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The DIY Frag plugs/disks/rocks thread.


Daemonfly

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  • 4 weeks later...

I won the 10libs bag :D once it comes in I will begin to make rocks proabbly make mostly frag size pieces. If anyone in the Central Fla area is interested will probably give some away or trade for stuff. Will post pics here once comes in. If this stuff works out I will by more bags and make plenty for people. Rather just trade or give away then sell. This first bag since it was free will be giving away/trading for sure.

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I use oyster shells. Living on the Chesapeake bay you can't spit without hitting an oyster shell. I usually dremel them up a bit to get the size/shape I want then pop the frag on. I place the frag on the outside which gives the advantage of having a nice concave shape on the bottom which nestles onto my live rock very well. Looks very natural and coralline algae grows on it like mad.

 

If you live inland, try a seafood resturant/shop. They will usually give the darn things away.

 

(Note: I boil the shells for a couple of hours after I collect them, the Bay unfortunately is not as clean as it used to be.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
The Propagator

I wanna make some frag discs. What type of ceramic clay do I use or what's the ratio of portland cement with what other ellement with water?

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To throw in my 2cents

 

i have tried a couple different ways for plugs. i have used the super glue method, plain rubble rock, agragcrete plugs w/ different molds. i cure mine by the way garf.org says: min 12hrs soak in white vinegaur (i usually throw them into a container WITH LID-its kinda smelly- under my bathroom sink and forget about them for a week lol then i soak them in water untill you can't smell the vinegar anymore)

 

the superglue 'disks' w/ some pom-pom frags

post-21110-1174095448_thumb.jpg

 

some of my diff plugs

post-21110-1174095902_thumb.jpg

 

the mold

post-21110-1174095952_thumb.jpg

 

this is how i attach some suff to the plug: w/ bridal netting and rubber band ;P

post-21110-1174096298_thumb.jpg

 

plain rubble rock ;)

post-21110-1174096489_thumb.jpg

Edited by Snazzy
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  • 2 months later...
mithossparky

ok, you guys that made plugs to fit eggcrate, what size holes are your top and post and what type of wood you using for the mold, what prep to the mold, what ratio of aragonite sand to portland cement?

thanks in advance

i made some test rocks using 4parts reeffloor special grade, 1 part shell/tufa mix and 1 part white portland cement, they are strong, and getting ready to soak, but i want to make some plugs too, since it takes so long to cure

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I'm starting to consider making my own "rock" for my 75g instead of buying it (due to price, and slight moral concerns ;)).

 

Hrm, great quality Premium Aquatics rock, or extremely cheap plain "rock"?

 

 

 

I like the wood molds, Snazzy. My super glue disks worked well, but I'd still say they're only good for small batches. I plan on making some good cement based plugs pretty soon.

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mithossparky

well i made a wood mold used 4 parts reef sand and one part white portland however only 1 out of twenty came out with a nipple, what am i doing wrong?

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  • 1 month later...

I just follow Mvite around :). Just wanted to add that I've heard of people tossing their freshly made plugs into the upperdeck of a toilet, the water gets changed everytime you flush :), so there is no worries about changing the water. As for making them....I just buy them cheap enough that it isn't worth my time. There are so many people making them now that you can find pretty much any size you would want and if you want better pricing contact someone that makes them and ask them for bulk buy pricing, maybe get your reef club together to buy a couple 1,000 at a time. At least this started off DIY.

~Ed

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TheAquaDen

Save a ton of money and time!! Purchase them from www.thefilterguys.biz They are fired ceramic plugs that do not need to be soaked or cured. Pull them out of the bag, mount your frag and put it in your tank. I have bought them time and time again and would never consider using nothing else. 50 frag plugs for 15.00........ you cant go wrong and they even come in different sizes. I use the small, cheaper ones and they fit in eggcrate perfectly. Also, great customer service!

 

I know, its not a DIY plug! Its much better, its a SEDI plug! (someone else do it)

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My parents started tiling their downstairs with ceramic tile last week, when I dropped by for my weekly visit I noticed they'd rented a tile saw... I made a quick trip to my LFS and picked up a not so beautiful piece of tonga branch live rock and a fist sized piece of base rock and cut them into 1/4"-1/2" discs. They turned out pretty nice... if i ever need a nipple on the bottom I have a small dead acro skeleton I can clip a piece off of and glue to the bottom of one of the discs. I have these setting on my AC70 fuge mod waiting for a frag.

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The Propagator

Shoot Gary, I was supposed to give you all sorts of links by now and have forgot to I am sure !!

so its all good !! :)

 

PM me or email me with what they were if you can remember.

( I suffer from CRS man !1 you know this ! :lol: )

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  • 4 months later...

I ended up making frag hunks out of Aragocrete. It was a 3 parts aragonite sand: 1 part portland mix.

As molds I used silicone, novelty, ice cube trays. Fruit shapes yeilded everything from little pucks to wedges. The dinosaurs, however, created convincingly natural forms. Eventually I got a little more creative and started making molds of random toys

Out there, somewhere, is a man with an Optimus Prime head covered in orange zoos.

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Sup? Yeah, I'm still wandering around.

Looking into setting up to mass produce ceramic frag rubble, and freshwater aquaria stuff. We'll see how that goes in the next few months.

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