Petition to ban anything but flat frag plugs

[MariahP]

I really hate the t shaped frag plugs. Really. Anyone else?

 

[JNalley]

I really hate the t shaped frag plugs. Really. Anyone else?

I hate plugs period... Would rather receive coral attached to a piece of rubble... But in the argument of flat versus T, cutting off the stem is pretty easy...

 

[reefsaver]

lol whenever I get home I immediately get a hacksaw, and cut the long tube off the plugs so they sit flat or can be glued flush somewhere hehe. I only cut about 2mm into it then snap it off

 

[19Mateo83]

lol whenever I get home I immediately get a hacksaw, and cut the long tube off the plugs so they sit flat or can be glued flush somewhere hehe. I only cut about 2mm into it then snap it off

Bone cutters snips them off nicely and instantly

 

[Kmst80]

I hate plugs period... Would rather receive coral attached to a piece of rubble... But in the argument of flat versus T, cutting off the stem is pretty easy...

Rock over any plug for me too

 

[Gtinnel]

I prefer the tradition frag plug over a disc. When I get new corals they go in a frag rack and I like that I can keep them in place with the stem. Plus as already mentioned it isn’t hard to cut the stems off.

 

[MoshJosh]

They all have their place. When you need to store a ton of corals in an organized and (fairly secure) fashion, it is hard to beat T shaped plugs in a rack. Just for display purposes flat plugs are fine. For gluing I remove the plug all together, T or flat.


In a shallow tank travertine tiles from Home Depot rule supreme!!!

 

[littlefoxx]

I really hate the t shaped frag plugs. Really. Anyone else?

I actually hate both! Even with glue my frags keep getting knocked over. But unless my rocks have good holes I hate the t ones more lol

 

[Biokabe]

There's good reasons for all methods of frag attachment, and with the right tools it's easy to move between them. Honestly, I'm fine with the t-shaped plugs being the standard - it's easy to modify the t-plugs into discs (or no plugs), but not as easy to go the other way.

Get a pair of strong bone cutters and make them part of your standard process when bringing in new frags. They should be flat on one side and curved on the other. When you're going to mount a frag into your tank, press the flat side against the bottom of the plug, and just cut straight through the stem. Now your T-plug is a disc plug. With a little finesse (or some different tools) you can do the same thing to the disc plugs to remove the plug from the coral, and either attach directly to your rockwork or to a piece of rubble.

T-plugs are also great for side attachment to your rockwork. Use the epoxy-CA glue sandwich method to coat the side of the stem, press it up against the rockwork, and with proper application your frag is now attached firmly to the side of your rockwork.

 

[homer1475]

What I would like to see, use the traditional T style plug, upside down. Makes gluing the flat disk easier then just the little nub of the T.

 

[ReefingDreams]

I hate to bash on a particular brand, but Reefing Art T plugs are the worst. The material they are made out of is the toughest on the face of the planet. I hate them so much. I've literally chipped stainless steel bone butter blades on them with no impact to the stem. It's nuts.

 

[elysics]

Most corals you can remove from the plug completely, not just removing the stem. A well aimed strike with hammer and chisel while resting them on a soft towel or something for a clean separation dislodging the glue, or cutting the coral of with scalpel or diamond blades. Those options are much easier with a normal frag plug than an irregular one.

The only problem are corals that cover rock like a blanket, in that case it's best to break off the stem, glue them on a rock in a good place even if it looks ugly, letting the coral grow and once it has spread onto the bare rock in a significant manner, breaking off the plug with the original coral segment and selling/gifting it on.

 

[Doctorgori]

What I would like to see, use the traditional T style plug, upside down. Makes gluing the flat disk easier then just the little nub of the T.

only thing is when those frags that didn’t sell and start to encrust…Id imagine some funky looking cyprastrea, montis et

I hate to bash on a particular brand, but Reefing Art T plugs are the worst.

Are they the folks that makes that “hard rubber” long pointy frag plugs? The ones you often get ORA frags on…if not then the rubber plugs are close contenders..

Would rather receive coral attached to a piece of rubble

I thought someone was doing this already, surprised it hasn’t caught on

 

[Reefer Matt]

Think of frag plugs like the black plastic trays that seedlings in a gardeners market come in. They aren’t necessarily there for the customer, they are there to grow the coral on when propagating. If you don’t like the plug, most of the time the frag can be pried or cut off the plug.