Uggliest Frag Plugs!!!

[mbunaman]

Has anyone seen these http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...D&Product_Code=AO-CCW&Category_Code=coralfrag I think they are the uggliest frag plug I have seen. Imagine putting a coral in your tank and its attach to this oversized plastic plug. Noting beats the Cermaic frag plug IMO.

 

[JGoslee]

They are pretty ugly. I agree the ceramic plugs rule!

 

[Who Dah?]

i kinda like 'em!

 

[Who Dah?]

oops - attachment didn't work! trying this again...

 

[msman825]

they look to lock in eggcrate. I kinda like that

 

[Who Dah?]

it's VERY close msman825! i like 'em so much i got ahold of CC and was able to include samples in this years ZoaID.com calendar! (those who get a calendar this year will get 3 plugs to play w/)

i'm not affiliated w/ them at all, nor sell it - i just really like the product.

BAF used to be my favorite -- but these *almost* lock into place. i'm not knocking BAF - still use those too. and i've got no beef w/ the ceramics either - good product too! just preference is all, ya know?

the trick is to find tapered eggcrate. out here, Lowes sells non-tapered, and home depot sells tapered. my local supplier of black eggcrate (precision plastics) sells tapered black eggcrate as well.

but i've been told that in tucson az, it's just the opposite w/ home depot and lowes... so if you follow suit, bring some plugs w/ ya to test w/ in the store, heh!

if you put the 'fat' side up on the eggcrate, these plugs *almost* snap into place!

basically, i can place one in, and lift up both the plug, a 12 x 12 piece of eggcrate, and 5 frags on the eggcrate and the frag plug will not pop off.


but -- that's only w/ the tapered eggcrate.

i have noticed that the eggcrate doesn't appear to go through the strictest QC, heh! sometimes they are tighter than others. i'm wondering if i took a heat gun to the plugs and bent in the legs a bit if they'd be even more secure -- or at least on the 'loose' eggcrate. i picture heating up 10 at a time, a quick squeeze, done? but i've not tried it yet...

 

[fishes2889]

I dont like the fact that they arent flat and ive never tried to grow corals on plastic only rock and ceramic plugs for me.

Steve

 

[Who Dah?]

fishes2889: have your zoas in particular ever outgrown your plugs and onto the eggcrate?

 

[fishes2889]

I have not setup an eggcrate prop yet but in the process of a 20g long prop system so maybe i will, but if i see that any are outgrowing the plugs in my display i just frag em'. Im kinda OCD about that.....

 

[Who Dah?]

ha! cool beans fishes2889!

sometimes i get lazy or enough time passes and i don't notice 'em growing on the eggcrate until it's too late. they can be 'fun' to extract sometimes as they'll grow all around it! (top, bottom, inside, out )

 

[twon8]

they seem like they would work well for soft croals like xenia and leathers with the use of rubberbands and toothpicks

i have found the baf plugs to break up way too easily and i prefer the ceramic plugs

 

[fishes2889]

sometimes i get lazy or enough time passes and i don't notice 'em growing on the eggcrate until it's too late. they can be 'fun' to extract sometimes as they'll grow all around it! (top, bottom, inside, out )

lol
:color:

 

[Mr. Ugly]

One of our locals has been gluing small slices of rock to the plastic.

Get the best of both worlds. The plastic locks in place in a variety of ways. And you have the rock for whatever coral. After the frag has grown out, you can pop the rock off and reuse the plastic base.

 

[surfn]

i like my boston aqua farm plugs. yes, they break up easily if you are rough with them (or got a bad batch i suppose). but i like to be able to cruble pieces off very delicately around the frag when i get ready to glue that frag plug onto a rock. i can easily cut off the peg part, and other parts without breaking too much off the frag plug and cutting the frag in half.

i tried to do that with a ceramic one, and one of those stupid ORA frag plugs, and just about killed the frags getting them off the plug, or shaping the plug to be put on a rock.

dont like those new ones either. just dont like plastic, plastic rigid tubing or a golf tee as a frag plug. things more natural like ceramic and aggrecate seem much more natural.

 

[jessiesgrrl]

i'm not affiliated w/ them at all, nor sell it - i just really like the product.

I agree.

I like Larry's homemade plugs for zoas, and these for everything else. Literally! I will post some pics later- I have started to rely heavily on the coral cradles for anything I want to use fishing line with- like mushrooms, leather, chalice, montis, etc...


laurie

 

[mbunaman]

I agree.

I like Larry's homemade plugs for zoas, and these for everything else. Literally! I will post some pics later- I have started to rely heavily on the coral cradles for anything I want to use fishing line with- like mushrooms, leather, chalice, montis, etc...


laurie

Larry does not make those Gooch is the maker of the ceramic plugs!!! Did anyone see the plugs that Live Aquaria uses. They are so big. The cermaic plugs are the best becasue they dont need any curing. And the coraline algae grows very quickly on the cermaic ones also.

 

[jessiesgrrl]

Larry does not make those Gooch is the maker of the ceramic plugs!!! Did anyone see the plugs that Live Aquaria uses. They are so big. The cermaic plugs are the best becasue they dont need any curing. And the coraline algae grows very quickly on the cermaic ones also.

LOL, Ok, Gooch's homemade plugs that Larry sells... <giggle>

I like the plastic better because of the holes and the pins on the bottom for winding the fishing line around- very efficent. Haven't seen a difference in how fast the coralline grows over them either... I think most people just aren't used to see something as antiseptic and unnatural as the white plastic in their tanks. It isn't a issue for me because it seems to get encrusted faster for some reason, and the zoas zip right over it if I decided to put them on there instead.

I drilled some holes in LR and the plastic plugs did a much better job of snapping into the holes as well- the ceramic ones can be too loose or too tight where I have to grind the plug down. The plastic ones just create tension by being able to give a little as they go in.

All in all, I like them both for specific purposes...


Laurie

 

[Xavier]

ok i love the frag plugs too they are kinda big but they only take up about 4 squares on the eggcrate and coraline gorws REALLY REALLY fast over um so then they look like like purple or green circles

 

[Raptor]

I really like the BAF large disks. Not too much of a plug person.
What i would like to see from a plug/disk is them not to collect algea like magnets. I assume something in them like silicates ect is the cause.
I have had the plugs that larry sells, Baf, the plastic ones ORA uses. (Plastic sprinkler strainers) I like the BAF disks the best. IMO. The ceramic plugs on ebay are about the same as what larry sells. They all collect algea except the plastic ones for me, and thats the only place hair algea is in my tank is on the ceramic and arag plugs.

 

[gooch Verified Sponsor]

You guys seriously have a hard time removing the post from the base of the ceramic plugs?

I use a wire cutter. Same tool I use to frag sps corals. I just went and chopped the post off of six plugs and didn't have a single problem.

As for algae collecting on the plugs. I think it depends more on the system. I have seen coraline grow amazingly fast and also seen other algaes take hold first. It is a clean surface that is going to be colonized by the first algae it comes in contact with. Doesn't mean your system is dirty. If you have algae in your overflows or anywhere in the tank it will probably colonize the plug a little faster than the coraline will. Just look at what happened when you cycled your tank. I have actually found hair algae to grow faster on egg crate than anything else I have ever used. And I have had it grow on plastic and cement plugs as well.

I have been propigating for about seven years now. I have used everything I could think of for plugs. Shotgun wads(plastic) golf markers and drywall anchors(plastic), concrete, pvc pipe, live rock rubble, trailer seals(plastic) and ceramic on top of a few more I am sure I left out.

I started making them out of ceramic after seeing how fast the Tunze Stream rocks corallined up in my system. Now some others had opposite feelings on ceramic. But based on my experience as a hobbyist(9 years) and retail coral farm(three years) the ceramic was the best artificial material I have seen used. So when I closed down my shop I went and purchased a 375+gallon tank and all the goodies(From Reef Mainia who I see is a sponsor here). I decided I was going to make my rock out of ceramic. I never intended to make the plugs for anyone other than a few friends and myself with the leftover clay from my rockwork. It just kinda ballooned from there. I wish these plugs would have been around when I was an actual business. It could have changed a lot of things for me. But that's another story. I am glad you guys like the ceramic ones. It is cool when I see pics of corals that are attatched to my plugs.

Side note.....At the tail end of my business I started using plastic rain gutter covers instead of egg crate. Because it was flat the snails were able to keep it cleaner. It did have to be tied down though, it was more flexible and moved around the tank more. Now I use frag stations.