Keeping Track of Frags

[Willz]

I have a fairly large tank and a growing collection of frags. 170g + 50g sump + 33g frag tank on system. I have literally dozens of high end frags and colonies.

I tried years ago to keep a spreadsheet to track which rack the frags were on, but now I have full grown colonies on rocks and multiple racks.

I have a problem in that I know a colony or frag when I get it and place it, but I lose track of what it is in the intervening years. They color up or color down, they grow or i frag a piece and start a new colony, etc.

For those who have multiple colonies and frags and tanks how do you track them?

I have tried using a Sharpie on the bottom of the frag plug, but saltwater degrades the ink to the point of nonsense in less than a month.

I had an idea to buy one of those old fashioned label guns that presses the name onto a sticky roll of tape which you cut after naming and stick to the frag bases.

*I have no idea if anyone else handles their frag tracking this way?
*Is the tape used safe?
* Does it stay stuck on?

If you don’t use this method how do you handle frag tracking and organization in your system? I’ve attached a few shots of my DT and wife’s 33 tanks (plumbed to my system).

Thanks!!!

 

[Saltyreef]

Memory. Still not 100% though lol.

Also not buying too much at once so you get an idea of what everything is.

You can also designate areas on the racks for certain corals and keep them in the same zones for the length of their stay in your system.
Note pad on the phone with photos works great

 

[BCSreef]

Memory for the colonies. I have close to 100.

Frags are tougher because many times they look alike. For the frags, I use a standard black sharpie and put their number on the stem of aragonite plugs. The ink stays visible for many months. From what I hear, sharpies don't work well on some ceramic plugs and the ink is gone after weeks.

 

[Willz]

Memory for the colonies. I have close to 100.

Frags are tougher because many times they look alike. For the frags, I use a standard black sharpie and put their number on the stem of aragonite plugs. The ink stays visible for many months. From what I hear, sharpies don't work well on some ceramic plugs and the ink is gone after weeks.

Thanks for the tip on the ceramic plugs! I had noticed in the last few years that some frag plugs were nearly impossible to cut with my fragging snippers, and I'm guessing they were made of the "new" ceramic material. I just ordered a ton of the aragonite plugs, so I'll try using a sharpie on them.

Memory is not an option as I have, if not literally then very close to it, hundreds of corals. And when I order I order a ton at one time to save on shipping.

Memory. Still not 100% though lol.

Also not buying too much at once so you get an idea of what everything is.

You can also designate areas on the racks for certain corals and keep them in the same zones for the length of their stay in your system.
Note pad on the phone with photos works great

Thanks, I like the idea of Notes with photos. Thank you!

 

[BCSreef]

My memory also would not be an option with the number of corals you have

 

[DeepintheReef]

So I use multiple frag racks and have the racks numbered. I try to separate similar looking frags onto separate racks and just have a note on my phone for each rack with names

 

[Willz]

So I use multiple frag racks and have the racks numbered. I try to separate similar looking frags onto separate racks and just have a note on my phone for each rack with names

Nice! I’ll have to give this a try, thanks!

 

[Phycodurus]

i definitely don’t rely on memory ... i’d forget my head if it wasn’t already attached.

i kinda tried out a note pad entry with XYZ coordinates in relation for the tank’s L x W x D dimensions (180G tank). my unit of scale is an inch. kinda works; sometimes i just eyeball the probabale coordinates.

i’m guilty of frag racks in that main display tank. those racks are numbered.

 

[Chessmanmark]

A camera is useful. With digital you can label your pics.