How do you like your frags mounted?
- Thread starter Timanator
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I prefer a frag plug. This way, I can put it in my frag tank for awhile, which is mainly egg crate. Then as it grows, and I'm able to decide where I want it in the display, I can break or cut it off of the plug before placing it in display. I usually end up with some left over, encrusted to the plug. If so, I'll allow this to grow out. If not, I have a frag plug to use when I'm doing my own fragging!!
Zoalover34
Active Member
I like rock rubble also.. I don't wanna have to take it off a frag plug and stress out whatever im buying a 2nd time if I don't have to..
I like fresh cut most of the time no plugs for things to lay eggs on so when you dip you dont have to worry about the plug having some nasties eggs on it. I also have started mounted my frags sideways so when they grow out it isnt just one stem with a bunch of growth and top heavy. It will encrust the whole plug and grow up multiple branches.
Fresh cut for deepwater SPS, rubble for stags/other SPS, discs for others. ORA plugs are the worst! DW acros are too fragile for mounting and bust up in shipping when mounted IME. I never mount to eggcrate; they go right to their final resting place and if they're not happy it is easy to remove the epoxy and relocate them (DW always go on rubble first before epoxying on LR first to make transfering easier). Corals don't like to be moved around much.
i prefer a frag disk. they lay flat and can sit on the sand til put in place. also i do think rubble looks better, but, i like disks better cause then i cut whatever off easily to put it on my rocks where i want it.
macawmagic
Valuable Member
I prefer frags going into my main tank to be on rubble because then it'll look more natural...but frags sitting in the frag tank to be on disks or plugs as it's easier to keep in place. It's kinda a catch 22.
but honestly...after 6 months to a year with most corals you won't be able to tell its on a frag plug anyways!!!
but honestly...after 6 months to a year with most corals you won't be able to tell its on a frag plug anyways!!!
mak060
Reluctant Zoa Collector
I prefer to maintain live rock as natural as possible, free of ceramic and epoxy. When purchasing new live rock, I wouldn't want to find an embedded Coke can or other man-made object lost at sea. Purchasing "used" live rock sometimes involves chipping off clumps of epoxy. Note: Epoxy quickly crumbles off rock surfaces with applied external heat. Of course, anything living nearby gets cooked, but the technique can be handy to salvage rock rubble or other interesting rock you might otherwise find no longer attractive.
flricordia
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I'm leaning toward aragonite square mounts. That way the zoas are easy to chisel off and square mounts can be butted up tight against each other so the zoas can spread onto the next.
reefboy
Valuable Member
ceramic or agranite plugs can be made to look like rumble just by cutting on them with a good pair of cutter's or dykes but I always liked the fact before I became a vendor that I would just cut all but maybe the encrusting part off grow that back out for eitheir a back up colony or to trade for a new piece.
mak060
Reluctant Zoa Collector
I should add that I do appreciate receiving coral on well-overgrown plugs, ceramic, aragonite, or otherwise, for the same reason of convenience in the grow-out tank. In addition, as reefboy indicates, the secondary grow-out, after breaking off the original piece to plant on live rock or rubble, tends to grow much more quickly due to the presence of the base. So I guess that means it doesn't matter to me how I receive the frag, so long as it can be transferred easily onto a natural substrate.
+1. I forgot about these and love them too!
I've noticed when frags reach the end of the plugs and have to grow down, their growth is slowed WAY down. This is the reason I like such large plugs on all things that don't grow up.
SS
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I like plugs and disks over rubble. Ceramic, not aragonite. I also like the stem and not just flat disks. Rubble to me is too unstable and isn't any easier to mount in a tank than plugs or disks. In fact I have more issues with the corals that are on rubble in my tank than I do with the corals on plugs or disks. I have mexican turbos that are knocking corals down daily. The ones on plugs and disks are either glued into place or in Frag Stations.
We as a comunity need to look at the future of reefkeeping. Many of us here will agree that multi generation captive raised corals are healthier and more available than ever before. This is good. And is a step in the right direction.
There will come a time when wild coral harvesting and fish collecting are severely reduced. Reefs are continuing to decline do to warming, polution and a plethora of other things. Now I will agree with most here that what is collected for our hobby is a small and renewable amount of livestock in most cases. Some places are overharvested...we know this too. Even though we are a small part of the issues on the reefs we are a large target. We are seen doing what we are doing while others are not as visible.
But with every passing year more focus is being put on captive raised corals and fish. This will be and is the future. There will come a time when liverock is also harvested in such small numbers that the hobby is gonna need to move into different directions. We as a comunity need to put more emphasis in captive production. I know that in Europe live rock is used much less and ceramic is a viable alternative. Liverock costs more there.
I tell myself everyday.....There Has To Be A Better Way. What I mean by this is we have to get away from using liverock, rubble rock or anything we get out of the ocean if there is an alternative. Do I have liverock in my tank? Sure do, but it is also half ceramic. I know any future systems I put up will be almost all ceramic. DO I have wild coral in my tank? Yes but much of what I have is frags. I buy captive raised when available but all but one wild colony I have right now is not commonly propagated. If there was a tank raised alternative I would of went with that.
I know if Walt Smith gets his way most liverock collecting will end and you will all be forced to buy his concrete crap that he passes off as liverock. And at an elevated price I am sure. Sure most of the hobbyists today will not be a part of the hobby when that happens. But if we do not start looking at the alternatives we will continue to be seen as destroyers of the reefs. Even though that's not really true. It is how we will be percieved.
Use what works for you, but understand there may be a better way to do things. I used rubble when I first started. I went to plugs and disks because I thought it was a better way to grow out corals for me. I used rubble, plastic, concrete, coral skeletons, and ceramic. Ceramic has been the most consistent for me. Yes I make them. But I wouldn't make it if I didn't believe in it. And I never would of started making them for others if they didn't believe in it. The idea of having to cure concrete plugs in the back of my toilet before I can use them or rubbing glue off the back of marble tiles before I use them just isn't appealing either. Ceramic Plugs and Disks (the ones I make) can be used right out of the bag. The pennies I saved just didn't make it worth it for me.
Now I am not trying to flame or chastise anyone. If you are propagating corals you are all good in my book. We just need to have less stress on the reefs. We need to take only what we need from it.
We as a comunity need to look at the future of reefkeeping. Many of us here will agree that multi generation captive raised corals are healthier and more available than ever before. This is good. And is a step in the right direction.
There will come a time when wild coral harvesting and fish collecting are severely reduced. Reefs are continuing to decline do to warming, polution and a plethora of other things. Now I will agree with most here that what is collected for our hobby is a small and renewable amount of livestock in most cases. Some places are overharvested...we know this too. Even though we are a small part of the issues on the reefs we are a large target. We are seen doing what we are doing while others are not as visible.
But with every passing year more focus is being put on captive raised corals and fish. This will be and is the future. There will come a time when liverock is also harvested in such small numbers that the hobby is gonna need to move into different directions. We as a comunity need to put more emphasis in captive production. I know that in Europe live rock is used much less and ceramic is a viable alternative. Liverock costs more there.
I tell myself everyday.....There Has To Be A Better Way. What I mean by this is we have to get away from using liverock, rubble rock or anything we get out of the ocean if there is an alternative. Do I have liverock in my tank? Sure do, but it is also half ceramic. I know any future systems I put up will be almost all ceramic. DO I have wild coral in my tank? Yes but much of what I have is frags. I buy captive raised when available but all but one wild colony I have right now is not commonly propagated. If there was a tank raised alternative I would of went with that.
I know if Walt Smith gets his way most liverock collecting will end and you will all be forced to buy his concrete crap that he passes off as liverock. And at an elevated price I am sure. Sure most of the hobbyists today will not be a part of the hobby when that happens. But if we do not start looking at the alternatives we will continue to be seen as destroyers of the reefs. Even though that's not really true. It is how we will be percieved.
Use what works for you, but understand there may be a better way to do things. I used rubble when I first started. I went to plugs and disks because I thought it was a better way to grow out corals for me. I used rubble, plastic, concrete, coral skeletons, and ceramic. Ceramic has been the most consistent for me. Yes I make them. But I wouldn't make it if I didn't believe in it. And I never would of started making them for others if they didn't believe in it. The idea of having to cure concrete plugs in the back of my toilet before I can use them or rubbing glue off the back of marble tiles before I use them just isn't appealing either. Ceramic Plugs and Disks (the ones I make) can be used right out of the bag. The pennies I saved just didn't make it worth it for me.
Now I am not trying to flame or chastise anyone. If you are propagating corals you are all good in my book. We just need to have less stress on the reefs. We need to take only what we need from it.
Saltysteele
Bret
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i like it when they come on a disc cut from rock like tonga branches. thin, natural looking and blend right in
