wall to wall corals... how to do it?!

adee

adee

Member
how do you do it??? Do you lean your rock against the back wall and let the corals take over? how many corals and what kinds did you have to use? how long did it take? there are some AMAZING tanks here and i would LOVE to have something even close to as beautiful but have no idea how to even start.
Our 20 gal (corals originally from our 37gal tank) reef has a mix of zoos, mushrooms, toadstool, hammer coral, GSP, BTA and thats it.. we have had them all nearly a year and have grown alot but a far stretch from taking over like the rest of the tanks here.
 
adee

adee

Member
thanks captain obvious ;) ... the starting blocks would be nice though, rock set up, types of corals, exc.
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
if you want to grow corals on the backwall glue them or lean them on the back wall. what corals specifically? zoas or star polyps should be removed from the rock they are on with a razor keeping (or as much as possible) in one piece and simply glued to the back wall. xenia you can lean the coral rock against the backwall and point flow towards the back wall. montipora cap can just be leaned against the back wall and it will grow on it. I am doing that now (and I obvoiusly dont expect it to cover the whole back wall but all i did was epoxy it so the top was leaning on the back wall and its started growing on the back wall in no time. now I just have to wait until this time next year lol) http://dubfidub.homestead.com/30gallonsetup143.jpg
 
adee

adee

Member
awesome, thanks... im open to all corals, we have decent lighting and the corals we have now are doing well but i dont foresee them taking over anytime soon. i LOVE the montipora cap for sure on my list of "must have" just have to find the right one
In order to glue them to the back wall, do you have to drain the tank down to where you want to mount it? how long before you put water back in? is there any danger of doing that by introducing glue into the tank?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Help me out here, not sure what you are asking.
Do you want to make a rock wall against the back of the tank? Or do you want to attach coral directly to the back wall of the tank?
 
stevedave08

stevedave08

Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3199173
Help me out here, not sure what you are asking.
Do you want to make a rock wall against the back of the tank? Or do you want to attach coral directly to the back wall of the tank?
I don't know. I think she might be wanting to do the same thing I want. I've seen some tanks where it seems there are just all different types of corals everywhere cohabitating the entire space...Front, back, left, right, everywhere from one end to the other. I'm guessing that's what she's going for. What I'm doing is just strategically placing corals that get along together all over the tank.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Originally Posted by SteveDave08
http:///forum/post/3199178
I don't know. I think she might be wanting to do the same thing I want. I've seen some tanks where it seems there are just all different types of corals everywhere cohabitating the entire space...Front, back, left, right, everywhere from one end to the other. I'm guessing that's what she's going for. What I'm doing is just strategically placing corals that get along together all over the tank.
Yeah hard to say. I have a partial wall up the back with an outcropping on each side.
 
adee

adee

Member
it doesnt *have* to be on the back wall what im talking about is making it look full of corals.. similar to this one /
http://www.reefcrazy.com/images/DSC06592M.jpg
the displays look soo nice and full, i know they are bigger more mature corals but it gives an idea of what im talking about, mine on the other hand looks very sparse. steve, thats exactly what im talking about.
 
stevedave08

stevedave08

Member
Originally Posted by ADEE
http:///forum/post/3199191
it doesnt *have* to be on the back wall what im talking about is making it look full of corals.. similar to this one /
http://www.reefcrazy.com/images/DSC06592M.jpg
the displays look soo nice and full, i know they are bigger more mature corals but it gives an idea of what im talking about, mine on the other hand looks very sparse. steve, thats exactly what im talking about.
Nice, That's exactly what I want to do. I think my next big purchase will be a blue or red carpet nem. What I've been reasearching (and need to do more of) is finding out what corals to put next to each other and which ones not to.
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member

Originally Posted by ADEE
http:///forum/post/3199047
In order to glue them to the back wall, do you have to drain the tank down to where you want to mount it? how long before you put water back in? is there any danger of doing that by introducing glue into the tank?
you dont have to drain the tank at all. you take the coral thats going to be glued, pat the back of it dry as you can with a paper towel. put some superglue gel (brand doesn't really matter. I use dollar store gel. as long as its cyanoacrylate based), wait a few seconds but not too long and quickly stick it where you want it on the back glass (underwater) and hold it there for a few seconds. once the glue hits the water it will dry fast so you have to know where you want it. If you make a mistake you just have to peel off the dry glue (will come off the glass easily, coral not so much...but you can make another attempt). cyanoacrylate glue gel is harmless to the tank inhibitants.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Originally Posted by Stanlalee
http:///forum/post/3199328
you dont have to drain the tank at all. you take the coral thats going to be glued, pat the back of it dry as you can with a paper towel. put some superglue gel (brand doesn't really matter. I use dollar store gel. as long as its cyanoacrylate based), wait a few seconds but not too long and quickly stick it where you want it on the back glass (underwater) and hold it there for a few seconds. once the glue hits the water it will dry fast so you have to know where you want it. If you make a mistake you just have to peel off the dry glue (will come off the glass easily, coral not so much...but you can make another attempt). cyanoacrylate glue gel is harmless to the tank inhibitants.

I have algae that grows on the back glass, would I have to clean a spot to attach coral to it?
 
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