dumbderk
08-12-2011, 02:34 AM
Well, I was looking into frag plugs since the swap started and about a week and a half ago I started on the internet and was looking into buying frag plugs but didn't want to spend a whole lot of money, yes I am cheap :P So I started looking for live rock rubble and that was expensive as well so I thought what could I use to put frags from the hardware store and not cause any ill effects to my tank with any silica, well I started thinking of pvc peices but that leaves to much to the silica wise and looks a bit goofy and causes a lot of pain and time with cutting them so that was out and some stones they sell in bags have been in god knows what conditions so I decided against that and then later in the day while stepping in the shower I noticed the tile flooring we had was in little squares in perfect sizes but were made out of some granite or glass I am not sure but I thought that is perfect but I need something without silica and then thought well anything made mostly of calcium should work and might even prove to increase growth of the frag. I started researching a little more and found that Marble is mostly calcium carbonate which is close to or the exact same thing that LPS and SPS skeletons are made from. I couldn't find sheets of tiles which bummed me out but luckily we have a tile saw at the house and we got a piece of marble tile from lowes and the white kind with little to know dark lines or imperfections in it for $4. I cut the tiles into 1''X1'' or more squares and they are perfect for placing zoa frags upon! They give a smooth surface for future removal to put onto rocks, they are pure with as little silica it seems as frag plugs you buy elsewhere, and a big bonus they are sitting upon calcium based substance which can leek out into your tank giving it a nice boost and not to mention I assume helping the coral grow upon it as well. After looking to see if anyone else has tried this I found I am not the genius after all, this has already been done and tested for a while now with absolutely no ill affect to the tank or its parameters.
So those of you at the swap are getting the first couple frags from me will get to try marble frag plugs :P
---------- Post added at 03:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:33 AM ----------
Oh forgot to mention that after cutting these I washed them by hand then boiled to make sure to get rid of any debris or anything that might have gotten on them chemical/dirt or dust wise.
So those of you at the swap are getting the first couple frags from me will get to try marble frag plugs :P
---------- Post added at 03:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:33 AM ----------
Oh forgot to mention that after cutting these I washed them by hand then boiled to make sure to get rid of any debris or anything that might have gotten on them chemical/dirt or dust wise.