Demonstration at Meet?

[dmorel]

I know with all the talk surrounding the zoo suff there is a chance that doing anything close to formal at Todd's would be a really bad idea ;) But...

The first meeting I went to was at Kevin (reeferMac's) place and he did give a semi-formal (ok it wasn't even close to formal) but he talked for a little while with intention about how he ran his system, in particular he discussed his refugium.
It was a really educational experience for me and I now have a refugium built into my sump, seeded entirely with algae and bugs that I got at that very same meeting.

I get the impression that there are fair number of newer people coming to todd's (I do count myself in there) and that there seems to be a reasonably high interest in SPS frags (big surprise).

One thing that I would LOVE to see us talk about and perhaps we could do a demonstration on is the fragging and mounting process. I have watched Todd and Playfair do both with ease, but for me it's still a very nerve wracking experience.

I would guess that someone somewhere will want a frag out of todd's tank (if push comes to shove I'm sure I can be talked into picking something out, hell I've already asked everyone else for something!:bum: )

Perhaps we could take a little time to do a semi-formal demonstration of fragging and mounting techniques?
I've learned a few tricks along the way (like pulling a rock with shrooms on it OUT of the water and hanging the shrooms upside down to cut them off) and have could probably frag and mount a piece from an SPS colony, but I have no doubt that I could benefit from listening to the experience of others.

I don't believe we have to nominate any presidents or refrain from drinking beer in order to do this (or anything else for that matter) but feel free to tell me to **** if this is a stupid idea. It's not like I can't do so something like say:
"Hey Todd, if you frag anything let me know, I want to watch..."
Just figured others might benefit as well.

rambling as always,
-dm

[ReeferMac]

Not a bad idea at all Dave. In fact Todd has one of the best "Fragging Setups" I've seen what with all those 'extra' Forceps the hospital didn't need ;-). Just remember when you're watching him, not everyone uses 3 tubes of SuperGlue to mount M. Capricornis.

- Mac

[Playfair]

LOL!! I remember when I use to complain about spending $3 on a tube of glue that would dry out in the kitchen drawer after a few months...
Now I'll go through 2 tubes in one short sitting...

Glue galore or not, Todd can boast that his frags NEVER fall off the rock!

[ToddsReef]

That's right Mac, some of us use FOUR!:smokin:

Dave I think that this is an awesome idea. Maybe a little bit about which species of SPS are better to start out with and which one's are a little more demanding would also be helpful for some of the people who are thinking about adding their first SPS. I will be happy to frag and mount a few things out of my tank for demonstration purposes (no avalanches Stoli, I promise ;) ) and hopefully we can get Kevin, Dave, Keith, Jamie, etc. to chime in about how they do it.

If anybody has a few pieces of rubble (mine all went to Mark with the 40) we could draw names of people at the meeting from a hat and give the frags we mount to those who's names are drawn.

Perhaps someone could give me a lesson on appropriate reef fish (or better yet following the rules that you already know!) as well since I just added two fish that I will certainly get flamed for at the meeting...but I couldn't resist...I won't say what they are here but you'll see :)

Todd

[ToddsReef]

Playfair...with the amount of glue that I use I could probably boast that the Statue of Liberty wouldn't fall off the rock!!!

To those who don't know what we're talking about...in the words of Playfair..."Todd GOOPS" :cool:

Todd

[dmorel]

Originally posted by ToddsReef
Maybe a little bit about which species of SPS are better to start out with and which one's are a little more demanding would also be helpful for some of the people who are thinking about adding their first SPS.

...hopefully we can get Kevin, Dave, Keith, Jamie, etc. to chime in about how they do it.



Perfect! This is super information that will definitely benefit many of the folks that are coming (myself included for sure...) and it gives those with "the knowledge" a chance to share what they know.

Originally posted by ToddsReef

If anybody has a few pieces of rubble (mine all went to Mark with the 40) we could draw names of people at the meeting from a hat and give the frags we mount to those who's names are drawn.


I LOVE that idea!
Count me in for bringing some rubble, I have a piece of rock I have designated for busting up, I will bring a hunk of that.


Looking forward to this meeting very much,

-dm

[ReeferMac]

Count me in for bringing some rubble, I have a piece of rock I have designated for busting up, I will bring a hunk of that.

If you've got the time and equipment, get an old drill bit, and pre-drill some small, 1/4-1/2 inch deep holes into the broken up LR. They come in real handy for mounting Acro Branches. Holes need to be thinner or thicker depending on the type of Acro branch, but even a small indentation gives the glue a spot to hang on to.

- Mac

[dmorel]

Originally posted by ReeferMac


If you've got the time and equipment, get an old drill bit, and pre-drill some small, 1/4-1/2 inch deep holes into the broken up LR. They come in real handy for mounting Acro Branches. Holes need to be thinner or thicker depending on the type of Acro branch, but even a small indentation gives the glue a spot to hang on to.

- Mac

OK good tip, I will do that!

How big should the piece of broken rock be (give or take) for optimal mounting?

[ToddsReef]

I think small is good so that it's easier to mount that rock to your existing rockwork with glue...heavy pieces probably won't hold very well with glue...even in the amounts that I use ;)

I usually glue directly to my main rock so I don't have much experience with this but I would say anything that is in the one-two inch range should be great.

Todd

[dmorel]

OK,
I will bring several ~1" pieces of LR with small holes drilled for mounting.

This is going to be a fun meeting!

[BCooksey]

Most of the rock in my reef would be considered rubble to you guys. I'll bring some smaller pieces:D

[Gary Majchrzak]

Hey Cooksey- What's up with the hammerin' of BOSE?
Just kiddin'! {I'm a temporary ex-musician.}
I would like to share {since I won't be doin' a demo at the meet} some mounting methods I employ.{Although lots of superglue is usually best!} I've used a wad of well-chewed 'Wrigley's Doublemint' instead of glue in the mounting hole.Spearmint works just as well.Dead acro skeletons {as well as live ones} are great for jammin' a frag into.The newest thing is tying a frag to a length of fishing line and 'dangling' it in the water column.This is probably only for really serious coral propagators - anyone here tried it yet?

[ReeferMac]

Yeah Bri, spill the beans on Bose, I love those speakers! :-)

Hey Gary, I'd been following that thread too.. wouldn't mind trying it. Maybe in my refugium once I get the 10K back in there.. lord knows the algae's covered the rock to the point I can't use that anymore ;-)

At any rate, I'd found this while I was looking for a few links to recent pic's to show someone. Made it up a while ago (like 2 years!), but it's still relevant.

Fragging page (http://reef.myip.org/fraggin.html)

FWIW...

- Mac