- Hey, it's Thomas here
and today we're going to be checking out
BRS' deluxe fragging kit.
We're going to open this thing up
because there's quite a few tools inside.
We'll go over how you use them,
what you're going to use them for,
what's the purpose, why are there so many, so
stick around and find out.
If you've been looking for some fragging tools to start
trimming back those corals so they don't shade, fight and
cause problems with one another, and have been hoping
for a one-stop shop to give you everything you
need to get started with pruning those pretty polyps,
then you'll want to see what's inside this blue zip-up case.
Fragging is an eventual part of reef-keeping for any
hobbyist who spends a decent amount of time in the hobby.
We put corals into our tanks, usually smaller pieces or
frags, they eventually grow and grow and grow until they're
touching, shading, or otherwise warring with one another
over space.
Trying to snap a piece of coral off by hand or using a
kitchen knife or a pair of scissors you have lying around
the house that you use for all kinds of other things is
pretty ineffective.
It leads to fairly sloppy cuts and can lead
to extra tissue damage or skeletal damage on those frags
and the mother colony, which makes it hard for them to heal.
Plus anything they've come into contact with could end up
potentially contaminating your tank, which is just totally
not worth it.
Having a few precision tools specifically for the task means
you can safely make exact and clean cuts when fragging your
corals, which will lead to better and faster pruning mother
colonies that don't look like they've been hacked to bits
and frags that heal and encrust more quickly since they have
less damage to recover from.
And before anybody says it, no, your magnetic algae cleaner
is not a fragging tool.
That was an accident; I'm talking about doing it on purpose,
tactfully, like a surgeon.
And for that BRS fragging tools are the ticket.
The deluxe fragging kit gives you a wide range of tools to
help you make quick and clean work when it comes to fragging
those precious coral colonies.
They're made from stainless steel, are super sharp,
easy to clean and all pack neatly in a zip-up pouch.
The deluxe kit includes:
(deep inhale)
a scraper, small curved forceps, large forceps, epoxy
removal tool, soft tissue scissors, small curve scissors,
coral hemostat, large SPS coral bone cutter, small SPS coral
bone cutter, 20 grams of BRS extra-thick super glue gel,
number three scalpel handle, five up number 10 scalpel
blades.
(deep exhale)
That's a lot of tools.
And yes, there is also a smaller kit if you want a
less-spendy option that gives you the basics,
and all of the tools are also sold separately so you can
mix and match and get exactly what you need.
Personally, I really do like the deluxe kit because that way
I'm prepared for just about everything short of a shark
attack.
That said, pretty sure there's at least a few of these tools
that would help in that scenario as well.
If I ended up in that scenario and also had my fragging kit
with me for some reason.
So let's break them down into groups and look at how
and why you would use each of them.
First off, and very obviously there are cutting tools in
this kit for doing the actual fragging.
The soft-tissue scissors and the curved scissors are going
to be great for soft corals, like all types of leathers,
Lemnalia, Nepthea, Sinularia, Gorgonians, and so on.
The scalpel and scraper tools will work really well for
fragging nodding, soft corals like Zoanthids, Star Polyps,
Sympodium and Anthelia, as well as mushrooms like
Rhodactis, Ricordea, Discosoma,
and even for relocating or dividing anemones.
The small and large bone cutters are going to be great
for all sorts of SPS from thinner branching Birds Nest
or Montipora species,
all the way up to thicker Staghorn Acropora, as well as
plating or tabling Acros.
They can also work quite well for Euphyllia-type branching
LPS corals.
There are also a number of tools in here that will make
transporting, dipping, mounting, removing frags from their
old plugs or moving old plugs from the rock work easier.
The small and large curved forceps can make sneaking a frag
into a tight spot in the rock work, or between other corals,
easier to do without bumping into them with your hand,
or scraping your knuckles on the rocks.
They can also help you mount frags to plugs without getting
glue on your fingers.
The coral hemostats can click and lock closed with varying
amounts of pressure, have Y-textured tips and are fantastic
for holding onto your bushy, branching, softy frag
right above where you plan to cut it so it doesn't float
away after you give it a snip.
There's also an epoxy removal tool which is actually one of
my favorites. It is very simple.
One end has a blunt-angled tip and the other has a dull
lance.
Together, they make getting underneath some old glue
or epoxy pretty easy and then give you enough leverage to
pop it off.
It's kind of like a micro cheater bar and it comes in handy
more often than you might think, even outside of fragging.
And of course there is the tube of extra-thick superglue gel
but I think we all know what that's for,
so I'm just going to let that speak for itself.
All in, you've got a full set of tools for fragging just
about every kind of coral out there.
Say for maybe like a wet bandsaw.
And it all comes in this beautiful blue case so you can keep
everything organized.
It is really important that even though these are stainless
steel, every time you use your tools in salt water,
give them a quick rinse and dry them off before you put them
back in the case so they stay looking perfect.
If the deluxe fragging kit matches your reefing mantra
and you'd like to pick one up for yourself you can go ahead
and do that by clicking right here.
(upbeat music)