CORALCLIPS

General Tips

With practice, it becomes easier and faster to pick the optimum orientation of fragments to ensure good downward force.
Often this involves pinning one or more branchlets down, rather than the Coralclip covering the whole frag, which may cause the Coralclip to be over-bent.
Hold the clip by the end of the arm to avoid a chance of hitting your thumb with the hammer.
It's normally most effective to hold the hammer at the end of the handle and give good strikes, rather than small taps whilst holding the hammer close to the head.
Try not to over-bend the clip. If this happens pull out the Coralclip (leveraging with side cutters is easiest), bend back to a right angle and re-use.
Vigorous fish feeding can cause dislodgement, so the chance of dislodgement can depend upon the fish community.

If the downward force keeping the frag in place is weak there is a higher chance of dislodgement.
A good work flow is for the same practitioner to plant an area then revisit a few days later to check for any dislodgement and replace or renew any loose frags.
Check outplants regularly.
Any Coralclips still visible at an outplant project after a couple of years can be collected and the masonry nails replaced, then the Coralclip reused.
Regularly snorkelling or diving across previously out-planted areas and “gardening” by adding new frags to repair any out-plants is recommended.
If more than a few percent of frags are dislodged, the installation technique should be checked to ensure frags are secure rather than loosely sitting under the Coralclip.

The Coralclip uses spring force to exert downward pressure on the coral fragment to keep it in place.
Planting so that plenty of tissue is in contact with substrate is best for a strong attachment.
Pick spots to put in the clip based on proximity to other organisms bearing in mind how big the colony will get and presence of solid substrate.
Coralclips can work well with small to medium sized frags.
A quick brush of the rock is beneficial to remove any sediment, algae or encrusting sponge.

The Coralclip nails should hold well in consolidated limestone rock.
If the Coralclip is over-bent it loses its downward spring force and dislodgement is more likely.
Coralclips are not intended to replace cement or epoxy as an attachment method, as different methods may suit different circumstances.