Plugs fuggh

charlieoneseven

charlieoneseven

Reefing newb
I've been interested in getting some new coral frags for my small reef but the LFS has most of them on PLUGS. I haven't seen anything uglier or un-natural looking before. They don't look anything like the live rock base and I'm wondering if anyone has trimmed them down before adding them to the tank or have pictures of them overgrown like the store owner assures me they will.
Thanks!
 
I agree the circles and squares they put them on are really ridiculous. I have started popping them off of those things and then gluing or using reef putty to secure them to the rock. Which is more quickly covered and less noticeable.

Usually they are small enough coming from the store that they just pop right off. I get the corner of my algae scraper and apply GENTLE pressure pointing down toward the base it is on and off it goes!
 
Almost all coral will overgrow in time, some quickly like zoas, mushrooms and star polyps, some slower like brains and favia. The exceptions to overgrowing would be certain types of birdsnest or acropora depending on how they choose to grow and split. Chances are youll still see the plug for a very long while.

With certain corals, though, you can just bury the plug in sand if nothing is growing on the sides.
 
Welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard. You can just break the coral off of those plugs if they are stoney corals (lps's and sps's). Soft corals will eventually overgrow the plug, or detach itself from it.
 
Thanks for the insight.
I would like to see more store owners use more natural stone fragmets for frag corals considering the size of the Nano
reef. Not one size plug fits all coral
 
howdy and welcome to the site.. :D
+1 Most coral will cover them quickly .. I just always pop the SPS and LPS coral..
 
Someone talked about a putty for affixing is that like a 2 part playdough like glue that cures underwater? Is it wise to do that sort of work outside the main tank in a bucket or quarantine tank while that cures incase there is a toxic outgass? The clippers they use to cut the corals off to make fraggs look strong enough to also cut the plugs away or trim them down to just a spike that would be easier to conceal. A large wire cutter should work or a tile nipper.

I'm having fun this week trying to identify the new critters seen one is a clear slug with a white spot on the center and the oval front part lifts off the glass and cups over the glass as it feeds. The others look like 6 parted discs without the legs of a star. They will sit still if I'm looking right at them but as soon as I turn away they are gone and appear on another rock days later.:sfish:
 
There is aquarium safe putty you can use in your tank with no need to cure it outside the tank.

Is the first unidentified critter a flatworm? If so, you want to get rid of them before they multiply out of control.

The next is an asterina star, which in some tanks cause issues.
 
You don't have to spend the extra money on Reef Epoxy. You can buy the same sort of stuff at any hardware store, except it's just plumbing epoxy. Make sure you get one that does not contain metal (some do to give them extra strength) and make sure you get one that says it's safe for potable water.
 
I use a pair of tile cutters to trim down frag plugs. If you trim at an angle, you can smooth out the plug a little while getting rid of all the excess. And sometimes while doing that, the coral pops off the plug entirely, which is nice :)
 
It's good to hear the solutions for the plugs are a hardware store away.
Thanks for reminding me of getting rid of flatworm, bristle worm, ich have always been a salt aquarium biggest problem. What is the latest method used? Trying to just grab them can be tricky.
The tang is a juvenal just an inch long I forgot to say that earlier and hope an adult was everyones issue. Since I only have the one fish it should be in enough water.

My conch snail (scooter) has a new feather duster worm hitch hicking on his shell.
He loves to dig around in the sand and leaves it looking like a zen garden!
Yesterday we went to the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla.
Last weekend the aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.
It's nice to look without the price on glass temptations.
 
You have a problem with ich because the tank is too small. A juvi is ok in a 90 gal, not a 16 gal. Fish have problems with ich (which is commensal parasite on all fish) when their immune system gets compromised, usually by stress. That is when you see the white cysts.
https://www.livingreefs.com/oh-no-have-ich-do-do-t30950.html

To get rid of flatworms you dose your tank with flatworm exit. The exit isnt toxic to the tank but as the flatworms die they release a toxin that will kills stuff. So you need to suck out as many as you can see (they kinda hop into the water column as they so it pretty easy to get them) and so a big water change and then run carbon.

Finally, birstleworms are a great member of your CUC. The get a bad rap because they look scary. Just dont touch them.
 

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