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There are many ways to set up coral propagation systems. However, today I will discuss two of the most popular.
First, and probably the easiest and least expensive is to add on a separate grow out tank to your existing setup.
You will need a separate tank, stand, lighting, basic plumbing pieces, and some power heads for water circulation. Your tank of choice should be a shallow and wider version to maximize the corals exposure to your lighting. However if you only have a standard size tank lying around, you can plumb it to make the water level lower almost creating the same effect. Once you determine your tank size and position to set it up, you simply need to connect it to your display system with some basic plumbing supplies. This set up is more cost effective and provides addition water volume to your existing system, which will help enable more stable water parameters such as calcium and alkalinity. Plumbing into your existing systems also eliminates the need for an extra sump, protein skimmer, live rock, and larger recirculation pumps. Depending on your preference it can also double as a refugium that provides more live food to your inhabitants. Pick your lighting requirements based on the coral species that you wish to propagate. Remember your goal here is to propagate and “grow out” smaller pieces of coral, so your light spectrum should be on the lower end around 6500 Kelvin. When your frags are at the size you want to display or trade you can add more of the blue end to color up your pieces. I like to use a 6500 metal halide bulb complemented with 2 blue actinic fluorescents. Now just add a power head or two to provide the circulation requirements for your coral.

The next coral propagation system is a dedicated system that runs on its own. Again there are many ways to do this large and small, but I will share with you a simple diy set up that involves a wood rack system. The basic concept is to have 3, 55 gallon tanks on a single rack. The top 2 tanks are for your brood stock and grow out, with the bottom tank serving as your sump that holds all your filtering and circulation equipment. You plumb your tanks like you would for a central fish system with the bottom sump recirculating the water to the top tank, then the gravity drains on each tank will drain to each lower tank. For more information on this type of set up you can refer to garf.org for some excellent diy plans. The only disadvantage with this type of set up is that it requires the need for addition equipment and is more expensive.

No matter which coral propagation system is right for you; make sure you build it to support the natural requirements of the coral species you plan to grow. If this is done correctly you will have a lot of success.

There are many choices when it comes to selecting which coral frag mount is best for you. There are the basic plugs and disks, both regular and large sizes, tiles, as well as ceramic and plastic versions.

Today I would like to focus on the coral frag rocks. These rocks are used the same way as all other coral mounts, but have the added benefit of having a more natural look when adding the completed frag to your display tank. These rocks are designed to look more like your natural live rock by having varying shapes and height giving it a more natural look, and will tend to blend in much easier with you aquascape. These rocks are also designed to have a flat bottom to prevent the rock from rolling around, which makes them better than your basic rubble rock.
They are made from special grade white reef sand that provides a natural calcium base that helps promote the spread of coralline algae growth. A typical coral frag rock will measure about 2” in size, and a half inch thick.

They are great for fragging your softies, mushroom polyps, zoanthids, and star polyps.
Check out our online store for coral frag rocks from Oceans Wonders.

There is a great deal of coral fragging information available via many various media forums. The practice of propagating corals has been a hobby and occupation for many years.
People have been fragging corals for a very long time – perhaps as long as there’s been something to keep them in. The widespread practice of keeping live corals in the home has the developments of better filtration and protein skimmers to thank. Those who have been keeping corals for more than a few years can tell you that there is so much information for the reef aquarium enthusiast, that you’d be hard pressed to read it all in a single lifetime.

Books

Thus, it seems best to press on and find a specific topic that is of particular use or interest to you. For instance, there are so many book about aquascaping in general that it might be instructional to pick up a book dedicated to live rock or the lighting requirements needed for each coral. Most local fish stores carry such books. If you can’t be bothered with traveling around, you can also find them online for purchase. These may not give you the most up-to-date coral fragging information, because it takes a long time to get to the publisher, the printing and binding take a few months to years from one end to the other. If your information needs to be more up to date than that, you’ll want to try something that can go live more quickly, like reef forums or periodicals.

Magazines

Like many hobbies, keeping corals has an avid following and several dedicated hobbyist magazines. While much of the content is wide spread to cover all topics, many of the articles are meaty and useful to the fist-time keeper. Since many are stocked in your local fish stores, they are easy to get and subscribe to.

Online

Looking up information has become second nature to many. You can find just about anything addressed by an expert in the field. As such, there is a wealth of information that you may be hit with all at once.
You should be very careful when using the internet as a primary research tool for coral fragging information, however. Even the most heavily travelled websites are prone to poor research and errors. Always check sources and try to find the original article – you may be surprised how few even cite sources. The trick to finding coral fragging information isn’t finding what is available, but what is actually useful. There are many excellent reef aquarium forums and clubs out there.

Since you have done your research and have taken your time in setting up your reef aquarium. You will want to ensure the continued health of your aquarium by acclimating your new corals.
Whether you purchase your new coral from your local aquarium fish store or from an online supplier, you will need to start the coral acclimation process once they arrive at your home.
There are many different methods that can be used for acclimating your corals, but the most popular is the drip method.
This method of coral acclimation is recommended for all your invertebrates since they are more sensitive to the changes in water parameters. This method is also easier to do than some of the others.
First get a bucket or container that is dedicated to your fish and aquarium use. Do not use anything that has had non-aquarium related items in it before, since this can contaminate your water and harm your animals.
Place the container on the floor with one side propped up. This allows the water to stay near one end of the container allowing for a deeper area, and preventing the animals from being exposed to the air. Open the bag up and slowly empty the water and the invertebrates into the bucket.
Next, for the do it yourselfers you can get a piece of airline tubing long enough to reach from your tank or sump to the container. Tie a couple of knots in the tubing to control the drip rate of the water. Place one end in the tank and the other end in the container. Start a siphon from the tubing tightening the knots to allow a few drops per second into the container water. This will mix slowly with the water from the bag you already put in the container.
If you are not a do it yourselfer, you can purchase a premade kit that has a valve control built in. Continue to check the drip rate to make sure it is not too fast, and the siphon is still working. You can slowly stir the container water to provide circulation and more oxygen to the animals.
Once the invertebrates are acclimated, you can place them in your aquarium. Discard the water from the container and you have now completed the coral acclimation process. You can now enjoy watching your new arrivals.

The green star polyp

(Pachyclavularia species) is a popular addition to any home reef aquarium. It is a good choice for the beginner aquarist and is one of the easiest choices to propagate. They have a wide variety of growth forms from encrusting live rock to adhering to lose rubble and plumbing components. They grow in an encrusting mat form with several polyps extending out during the daylight hours. They are a fast spreading coral that is tolerant to various lighting levels and currents.
The Green star polyp’s natural habitat is found on fore-reef slopes and lagoons, but is most commonly found in reef environments with reduced water flow.
The star polyp was my first coral that I tried to propagate. It is a great choice for any beginner to get their feet wet with. In my opinion, the easiest way to propagate this coral is to simply cut off the extra mat area that protrudes out ward in an attempt to cover a neighboring rock or other coral. This would be the extra lip that grows on the edge of the colony that usually sticks up in the corals attempt to encrust another area that is next to it.
There are many tools you can use to cut it with, however we recommend a clean precise cut with a scalpel or razor blade to reduce as much stress as possible. Once you have the new fragment you can now secure it to your frag mount or other area within your aquarium. The star polyp is a forgiving coral so it allows you several possibilities to adhere it to your frag mount or aquarium decor. The most common is using a glue adhesive or to tie it to your mount.

So if you’re new to coral propagation and want to start out with something that is more forgiving to propagate, the green star polyp would be an excellent choice to begin with.

With the growing trend of coral propagation, serious reef aquarium hobbyist are constantly looking for an easier tool to use that will help to reduce the tearing of the coral tissue and to cut exactly where you want it. As a result the use of tile wet saws and band saws have become more popular in our industry.

We are excited to offer the Inland DB-100 diamond blade band saw. This saw is the easiest and most versatile hobby band saw to use. It gives you the benefit of a clean precise cut every time.

Some key features are:
The upper blade/drip guide is adjustable for varying material thickness. • The coolant system provides a continuous, regulated flow of clean water to the diamond blade. • The spring-loaded tension system, molded into the frame, insures proper wheel alignment, simple blade setup, and perfect tracking hour after hour, and enhances blade life. • The work surface is made of machined aluminum 9″ x 10″. Drain channels funnel coolant into the internal drain system for a clean, clear view while sawing. • The frame, cover, and water reservoir are molded entirely from structural grade thermoplastic. • All frame and interior support walls are extra thick for maximum strength and durability. • The rigid housing absorbs and deadens sawing and motor sounds for quiet operation, and the plastic construction makes it extremely light weight and easy to handle, so you can take it with you on the road!

As always remember your working with salt water, so be sure to clean your equipment after every use .

You might be surprised at all the places you can find some coral propagation supplies. Those who decide to make their own frag tanks from scratch have many sources locally and online to get the raw materials and instructions they’ll need.
Since most frag tanks are set up as an addition to their existing display set up, you will find various types of equipment used to create and run them. Most hobbyists will use high quality materials to enhance the beauty of their existing system. While others will opt for the low tech approach. As such, you can save some considerable expenses by making your own tank, and to do that you’ll need to invest in a few coral propagation supplies.

Planning Ahead

Some supplies are easier to find than others. For instance, the first things you’ll be looking up are books, articles, and plans on just how to set up a coral frag aquarium. If you’re building a tank to some very unusual dimensions you may have to modify existing plans, but always make sure the walls and adhesives are tough enough to handle the weight and pressure of the water within. Keep in mind just a standard gallon of salt water will weigh about 8.5 pounds.
You’ll need a space to work in, so plan on cleaning an area with good ventilation were you can comfortably build your set up, and later frag your corals with easy access to your containers and tools.

Specific Materials

If you’re not a do it yourself kind of person. There are some supplies that you’ll need to purchase from aquarium professionals, such as the coral mounts. When looking for coral propagation supplies in this category, be sure they are compatible with any equipment that you may already have, such as an egg crate rack or frag station.
It can be difficult to make your own frag tank, but with some planning, effort, and advice from others, you can create a proper environment to propagate and grow out your favorite corals. Most people choose to get supplies from brands that are well known since they trust the durability and reputations of the manufacturer’s. Others like to shop for the low tech supplies to keep their costs low. The Home-Reef store was created to provide our customers with the best of both worlds.

What is a coral dip? A coral dip is a solution that primarily consists of a safe level of Iodine and other added ingredients that will safely and gently disinfect your corals. Why should we use a coral dip? Well simply put it will protect your corals against many common reef aquarium diseases such as bacteria, fungus, and protozoans. A reef dip is a valuable tool for any reef hobbyist to use when acclimating any new specimens’ of coral to your aquarium. It is also highly recommended to use as a protective dip when propagating any new corals. It will help reduce the stress caused from the fragging and boost the corals resistance to any possible infections.
The most common method used in preparing a reef dip is to have two containers prepared with your aquarium water. One container is prepared with the dip solution added per manufacturer instructions, and the second container is used as a rinse to remove any excess solution from the coral. It is important to use these dip containers and not your aquarium. Once you have prepared the containers, you will immerse your coral completely in the dip solution for a period of time specified by the manufacturer, and then rinse the coral in the clean second container. Now it is safe to put the coral back in your aquarium or holding tank. Be sure to discard your dip solution once you are completed.
If you are shopping for a coral dip you will find there are many manufacturers of coral dips on the market today, and most of them will have similar ingredients. You can decide which one will work best for your application, by determining how much you will need, what type of corals you will use it on, and what your budget will allow. To help with your selection we have listed a few of our favorites on our web store.

What coral propagation can do for you?

To begin, I would like to define what coral propagation is for our newbie. Coral Propagation is simply taking a piece off or “frag” from the parent colony, or “brood stock” to create and grow a new second colony. This is also a form of reproduction in the wild, when a storm hits the coral reef and the fragments fall to the ocean floor. Why would someone want to do this? Well there are many reasons, but most important to us is to promote and support responsible reef keeping practices, and to keep the future of our hobby going forward. When we frag a coral it provides us with a new healthy second piece of that favorite coral you have had on display. From propagating your corals it allows you to share that unique color with a friend, reef club, or maybe even your local aquarium store. The propagation of corals also reduces the over collecting from our oceans and provides a stronger more stress tolerant coral for your tank, making it easier for you to take care of.

While there are many techniques and experts out there to learn from, the basics of fragging a coral is simple. Our store provides you with the high quality tools and supplies that you will need to propagate your prized specimens. If you would like more information on how to frag a coral please feel free to contact us using our web form.

The most important step in plumbing your aquarium is planning out your design. I like to draw out a diagram on paper of how I want the setup to look. For some it is important to keep a clean and neat look to their design, but a common error in their design is using all sorts of corners and special fittings to “wow” their friends and family. The most important thing to remember is to use as little corners and fittings as possible. The more turns you have in your design, the more friction and back pressure you create. Try to keep things simple and in straight lines. The easier it is for your main pump to push water through your system, the longer your pump will last and the less headaches it will cause you. A quick tip is to always use a ball valve and union fitting before and after any pump or piece of equipment that you include in your design. This will allow easy access to clean and make repairs to your equipment, with out having your tank water spilling out all over.