DIY Frag disks

[Daddy-o]

The first 75+ are in a net bag and into the toilet tank for a while. These were made with white cement so I will probably let them leach for 6+ weeks.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Daddy-o]

That hydraulic really sets fast, this is way too easy!! Got the "loaf" sliced and it made 66 disks. Gonna let them sit out and fully cure in the sun, then a soak in the RO waste barrel.
Cheers! Mark

 

[sfin52]

Mortar or Hydraulic cement?

Brb going through a thread

 

[sfin52]

Mortar or Hydraulic cement?

I'm to the cement stage. I picked up quikrete fast set mortar repair. I'm a little unsure if I should use this or not.

This is what I used

 

[Daddy-o]

Spent about an hour total and:
$4 in concrete
$2 in Oyster shell
and some old coral sand
Now I have over 300 disks under water curing.
Thanks to everyone for their help!!
Next weekend I will work on some larger ones.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Daddy-o]

A lot of crap floats up from the disks in the RODI waste barrel. I skim the top twice a day and the barrel gets emptied/refilled once a day.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Daddy-o]

I think I am really starting to get the hang of this. It takes about 5 minutes to make a loaf and once cured a day, another 5 minutes to slice into disks. Once cut into disks, they get a week in the sun to cure and fully dry. Followed by a week in the toilet tank to begin leaching, another week drying in the sun and then into the RODI waste barrel to fully cure. The labor (and money) are both very minimal. Here is this weeks loaf. It will make about 70 disks.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Daddy-o]

Got the loaf sliced on the tile saw. It made 135 disks. In total we have about 500 disks curing now. Some are white and others are grey.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Daddy-o]

Well I have a lot of small to medium disks in process but I really need some 3 inch disks. These large disks cost us about a dollar+ apiece. The issue is that when I try to roll a larger diameter it begins to have a big flat spot because of its own weight.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Daddy-o]

Here we go, took an old 3 inch diameter plastic pipe and sliced it on the bandsaw. Now I will tape the 2 halves back together and stuff it with cement.

 

[Daddy-o]

Worked great! 3 inch diameter and a foot long. Let it cure overnite and it is off to the saw.

 

[samnaz]

Nice!

 

[Daddy-o]

And 25 - 3" disks off to cure.

 

[MakerofThings]

I love that they look a little more natural, should blend in better!

 

[amps]

These look great, I never would have though to slice them from a larger log.

Depending on how many you need to make at a time, a cheap 3d printed mold works wonders for diy discs. I've got a couple that make 9 each and I can de-mold them after about 30mins.

 

[Daddy-o]

These look great, I never would have though to slice them from a larger log.

Depending on how many you need to make at a time, a cheap 3d printed mold works wonders for diy discs. I've got a couple that make 9 each and I can de-mold them after about 30mins.

Thanks, Can you mold and remove a frag plug with a stem from 3d printed mold?

 

[amps]

Thanks, Can you mold and remove a frag plug with a stem from 3d printed mold?

Sure, as long as the plug is cured enough that it won't crumble when you push it out.

 

[Daddy-o]

We have sooo many discs now. It is so nice to just have a variety handy when we are fragging. Now that we have a surplus, we have really slowed down making them. After a batch is molded, it cures for a week or so, gets sliced, sits in the sun for another 3 weeks, then they cure in the toilet tank for a month and finally a month in the barrel. Next we are working on using a sand mold to make some really large rectangle pieces to stack in the reef.
These have all cured 8+ weeks and we are using them: (to give an idea of size- these are in a crate that holds 4- 1 gallon milk jugs)

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

As a fellow BB tank owner, These not only look great (and natural) but are very practical for those of us w/o sand. Great work!!

 

[Daddy-o]

As a fellow BB tank owner, These not only look great (and natural) but are very practical for those of us w/o sand. Great work!!

Thanks! I used all the sand I siphoned out to make them.