Fraggin’ and Fraggin’ Tools, part 1

Every reefer will encounter a problem that is inevitable. Some might sooner, and others later. But it will happen. What is this event, that no one can avoid? Its called overgrowth. And I am not talking about your facial hair.

Many reefers will be stuck for space over time. In fact, many loose their tanks in crashes because of this ‘phenomena’. Corals grow and expand beyond their limitations, that are set forth by their holding tanks. Over time, the will find no more space for growth and will die.. causing a chain of events (that no reefer wants to experience).

So, the end result is a practice which all reefers must abide by. Dubbed fragging, it is a verb describing a motion of breaking frags or fragments from mother colonies. Experts in this please wait patiently by Starbucks until the next installment, where I am going to touch on the actual tools used for fragging. Novices, please stay with me. By fragging your corals, you are allowing them to grow more. Think of it like a tree. You trim the branches of trees to make them grow. Those limbs that are not getting sufficient light should be cut, so the tree can displace the most efficient amount of growth into those limbs that get the most light. Its the same principle behind fragging. Cut the coral pieces that are not getting enough light, and use them as your frags. This way, the coral can promote growth into the regions where it gets a lot of light (it takes more energy to grow a big coral). By fragging lesser lighted areas, you are increasing the efficiency of your coral’s growth. I have personally experienced this theory in my SPS corals.

Next up, tools. Cutting, prying, sawing, gluing, and scraping. Lots of fun.

Related posts:

1. Fraggin’ and Fraggin’ Tools, part 2
2. Frag’d It: the experiment
3. The Frag’d It Experiment: week 2
4. Too many frags
5. Fragd.it Coral Profiles

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