-Logzor
2500 Club Member
Does anyone know where I can fine the cone shaped frag plugs. The flat area on the plug is very small, just larger than an eggcrate square. The sides have a tiered/stairstep look to them.
Cone shaped frag plugs - Where to buy
- Thread starter -Logzor
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The Alternative reef.
Aquarium specialty should sell them. COntact Gooch
Linky;
The Alternative Reef Micro Plugs 100 pack - The Alternative Reef - Frag Tools & Supplies
Aquarium specialty should sell them. COntact Gooch
Linky;
The Alternative Reef Micro Plugs 100 pack - The Alternative Reef - Frag Tools & Supplies
I've been using the same plugs for the past 6 months or so. For SPS frags, I absolutely love them! In fact, it's time for me to order more.
OP
OP
-Logzor
2500 Club Member
Basically, yes, one per square.
Most of the time, Yes. It will depend on the size of the frag. Sometimes, the size of shape of the frag will keep them from being able to be placed in adjoining squares. Also keep in mind that these frags work great for SPS, but are fairly worthless for Zoanthids or most LPS corals. I suppose they'd work for very small zoanthid/LPS frags but that's about it.
I like to use the standard plugs, these are knda hard to place in the rocks IME, and hard to remove form the eggcrate, as tehy fall pretty deep. I do like them for placing on sand and in small er frag racks, etc.
buddythelion
2500 Club Member
Ah, I was hoping to use them for zoas, but after looking at the squares you're right. It's just too small for a zoa to grow out.
Ninjapotamus
Active Member
I do not like these plugs. Couple reasons why I dislike then.
1. They are super hard material. trying to cut the plug is extremely hard and requires a ton of pressure with bone cutters. inland saw also tends to shatter them due to the hardness. killing the coral is often the result of trying to cut these plugs.
2. They are microscopic in size... literally the smallest frag plugs you can buy. If you grow corals on plugs this is totally unusable. Your corals will have zero room to grow and will be growing on the frag rack in a matter of days/weeks.
3. they are highly deceptive to buyers. many zoa/paly sellers use these plugs to make their frags look bigger than they actually are. these plugs are so small they make microzoas like paradise look large in photos.
I could go on.... but basically I hate these things!
if your serious about growing zoas/palys buy LARGE, SOFT ceramic discs. The ones that have a chalky consistency grow the least algae and are super easy to frag off of with tons of room for growth.
1. They are super hard material. trying to cut the plug is extremely hard and requires a ton of pressure with bone cutters. inland saw also tends to shatter them due to the hardness. killing the coral is often the result of trying to cut these plugs.
2. They are microscopic in size... literally the smallest frag plugs you can buy. If you grow corals on plugs this is totally unusable. Your corals will have zero room to grow and will be growing on the frag rack in a matter of days/weeks.
3. they are highly deceptive to buyers. many zoa/paly sellers use these plugs to make their frags look bigger than they actually are. these plugs are so small they make microzoas like paradise look large in photos.
I could go on.... but basically I hate these things!
if your serious about growing zoas/palys buy LARGE, SOFT ceramic discs. The ones that have a chalky consistency grow the least algae and are super easy to frag off of with tons of room for growth.
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Ninja, interesting feedback. While I agree that they're worthless for Zoanthids/LPS/Soft Corals, I do think they're ideal for SPS corals. Also, IMO, they aren't difficult to cut at all, with an Inland Band Saw. In fact, I just cut some today, quite easily, making a nice clean cut. If you're having difficulty cutting them, try turning your speed up. Then again, I have a new saw with a new blade. I do agree that they'd be difficult to cut with bone cutters, though I've never tried.
I also like how easily they fit in the smallest holes in live rock, if you chose to place them in your rockwork.
I also like how easily they fit in the smallest holes in live rock, if you chose to place them in your rockwork.
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When I started making these plugs it was intended for the micro fragger. The guys that sell one or two polyp frags. They do not have a stem making them very hard to cut down. That was on purpose. The coned plug was made like this to fit into nooks and crannies in your rockwork so they would not have to be trimmed down. They are very small frag plugs and I can not imagine why you would need to cut them with your band saw. There are a lot of people that like using them for small sps frags and one or two polyp zoanthid frags. Also they were designed so that the people that use egg crate can fill every hole of the egg crate and actually grow a carpet of coral across the plugs. It is also the same material we use on all our products. We also did not make them to deceive buyers. Most people know the size of a zoanthid or the size of an sps frag by looking at the polyp size. I have dozens of walk in stores that use these for the five and ten dollar frag sections that have customers buying them with no issue whatsoever.
Not to mention these are probably one of the lowest priced plugs you can buy. We make multiple plugs for multiple purposes.
You can just browse the vendor section here and find tons of pictures with coral on our plugs without a stitch of algae on them. Many with lots of coralline encrusting the plugs. If there is algae in the system it will grow on any surface. Honestly there is plenty of people out there that say my competitors product grow even more algae than mine do. I hear it at every show I go to.
Again, not every plug we make will please every fragger out there. There was a need for the micro plug so we made it. I also have zero issues trimming these plugs down with bone cutters(I am a big guy though). I do agree using a saw is probably a bad idea. If you want a plug or disk without a stem we make those too. Most of them I can snap the stem off with my fingers.
I am sorry you are not happy with the micro plug but for every person that doesn't like them there are many more that do. It is not even close to our most popular size(not even top five). But the number two reasons you hate them for are why they were made. They were not designed to be trimmed. They were made to fit into nooks in your liverock. If you have an issue with vendor deception that is with the vendor not the frag plug.
Not to mention these are probably one of the lowest priced plugs you can buy. We make multiple plugs for multiple purposes.
You can just browse the vendor section here and find tons of pictures with coral on our plugs without a stitch of algae on them. Many with lots of coralline encrusting the plugs. If there is algae in the system it will grow on any surface. Honestly there is plenty of people out there that say my competitors product grow even more algae than mine do. I hear it at every show I go to.
Again, not every plug we make will please every fragger out there. There was a need for the micro plug so we made it. I also have zero issues trimming these plugs down with bone cutters(I am a big guy though). I do agree using a saw is probably a bad idea. If you want a plug or disk without a stem we make those too. Most of them I can snap the stem off with my fingers.
I am sorry you are not happy with the micro plug but for every person that doesn't like them there are many more that do. It is not even close to our most popular size(not even top five). But the number two reasons you hate them for are why they were made. They were not designed to be trimmed. They were made to fit into nooks in your liverock. If you have an issue with vendor deception that is with the vendor not the frag plug.
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Ninjapotamus
Active Member
I have never bought these plugs... I receive them occasionally in purchased frag packs. I am a frag tank grower... I can't keep zoas/palys in my display tank anymore due to tangs developing a taste for them. When I receive zoas/palys on these tiny plugs its a huge pain for me. I am faced with two options. Leaving the plug alone... which means the zoa/paly will be growing off of them onto the rack in no time, or attemping to remove the frag and reglue it on a disc. The size and toughness of these plugs makes removing the polyps very annoying. My inland saw handles it just fine, I only had a few snap on me(destroying some particuarly nice zoas) Neither is a good option.
I can see the use for these plugs for sps and other frags that will go directly in the rock work. I didn't mean to say these plugs are bad and have no purpose. I just think they are really bad for zoa/paly people who like to grow out in a frag tank.
BTW. These are the "soft" ceramic tiles I like best for growing zoas/palys. http://www.oceanswonders.com/catalog/item/5834473/5703652.htm They are smooth and relatively soft you can scrape underneath the mat of the polyp without doing any damage.
Never dissolved on me either!
And yes... small plugs do dupe people all the time, especially newbies. Think back on the time you opened your some of your first frag packs and felt buyers remorse.... "I bought THESE tiny things?!....but they looked so much bigger in the photo!". I am long past that stage, but don't think for a second it doesn't happen to beginners every day on these and other reef forums. I would much rather have people be pleasantly surprised by the size of my frags than be unpleasantly disappointed.
I am sure a lot of people LOVE these plugs, but I certainly don't!
I can see the use for these plugs for sps and other frags that will go directly in the rock work. I didn't mean to say these plugs are bad and have no purpose. I just think they are really bad for zoa/paly people who like to grow out in a frag tank.
BTW. These are the "soft" ceramic tiles I like best for growing zoas/palys. http://www.oceanswonders.com/catalog/item/5834473/5703652.htm They are smooth and relatively soft you can scrape underneath the mat of the polyp without doing any damage.
Never dissolved on me either!
And yes... small plugs do dupe people all the time, especially newbies. Think back on the time you opened your some of your first frag packs and felt buyers remorse.... "I bought THESE tiny things?!....but they looked so much bigger in the photo!". I am long past that stage, but don't think for a second it doesn't happen to beginners every day on these and other reef forums. I would much rather have people be pleasantly surprised by the size of my frags than be unpleasantly disappointed.
I am sure a lot of people LOVE these plugs, but I certainly don't!
WOW! Now that is COOL! I've received corals wrapped in wet paper towels, inside bags, shipped with no water and they always open up almost immediately upon entering the tank. However, the method you linked looks like it'd be even more efficient! Easy way to send Zoanthids, using padded envelopes, saving a bit on shipping! It looks like they're using the lil' plastic tubes that fresh cut roses are inserted into?
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