used are available at a well stocked aquarium store.
I set the 55 gallon reef tank by placing the protein skimmers in the back corners. I use the dry base rock to construct a loosely spaced stack that allows water to circulate. I operate the skimmers with the flow adjustment open to the highest flow. This high flow rate allows the skimmers to produce a profusion of small air bubbles. During the fist several weeks of operation I keep the air valves open all the way. Direct the extra bubbles along the back of the rock pile. After the tank is stocked with corals I remove the bottom deflector so that any excess bubbles rise up the out side of the skimmer tube. I believe this extra aeration is beneficial to the system. I have had no problems with the extra air in any of systems I am running.
The "Maxi-jet" power head is used to create a flow across the front of the tank. I do not fix the power head in any one position because moving it around creates different currents in the tank. I have found that by turning the power head slightly each time I observe the tank I can create flow patterns that keep the detritris from clogging the live rocks. I have observed polyps feeding on the debris from these "mini-storms". It does not require much movement from the power head to create a large change in current in the reef tank. This change in current is very easy to observe in the long tentacle type corals.
When first establishing these reef tanks, after adding the 40 lbs of seeded live rock, I do not feed the system at all for the first two months. I leave the lights on for 14 hours a day. I have found that each tank goes thru a definite series of blooms. during the first month you can expect the entire tank to turn brown. This brown bloom is made up of diatoms. This is the time when to 50 mixed snails first earn their keep.
During this phase you may have to empty the skimmer cup twice each day. If the waste material seems watery or clear simply move the skimmer up in the tank by sliding the suction cups up. The only maintenance that is need on these skimmers is a simple vinegar bath if the amount of foam starts to decrease. When we notice the skimmer is slowing down we simply remove the power head and run it in a pint of white vinegar for an hour. After a short rinse in fresh water the skimmer is ready for several more weeks of use.
I am amazed at the amount of brown liquid that the two skimmer can remove from each reef. I am more amazed at the number of animals that survive and reproduce in each of these systems
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Please help us with our continuing research by keeping track of your experiments. Any data that you can supply will increase the rate that we can speed the marine hobby toward PROPAGATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE HOBBY. You can report any findings directly to GARF by visiting our home page at . If you do not yet have internet access you can mail your findings and questions to
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Super glue is used to attach many types of marine invertebrates to base rock. Several members of the Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation, Inc. are conducting research to improve the production of aquacultured live rock. The foundation is developing a "cookbook" method for land based live rock aquaculture. Using traditional methods of attachment, it is very difficult to clone many slow growing red and brown Macro algae. Some soft corals that grow in branching forms are cut in half by rubber bands when this technique is used. Very small polyps, such as Zoanthids, are often lost or damaged. To overcome this problem we use several types of Super Glue to attach clones to base rock. This method has increased the success rate of creating clones of many delicate species.
Our research on live rock production in closed systems started in 1973. When aragonite base rock is placed in a closed aquarium the only organisms that usually grow on it are coraline algae. This is because systems have not been developed that can support the total life cycle of many marine invertebrates. One type of live rock we are growing is a mixed species rock with five to seven invertebrates on it. We are testing many methods of attaching cuttings to base rock material at the live rock laboratory. These cuttings are attached with rubber bands, netting, fishing line, epoxy putty, and by holding them in place between two small stones.
For the last two years we have been using several types of super glue to attach these and many other cuttings to base rock.
Materials and Methods
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DRY BASE ROCK SELECTION
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SARCOPHYTON - LOBOPHYTON CORAL (Leather Corals)
SINNULARIA AND LITOPHYTON - (Soft Branching Coral)
SACROPHYTON - (GOLD CROWN TYPE)
These round ball type soft corals can be split into 4 or 6 equal parts by cutting the coral down to the base rock. Do not detach the pieces from the rock. When the fresh cuts have healed remove every other one. These can be attached to the prepared base rock with the thick glue. The remaining sections can be cut into several new sections by splitting them and leaving them on the stalk. This is a good way to train the coral away from other specimens. We have some Gold crowns that are almost like bonsai.
PULSE CORALS -(WOODS POLYPS,CLOVE POLYPS ECT.)
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. Return the cutting to the reef tank. These types of cuttings have been close to 100% successful.
ZOANTHIDS - (PAYLTHOA)
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 the base on a drop of glue. Several colors will grow into a mixed colony. We add one or two of these polyps to most of our other rocks. Put the Zoanthids on the end of live rock separated from other cuttings. 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 overgrow small types. Before using super glue, we attached these cuttings to the base rocks with rubber bands. Rubber bands are very difficult to use on small cuttings. Pipe corals can be placed close to soft corals because they will grow well together. SMALL POLYP STONY CORAL - ACROPORA - MONTIPORA - POCILLOPORA
Fragments of these corals do extremely well when glued to aragonite 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. These cuttings have been very strong even before the tissue grows down onto the base rock. Several fragments have fallen in the aquarium. No cuttings have broken loose, but one fragment broke in half. The most interesting thing is that none of the polyps around the base die. When we use epoxy some tissue always dies. I love to watch the polyps grow down onto the base rock. They form a circle of polyps around the fragment, and then new branches start up from this base. Small pieces of Porites type corals can be glued to larger rocks by breaking off small pieces from the colony.
SLOW GROWING COLORED ALGAE
I have been growing marine algae rocks for sale since 1973. Until Jerry Adamson joined our foundation I had quit collecting most red algae. I never collected brown kelp like algae. When Jerry started his research on plant rock production I always gave him all the brown algae from the live rock shipments. Each time he took some home I would explain that no one could grow that type in Idaho. I was wrong so often that now I tell him to come to lab for each new shipment. When I am in Mexico I search for small pieces of rare red and brown algae. Pieces of many types of algae can be glued to rocks with this method. If you experiment with this type of algae production please contact us at the research foundation. Much of our work in the future will be on the use of marine wetlands in pollution control. This method may be a feasible way to replant kelp forests.
These results indicate that Super Glue is a safe easy to use adhesive for live rock production. Care should be used when you unglue your fingers from each other the first few times. Go slow and read the instructions.
It is possible to set up a complete reef aquarium with tank raised species. 55 GALLON INSTA REEF VIisit Rachel Read's 12 week old Bullet Proof Reef Aquarium
MORE PICTURES OF THIS REEF AQUARIUM
When ocean raised aquacultured live rock is more available we will have opportunities to set up wonderful aquariums that contain hundreds of species. The methods of attachment we are researching will be used this summer in ocean based live rock aquaculture. We can all make the marine hobby more self sustaining if we share information and cuttings.
Super glue can be used to attach marine invertebrates to base rock underwater.
This is a very exciting new method developed by Mark Barnes. Using the thick gel type glue we can attach small colonies of animals to live rock after it is in the aquarium. Star polyps, Palythoa, and Zoanthids are the best invertebrates to glue underwater. Often a good looking live rock will have a large bare area that can be filled by gluing a colony of polyps in the open space. 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. Mark has 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. return to table of contents
CREATING A SIMPLE INEXPENSIVE RESEARCH AQUARIUM FOR USE IN MEDICAL RESEARCH AND LIVE ROCK FARMING
MANY TYPES OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES ARE BEING USED IN MEDICAL RESEARCH. OUR MISSION IS TO MAKE ALL MARINE AQUARIUM KEEPING SELF SUSTAINING. PROPAGATION FOR A SELF SUSTAINING LABORATORY WILL PROVIDE A CONTINUING SUPPLY OF RESEARCH ANIMALS.
I have developed a 55 gallon marine reef system, using two Visi-Jet protein skimmers, that can be operated by research personnel who want a simple inexpensive invertebrate aquarium.
SEEDED LIVE ROCK IS FULLY CURED ROCK FROM AN ESTABLISHED AQUARIUM.
The Visi-Jet protein skimmers are installed and they are both operated at full volume. At this time, 50 mixed snails and 25 Mexican red legged hermit crabs are added to control the various diatom and algae blooms.
Material list
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