chip away the cement plugs the sps are grown on?

[Chicago]

ok..

do you any of you have issues with the cement globs that the aquacultured corals are grown on. i have seen some brown changes in the bottom of the cement. I have heard that it leaches phosphate and other nasties.

I am not referring to the plugs we use to do frags. I am talking about the large half baseball size goops that are used in the ocean and sold all over.. live aquaria ect out of indo ect.

I understand many use bone cutters to cut it away. is there a good way to do this.. does it leach more if you cut these goops of cement?

thanks

 

[evolutionZ]

i tried cutting them away but my sub-standard tools are not strong enough. my tools can easily cut/trim away all natural live rocks but not those cements.

 

[toothman]

I use a garden pruner. Sometimes you can chip away enough that it just comes out of the plug. Or try the pruner to just break off the acro without the plug, it can sometimes break the acro. I really do not like the plugs, I generally try to break all or most of it off then dip the coral prior to mounting it.

 

[watchguy123]

I always cut newly acquired frags off the plug, regardless whether cement, ceramic or plastic plug. That is just a potential area for pests and pest eggs to hide, then dip the frag and either onto new plug or into tank (qt or display). I either use bone cutters to frag at base or I use a chisel and attempt to get base of the frag to lift (pop) off.

 

[Bezz]

I have several of these maricultured sps colonies in my tank and they have been growing like weeds. I've kept them on the original plugs they came on, as I thought those plugs are rocks. Now I understand why those plug have all imaginable algae growing on them when there are no visible algae in other parts of my tank.

I don't think I can get the plugs off now that the sps on them have encrusted and are growing. But i'll definitely chip the sps off the plug in future purchase.