Let's talk about fragging... supplies and maintenance

Discussion in 'Frags' started by Thatgrimguy, Oct 18, 2012.

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  1. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    What fragging supplies do you keep on hand and how do you keep them in tip top shape. Be specific, like exact models (preferably a link) and where you got them.

    Then post any general tips you have on how you frag, how you mount, and how long you hold your frags before being willing to trade or sell them.
     
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  3. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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    A $2 box cutter and bone cutters. the box cutters were from HD, but I'm not sure where I got the bone cutters. I always wipe them down with a wet cloth after I'm done.

    I usually just look up videos on how to frag the coral that I want lol. I mount the frags on ceramic disks that I make with leftover clay in my ceramics class ;D I haven't sold any frags, but I would probably wait about 2-3 weeks to let them heal first.
     
  4. cosmo

    cosmo Giant Squid

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    lol, what are you going to be fragging?
     
  5. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    This is more of a general info thread.


    And thanks for the sand in the eyes I'm going to sulk in the corner and dream about what my tank once held. ;) JK
     
  6. FaceOfDeceit

    FaceOfDeceit Hockey Beard

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    Oooooo, sick burn!
     
  7. cosmo

    cosmo Giant Squid

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    Sorry, I just meant that can be quite a list, including band saws, surgical equipment etc. Alot of stuff, norg or someone should chime in for ya soon;)
     
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  9. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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    Norg would definitely know ;)
     
  10. rc_mcwaters3

    rc_mcwaters3 Clown Trigger

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    I go to the local collage to the science dept. ask a few or teh biology students who are changing majors or finishing school if I can get there sergical supplies. about 75% of the time I get a few ;D

    the book store sells a small discetion kit for about 30 bucks has everything I need and I get the plugs off e-bay
     
  11. norg.

    norg. Kole Tang

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    Hmmm. Well Bulk Reef Supply has a great fragging tool kit. I havent bought it as a whole but I have multiple of the tools from it. I only use a surgical grade bone cutters to frag SPS corals. The tools in the BRS kit are just that. For soft corals, which I dont frag much anymore but used to do alot of, I use an exacto knife and a steady hand. Its pretty simple. Sharp blade, steady movements, do your best not to mangle the coral. Ive done this many times and it usually still bounces back but it will take longer to see noticable growth. As far as glue goes I use only BSI glue. It is the fastest setting of the cyanoacrylate glue that I have used. It also has an accelerator spray that makes the glue set up in a matter of seconds. Very handy for fragging up colonies and getting them back in the water fast. If you are going to buy this glue, which I highly recommend, buy a case. Buy it wholesale if you can. Its very expensive but if you use it alot there is nothing that will beat the quality. You could always sell a couple tubes to your friends as well. The investment is worth it. I bought a couple thousand frag plugs from a friend of mine and they have a small hole in the center of the plug to make room for glue. This is very helpful and if you can buy these plugs I would say go for it. I dose vitamin c not only into the food I feed the fish for disease prevention and general health benefits but I also dose the phyto and zooplankton I feed the corals with. This helps with soft tissue regeneration and a faster bounce back from being cut. After I frag a decent amount of corals I always do a water change. The skimmer reacts to the glue and excess slime from the stressed corals and pulls some serious skimmate so be prepared for that if you plan on fragging a decent amount of corals. One more thing that I think should be put on the table is if you have a history of being allergic to anything, cats, dogs, pollen, anything really, be extra cautious when fragging. Its well known that the toxins from palythoas is very dangerous. I had a friend who lost a dog to it. She died in a couple hours from ingesting a small frag of a zoa I believe. If this toxin gets into your blood stream it will not feel very good at all... It will cause pain, throbbing, and later on numbness. Again, this happened to a friend of mine when fragging some palys. He only had a paper cut but the toxin bothered him for 2 weeks before it subsided. I am very allergic to many things so whenever any corals slime or get stressed I break out in hives and my body begins to reject the ink in my skin. Considering I am pretty tattooed this is not a fun process! My skin swells up pretty bad so I always take a shower after Im playing around in my tanks. Yeah I take alot of showers. lol This is all I can think of for now but if anything else comes to mind Ill be sure to add.

    BRS frag kit

    BRS Coral Propagation Kit

    BSI frag glue

    Bob Smith Industries BSI Cyanoacrylate IC-Gel Aquarium Frag Glue - 20 gram
     
  12. norg.

    norg. Kole Tang

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    I have atleast 5-6 species of coral I wont frag until I get a coral saw. Lol So thats my motivation to get one. This winter hopefully!