Making Frag Disks

[The0wn4g3]

I don't know if it is "regular" ceramic clay, but they are definitely some type of ceramic.

I know one of the major frag wholesellers in my area was trying out a wide variety of plugs at one time. For awhile he was using plugs fired at one of those "make your own pottery" type places and they worked pretty well.

Are they glazed? That would account for the lack of porosity.

 

[ximmortaldeathx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14256698#post14256698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The0wn4g3


Are they glazed? That would account for the lack of porosity.

no not glazed, im talking out of the kiln.

ill try some of the "slip" kind that come premixed in a gallon.

well im off to home depot to get the stuff i need.

ill post pics/results later.

 

[customcolor]

now why do they need to be porous?? you making live rock or frag plugs??? the plug needs to be porous enough to take eather superglue or epoxy for ataching the frag to it.

friend of mine uses ceramic tiles from home depot for his grow out stuff.

 

[The0wn4g3]

They don't really need to be porous, but some believe the porosity help the coral frag absorb more nutrients. I've used ceramics, tiles, live rock, shells, and cement and haven't noticed any difference in growth rates between frags, so I don't think the porosity is much of a concern.

 

[hambandit]

one way to make a bunch of them would be to make a mold so you could easily duplicate lots of them.

 

[fishIZneat]

Cool idea.

You need to make different sizes. Start a website i don't think it would be difficult to make a better product cheaper.

 

[DeathWish302]

ximmortaldeathx:

So how are the frag plugs/disks coming along? Just wondered what material you chose.

DW302

 

[Elysia]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14255512#post14255512 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DeathWish302
Are you kidding me..... Did you read the product description form the site????

...."Lowfire clays must be glazed with foodsafe glazes, and the glazes fired to their proper maturity, to make foodsafe ware. "

NOT FOOD SAFE = NOT REEF SAFE....

The site doesn't show metal composition, and we know that our reef is far more sensitive to toxic metals versus humans.

DW302

In this case, not food safe does not necessarily equal not reef safe. The only reason why unglazed lowfire clay is considered "not food safe" is because it is porous. The juices of your food can soak into the unglazed clay, and bacteria can eventually harbor there. The only way to know if there is metal in the clay would be to look at the Material Data Safety Sheet. Don't write it off just because you can't eat off of it. There is plenty of unglazed, low fired ceramics in the sea.

 

[Rotorgeek]

Hello all. I am ximmortal's neighbor. I believe he went with a mixture of silica sand and i am not sure what else. I placed 2 disks in my tank to see how long it would take to grow some coraline. 1 disk was about a 1/4" thick and the other was 3/8" i will keep you all up to date.

 

[ximmortaldeathx]

:beer: alright Miguel's in the house!

hey guys sorry i haven't replied to everyone things have been a little hectic on my side.

yep i got the disks looking good im trying to clear up my garage so i can get some molds made and make a huuuge batch.

ill have some freebies for everyone.

ill also post some instructions once i get the molds in case other ppl want to make them.

 

[kev2me]

I'm excited to see how they turn out.

I tagged this back when you started this thread since we have some clay sitting around not being used. We tried to find a local that had a kiln, but no luck.

 

[mandm25254]

You my freind are so luckey to have one.

 

[ximmortaldeathx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14685883#post14685883 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mandm25254
You my freind are so luckey to have one.

one what? im lost sorry.

 

[mandm25254]

a keln i didn't know at first but google works wonders. It seems to be a pottery heater that would be able to make some lagit store quality frag disk.

 

[ximmortaldeathx]

Ahhh ok

yeah it pays to have the right contact or in law in my case.

 

[Rotorgeek]

Can we get some feedback on the shapes and sizes you would like in a Frag disk or plug. I am wondering for future production.

 

[SaltyTX]

I think the easiest thing for a mold would be a piece of plywood or thicker plastic/lexan. Mark off a grid and drill holes with a forstner bit (carefully) toss the mix on, strike it off the top, remove plywood/plastic. Done. Reset mold, repeat.

No idea what to use for a material, that is out of my league. I would love to have some when the time comes though!

 

[Chibils]

I dropped him a pm earlier (about half an hour before your post, Rotorgeek) saying that most of us use diy frag racks out of eggcrate. My Home Despot eggcrate has 9/16" inner dim squares, so plugs with square pegs (1/2") would work perfectly. I'd buy tons.