plugs vs natural (not a cure for baldness) (1 Viewer)

[darrin]

for those who dont know... I love to Frag! And i make lots of those little cement plugs to grow corals on.

I would like to see a poll on who likes or dislikes the plugs..

I like them because they are so heavy the turbo snails cannot knock them over or off the rocks.

I also like them cause they are cheap to make and save a reef...

I dislike them cuz they are ugly..

If i get enough of a response, I might switch to live rocks....

 

[Guest]

I have the same likes/dislikes. Kind of depending on what I'm fragging. If its something like GSP or some kind of zoanthid, I'll usually use a flat piece of live rock to get a nice cover of coral over the rock.

 

[Cakepro]

Sorry, I hate 'em. Even when overgrown with coralline, they are unnatural and unsightly (read: ugly). I mean no offense! Even cheaper than smashing LR is to make frag mounts out of aragonite and portland grey cement. They can be fashioned to be very lifelike and once covered in coralline algae, you can't tell a difference between them and the real deal. I sure appreciate the wonderful hunk of xenia you brought me on LR. The Red Sea xenia is still tiny as it is a slow grower but its tiny little polyps are pulsing now.

~ Sherri

 

[darrin]

umm... they are made of aragonite and portland... just a differnet shape...

 

[Cakepro]

Good. You know what I mean.

 

[Trey]

Hello Darrin,

I think that there is a solution somewhere in the middle. I definately like live rock for frag mounting, but the cost can get a bit to high.

I made some plugs from cement, aragonite, and crushed oyster shell (check your nearest feed store) that look like they are going to work out well. I made them with a large serving spoon onto a plastic bag on the floor and allowed them to have random shapes. As they grow corraline, they look very natural. The inclusion of the crushed oyster shell creates a nice rough surface texture, and the random shapes also look good. Just a thought.

Trey

 

[Guest]

plugs

I think they are not so bad, It is like your signature and when ever I see that shape of plug I know where it came from. The idea is to grow the frag to a point where you can no longer see the plug. Have you guys ever tried the flower holders like they use in( The Book Of Propagated Corals), They look like they would work really well.

 

[Guest]

Has anyone every tried aluminum foil to make different shapes.
Seems like it would hold the form, until the mixture is dry. The prices is not to expensive.

 

[Guest]

Re: plugs

I think they are not so bad, It is like your signature and when ever I see that shape of plug I know where it came from. The idea is to grow the frag to a point where you can no longer see the plug. Have you guys ever tried the flower holders like they use in( The Book Of Propagated Corals), They look like they would work really well.

I've used rose picks. They work good for SPS. Kind of hard to place them in the tank, but I liked them.

 

[HolyBanana]

I have to agree, those plugs you make darrin are uuugggllly!
However, howcome dont you just bring the frags detached? that way we can glue our own frags.

 

[pernelf]

not that they are ugly, they are just too big and hard to place in the tank.

 

[KarenB]

I just made some what I call arago-cookies It's basically the Portland I/II cement, crushed coral with some fine arag sand. After it's all mixed up, I just plop the "cookie dough" onto newpaper without handling them at all, and whatever shape comes out is the shape I get. Looks very natural, and much better than muffin pan shaped ones, IMO.

 

[darrin]

I have to agree, those plugs you make darrin are uuugggllly!
However, howcome dont you just bring the frags detached? that way we can glue our own frags.

because a lot of people i know want something that they see as encrusting.... besides, with the amount of frags i do, they would get burried under the sand or lost in the rock if i didnt have them attached to something.....

i think i am gonna try the cookie dough method... but i have aobut 200 plugs i need to get rid of....


but next time i bring you something, let me know and i will just bring you a freshly broken one...

 

[pernelf]

eBay baby, sell em.

 

[Guest]

I used to do live rock rubble for glueing up my frags. With resetting my 120g back up as a reef tank I am simply glueing them in place now to the rock structure. I have noticed I get way better encrustation first and then upwards growth compared to the rubble pieces.

I still have pounds of rock rubble left over that I used to use. When I'm getting frags now I like to get them fresh cut and unmounted.

My first batch of frags in way too long should be ready in a couple of weeks.