DIY Frag Plugs v1.0

[DML08]

Very cool.. I'm gonna have to whip some up now fo sho!..

 

[inactive]

I would be concerned about the junk in the fresh water

Or the copper piping.

 

[Elan]

is it better to use aragonite sand? the plugs i buy say they are aragonite

 

[MikeB]

is it better to use aragonite sand? the plugs i buy say they are aragonite

There is nothing in the sand that will harm your tank.

 

[PLNelson]

4 sand : 1 Concrete.

Type I cement is reef safe. All you want to do is after they are dried, put them in White vinegar for 24 hours in a sealed container, then put them in fresh water for 1 week. You will need to change the water daily. Then the plugs will be cured.

Something I've done for curing cement, was to place the items in a basket in the reservoir of my toilet. It gets a water change every time you do your duty.

 

[ReeferRob]

Any rhyme or reason to use play sand and not sand from the tank?

 

[MikeB]

Any rhyme or reason to use play sand and not sand from the tank?

Cheaper! :)

 

[Elan]

Do you have any pics of the finished product? Im going to try this today but with aragonite sand cuz i got a whole bucket of it.

 

[Myteemouse]

not to be a stickler but you use PORTLAND CEMENT
Not concrete.. Concrete has rocks and sand in it
portland cement has no rocks or sand in it, it is just cement

(concrete by definition has the mix of fly ash, sand, rock /gravel in the mix)
Just to help people out if they go to purchase the items needed for this cool project..

 

[MikeB]

Yes as you can see from the picture it's cement not concrete

 

[Myteemouse]

Yes as you can see from the picture it's cement not concrete

I seen that I just didn't know if everyone caught that.. LOL
(common sense is not a common virtue )

 

[JR's Reef]

Just to put my .02 in. On making the molds sumthin that might make it faster is to use to plugs and glue them head to head that way you have a handle and able to make the stem part of the mold in 1 step. Just a thought

 

[MikeB]

Alright after about 36+ hours I took out a couple plugs from the sand mold. Here you go.

 

[JNye]

are you happy with the results?, or a better question, will you do it again?

 

[MikeB]

are you happy with the results?, or a better question, will you do it again?

Yes and yes. They needed over 36 hours to really set since there is much more sand than cement. I removed on to early and it crumbled in my hand. They turned out nice. I am happy with them

 

[JNye]

i'm considering making a permanent mold, i don't wanna have to mess with the sand and making the mold by hand everytime.

 

[H@rry]

Maybe you could make your mold out of some kind of rubber material so you could reuse it. I wonder if the stuff they dip tool handles in would work?

 

[J&O'sdad]

Plastidip I think. I have seen where people will make a mold and use ky jelly so they don't stick.