How do you make your frag plugs/disk

[Dani Arnanz]

I´m going to start a prop tank, and I wouldn´t like to go on using small LR pieces like now...

Thanks!

Dani

[theevoys]

www.garf.org has some good directions... but I hope you've found an answer in the last 10 months since this post. lol!

[CaptainCoral]

I make mine to look like small live rock pieces. Looks better than a round disk IMO. See my gallery.


I just make batches small enough to cure the pieces in the back of the toilet.

[hamburglar]

My most resent recipe is 1 part southdown sand, 4 parts crushed oyster shell (from chicken feed shops), and 1 part concrete.

This makes nice chunky texture. Try to make some random shapes so that they blend in with live rock better.

[Rendos]

I get mine from Boston Aqua Farms
www.bostonaquafarms.com

[theevoys]

That website NEVER works for me. I have read a bunch of posts about it the last couple weeks. Has it been down that whole time?
Jason

[Rendos]

I just ordered from them last week, and received my plugs, but I tried it today and the website seems to be down.

[theevoys]

So, today I took a peice 1.25" PVC and cut it in little discs... mixed up some cement, sand, water and made some discs... I can make 40 of them at a time right now... cause tha't all I cut... they are setting up right now... then, they'll go in the back of the toilet for a while.
Jason

[lil_fishey]

i use little chunks of LR just becuz when i buy a frag those disks and plugs look so unnatural but thats JMO

[theevoys]

they do look unnatural for a while, but they are peice of cake to frag stuff off of, etc...

[gopack]

you can make some out of clay and fire them at 1800degrees

[LiquidShaneo]

Or you can make a silicone mold and mold your own out of concrete, which I've done.

Shane

[GARFVolunteer]

I mix 4 parts of crushed coral with 1 part Riverside White cement. Add enough water to make it a thick slump that holds together something like cookie dough would. I then get an egg carton wet, sprinkle CC on it then put dolups of concrete in the carton. I then cover it up with more CC. After 24 hours, I remove it and put it in my "Plug Bucket" which is a 5 gallon bucket full of water. I try to keep 20 or so plugs in the sump at all times so they will look more like natural instead of the brilliant white...

Thanks,

Scott

[gtrestoration]

Scott,

Any advantage to using Riverside white over Portland other than color?

What to you suggest as a curing time so that encrusting will take place uninhibited?

SteveU

[causeofhim]

Originally posted by gtrestoration

What to you suggest as a curing time so that encrusting will take place uninhibited?

I was wondering the same thing.

[GARFVolunteer]

Originally posted by gtrestoration
Any advantage to using Riverside white over Portland other than color?

What to you suggest as a curing time so that encrusting will take place uninhibited?

SteveU

The Riverside white is a Type I low alkali cement, made by TXI (http://www.txi.com/products/cement/cement.html) that does not have the same high pH problems that some other cements can have.

Concrete generally cures to nearly 100% in 28 days. Over the next 100 or so years it gets stonger then starts breaking down. I let mine cure for around 28 days. Since I have been using the Riverside White cement I don't bother with testing the pH when making plugs since the amount is so small when compared to the volume of the system. Actually I haven't tested pH since using the Riverside white cement.

Thanks,

Scott

[gtrestoration]

Thanks for the tip... I'll try that with my next batch.

So after 28 days of proper curing you'd expect a an Acropora to encrust on the plug?

SteveU

[causeofhim]

Originally posted by gtrestoration

What to you suggest as a curing time so that encrusting will take place uninhibited?

I was wondering the same thing.

[acro-wrasse]

Originally posted by lil_fishey
i use little chunks of LR just becuz when i buy a frag those disks and plugs look so unnatural but thats JMO

The advantage of the disks is when you are doing a large amount of frags, you can utilize space better. They also are better at keeping the frags from tipping over so easy and killing the different species frag next to it. Nothing sux worse than going to all the effort to get a frag going and just when it is ready to sell a stupid snail comes along and tips it over and it gets stung to death

When I put a frag on a disk on my reef, I use 2 part epoxy to blend it into the reef and hide the disk.

[jman77]

Have you guys found anything that lets you color the plugs a light pink or purple. I want to make some plugs that have some color to them.

[xcreonx]

You can use small amounts of RIT dye in your mix. I used some of the black and some purple in one batch of plugs and they came out pretty cool. You can get it at a drug store.

[sharkdude]

how about tile grout mix to color the plugs?
it comes as dry sand mix in many colors.

[Pyrrhus]

Heres what I use, they are molded from virgin PVC to sit on eggcrate racks, which helps to make moving the plugs and siphoning detritus easier.

This link has some pictures of my actual Rack using these plugs, and I have found them to be a true convenience in keeping my frags portioned and separated.

http://www.aquaticodyssey.com/coral/coralpegs.htm

[xcreonx]

those are pretty cool. A bit pricey, but definitely useful. I like how the soft coral plugs have holes to tie soft frags to. Nice.

[Pyrrhus]

they are alot cheaper when you buy large amounts. I paid about $29 dollars for my mixed bag of 100 and they come in different colors for light reflection or to blend in.