[Coral-List] Epoxy? Mortar? etc.? for coral transplantation - sharing experiences

[Dean Jacobson]

Greetings:
As an alternative to glue-attachment of coral to hard structures, I am toying with the idea of carpeting a sandy barrow pit (the one excavated by PII at the Majuro airport Fire Station, shown on my video) with fast-growing Acropora muricata-type staghorns which are locally abundant in our lagoon.  I envision stretching two layers of coarse fish net (anchored to at least 6 engine blocks) across the flat bottom, around 10 meters depth, and inserting coral fragments (secured with zip ties).  The surge during the roughest days will cause them to move (sway), but hopefully not too much..  If they grow out (at up to 15 cm/year) they should reduce sediment resuspension and obviously attract lots of fish.  Any experiences or comments?

Cheers,
Dean Jacobson
College of the Marshall Islands

--- On Mon, 3/21/11, Verena Wiesbauer Ali <marinebiology.verena at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Verena Wiesbauer Ali <marinebiology.verena at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Epoxy? Mortar? etc.? for coral transplantation - sharing experiences
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Date: Monday, March 21, 2011, 10:53 PM
> Dear all,
> 
> I know this is not the first time someone mentions this
> topic on the Coral
> List, but I would really like to collect different opinions
> and experiences
> under one subject and I hope are willing to share them with
> me.
> 
> The biggest issue while transplanting corals or
> establishing nurseries
> is probably the GLUE.
> 
> 1) For small nubbins, a two-part Epoxy like the one from
> Emerkit works well..
> It is mixed over water (never tried to mix it under
> water!?) and takes
> between minutes (hardware store products) and a couple of
> hours (Emerkit) to
> harden under water - easy to work with - but expensive in
> large quantities.
> 
> 2) Then there's hydraulic cement of various manufactureres,
> ideal for larger
> quantities, especially for transplanting large colonies.
> Disadvantage: has
> to be mixed over water; time between mixing and fixing is
> somewhere between
> 2 and 5 minutes, depending on the mixture and ambient
> temperature.
> 
> 3) Finally there's the two-part epoxy that can be taken
> underwater in
> cans. I remember someone sealing the windows of our
> Underwater Spa in the
> Maldives with a glue that was taken underwater in cans, and
> the guy mixed it
> while scuba diving. I just can't find him to ask him what
> he used (Chris
> from Austrialia who sealed windows in Huvafen Fushi -
> contact me if you read
> this!!!).
> This would be something convenient.
> Is it something like the "Z-Spar 788 Spalsh Zone Epoxy
> "  which was
> mentioned on the list some time ago? (I never worked with
> this product).
> Disadvantage: very expensive.
> 
> 4) Two-part epoxy can also be taken underwater in a gun in
> which it stays
> separately and is only mixed when pressing. The product a
> friend of mine
> used in this seemed not to harden properly so that corals
> fell off either
> seconds and even two weeks after attaching them to a
> substrate.
> 
> --
> I'm happy with the reefs I do, they look great, are stable
> and grow huge!
> But I am tired of arranging boats, canoes or other floating
> devices...
> divers and a herd of snorkellers... just to mix hydraulic
> cement on land and
> take it down into shallow water! Is this really the only
> affordable option?
> 
> Does anyone have recommendations/ideas which product to
> take underwater with
> SCUBA gear and mix/use on the seafloor? I'd really
> appreciate your answers
> collected under this subject.
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> Verena
> -- 
>  Verena Wiesbauer Ali, M.Sc.
> Marine Biologist / Zoologist
> EIA Consultant: 03/10
> Austria and Maldives
> <°))))><
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