Your favorite reef tongs??

vetteguy53081 · Jan 19, 2022

Reefahholic said:
Anybody use these?

I have two and love them. Lift heavy rock with ease

Reefahholic · Jan 20, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
I have two and love them. Lift heavy rock with ease

Might have to buy one.

damsels are not mean · Jan 20, 2022

Really want the maxspect ones but they are never in stock. Totally rust-proof as they aren't metal and they are neutrally buoyant if you drop them. Silicone tips for delicate handling.

Yates273 · Jan 20, 2022

I have these and love them. I bought to feed my trigger and move things around. They have a serrated inside to help grab and the ends have rubber tips. I have the longer version since my tank is 24” deep. Now my hands don’t get wet anymore

Reefahholic · Jan 20, 2022

damsels are not mean said:
Really want the maxspect ones but they are never in stock. Totally rust-proof as they aren't metal and they are neutrally buoyant if you drop them. Silicone tips for delicate handling.

That thing is pretty sweet! Especially for smaller precision work.

Reefahholic · Jan 20, 2022

Yates273 said:
I have these and love them. I bought to feed my trigger and move things around. They have a serrated inside to help grab and the ends have rubber tips. I have the longer version since my tank is 24” deep. Now my hands don’t get wet anymore

Does water get inside like with all the rest?

SPS2020 · Jan 20, 2022

Reefahholic said:
Anybody use these?

I really like mine...use them quite often for the bigger stuff. You can grab things as small as an Astrea snail. I let them drain for a few seconds when they break the water surface...and always rinse them in fresh water before drying.

J1a · Jan 20, 2022

T

Reefahholic said:
Anybody use these?

This is awesome for my 30" deep tank, except there is always a risk of swiping off a mounted coral when trying to move it around tight corners. It's also less delicate, a bit difficult to feel the pressure.

On the other hand, the maxspect tongs are awesome for those more delicate work, don't rust, and always floats.

shakacuz · Jan 20, 2022

damsels are not mean said:
Really want the maxspect ones but they are never in stock. Totally rust-proof as they aren't metal and they are neutrally buoyant if you drop them. Silicone tips for delicate handling.

my experience with this is that it does not have a good grip despite having rubber tips. it's more so the mechanism where you hold that makes it difficult to secure/hold the frag tightly.

edit: i have since changed to the VCA grips, and even if they're shorter, they definitely are more secure and also float.

Yates273 · Jan 20, 2022

Reefahholic said:
Does water get inside like with all the rest?

Maybe a little, but I’m not too concerned not to mention the insides are stainless.

Lucas815 · Jan 20, 2022

shakacuz said:
my experience with this is that it does not have a good grip despite having rubber tips. it's more so the mechanism where you hold that makes it difficult to secure/hold the frag tightly.

I have these and they're great. They don't rust, and they are really gentle to pickup corals.

2 small issues with them though. No big deal.

There are some holes in the grip, which water will get in and will drip a bit on the floor once you get them out. Have to shake them a bit and wipe the handle every time to prevent this.
As they are not made out of metal, they are less stiff, and you can't really apply a lot of force on them as they'll just bend. Great for corals, not so for heavier stuff.

DeniseAndy · Jan 20, 2022

Every type of the plastic grabber tongs I have tried I end up disliking. I have tried many. The main reason is they do not pick up things with any weight, break easily, too clumsy.

Now the metal tongs I have had few of those too. All end up rusting eventually (yes even the surgical steel ones). Saltwater has that effect. Now i have had straight and angled, plastic tip and non. I do like these for what I use them for. Moving frags, grabbing something that fell over or empty shells or such. Even mange to hook bigger rocks to move.

I have a few different sizes, but all work fine. You just have to replace them as they rust out. Any stainless steel or surgical steel is what I would get. Those Maxspect look interesting though.

SFREEF3R · Jan 20, 2022

I use these 24" curved hemostat forceps almost every day. I almost never need to put my hands into the tank.

If things are close to the top I use straight/curved tweezers from this cheap set I got for my planted tank, also from Amazon (no longer available - though many similar are offered):

Both sets of tools will develop rust over time if not wiped dry after use, despite being "stainless", but it's mostly cosmetic and light scrubbing can clean it up when it happens. For the price, it hasn't bothered me.

Would love to get my hands on some titanium equivalents for tweezers/hemostats and coral cutters - but for most tools they either aren't available or are ridiculously expensive.

hobie61 · Jan 20, 2022

shakacuz said:
my experience with this is that it does not have a good grip despite having rubber tips. it's more so the mechanism where you hold that makes it difficult to secure/hold the frag tightly.

edit: i have since changed to the VCA grips, and even if they're shorter, they definitely are more secure and also float.

Same thoughts. I wish the geometry at the tip ends curved "in" more. Once place pressure on the tong stems, the tips flare out and hard to grip at times. Thought it was a defect at 1st. I tried to contact Maxspect but didnt get anywhere. A longer length would be nice too. Just thoughts. Nice that dont rust though.

alabella1 · Jun 28, 2023

shakacuz said:
my experience with this is that it does not have a good grip despite having rubber tips. it's more so the mechanism where you hold that makes it difficult to secure/hold the frag tightly.

edit: i have since changed to the VCA grips, and even if they're shorter, they definitely are more secure and also float.

I have broken like 4 pairs of VCA grips.