Industrial Strength Coral Shears

ca1ore · 02/03/2017, 04:04 PM

Need to do some serious pruning. Many of the coral branches are 5/8" and resisting my small shears. Already crushed the tip'of one finger. I'd like not to add any others. Any recommendations for a large cutter? I see BRS sells one.

Zatoichi · 02/03/2017, 05:03 PM

I always like the Rio Precision professional Coral Clippers

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FamilyTank · 02/03/2017, 05:08 PM

I have no experience at this, let me get that out there.
Could you use wire cutters or tin snips?

Sk8r · 02/03/2017, 05:10 PM

Generally lps branching is hand-breakable. What on earth are you growing that defeats the shears?

Zatoichi · 02/03/2017, 05:20 PM

Oh I thought we were talking about SPS if you can remove the coral from the tank you can set it on a piece of wood and hit it with a hammer and chisel or a Spade drill bit to fracture the LPS branches at the base where they connect it is not an exact science and a wet bandsaw is always best

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tkeracer619 · 02/03/2017, 06:08 PM

I use large side cutters for hammer corals but the downside is they rust something fierce after use. I dip them in veggie oil after a good rinse.

I used to have a great pair of stainless bone snips that were the best. Can't find them anymore

vhuang168 · 02/03/2017, 08:12 PM

I use the coral cutters from Aquavitro. I can pop off the stems from coral plugs easily.

They also have the crescent cutters that look super aggressive. I also have those but never used it.

http://www.aquavitro.com/products/tools.html

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ca1ore · 02/03/2017, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Generally lps branching is hand-breakable. What on earth are you growing that defeats the shears?

It's a blue acro that I mounted on one of those mag shelf thingees that's developed some seriously thick branches. If I hand snap it I will pull the shelf off the rear wall which will fracture the encrusting growth. This blue acro is tough as nails and it's all I can do to cut the tough base branches.

D-Nak · 02/04/2017, 12:41 AM

Are you cutting your SPS with shears (scissors) or bone cutters? Most people use bone cutters to frag coral.

When I upgraded one of my Radions, Ecotech was kind enough to also include a pair of their "bone cutting forceps" which are actually really nice. They're my first pair that actually resists rust, and are larger than most typical bone cutters, allowing me more leverage when cutting off the stems of plugs (like Vincent mentioned).

The "BRS Large Curved Blade SPS Coral Bone Cutter" would probably do the trick, but you may need to be extra careful to avoid rust.

Zatoichi · 02/04/2017, 04:29 AM

You can also put some cheater bars on your current cutters to give you more leverage usually they use 1 foot pieces of half inch conduit or PVC possibly

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ca1ore · 02/04/2017, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-Nak

Are you cutting your SPS with shears (scissors) or bone cutters? Most people use bone cutters to frag coral.

When I upgraded one of my Radions, Ecotech was kind enough to also include a pair of their "bone cutting forceps" which are actually really nice. They're my first pair that actually resists rust, and are larger than most typical bone cutters, allowing me more leverage when cutting off the stems of plugs (like Vincent mentioned).

The "BRS Large Curved Blade SPS Coral Bone Cutter" would probably do the trick, but you may need to be extra careful to avoid rust.

I'm using bone cutters, yes. Was able to work my way through the offending branch. Next time I do a BRS order, I will get the curved blade cutter.

mfinn · 02/04/2017, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-Nak

When I upgraded one of my Radions, Ecotech was kind enough to also include a pair of their "bone cutting forceps" which are actually really nice.

.

Shoot. I thought I was special when I got mine from them when I upgraded mine.

02/03/2017, 04:04 PM	#1
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	Industrial Strength Coral Shears Need to do some serious pruning. Many of the coral branches are 5/8" and resisting my small shears. Already crushed the tip'of one finger. I'd like not to add any others. Any recommendations for a large cutter? I see BRS sells one. __________________ Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs

02/03/2017, 05:10 PM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Generally lps branching is hand-breakable. What on earth are you growing that defeats the shears? __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

02/03/2017, 06:08 PM	#6
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	I use large side cutters for hammer corals but the downside is they rust something fierce after use. I dip them in veggie oil after a good rinse. I used to have a great pair of stainless bone snips that were the best. Can't find them anymore __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

02/03/2017, 08:12 PM	#7
vhuang168 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,136	I use the coral cutters from Aquavitro. I can pop off the stems from coral plugs easily. They also have the crescent cutters that look super aggressive. I also have those but never used it. http://www.aquavitro.com/products/tools.html Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ Vincent 40g custom AIO --> DSA190Pro

02/04/2017, 12:41 AM	#9
D-Nak Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 5,797	Are you cutting your SPS with shears (scissors) or bone cutters? Most people use bone cutters to frag coral. When I upgraded one of my Radions, Ecotech was kind enough to also include a pair of their "bone cutting forceps" which are actually really nice. They're my first pair that actually resists rust, and are larger than most typical bone cutters, allowing me more leverage when cutting off the stems of plugs (like Vincent mentioned). The "BRS Large Curved Blade SPS Coral Bone Cutter" would probably do the trick, but you may need to be extra careful to avoid rust. __________________ Tank info: 120 gallon 48x30x20 high DT. Clownfish breeding rack in full swing: C-Quest Onyx, Bali Aquarich P1 Picasso + Rod's Onyx, wild percula + Rod's Onyx.

02/03/2017, 05:03 PM	#2
Zatoichi Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 440	I always like the Rio Precision professional Coral Clippers Sent from my SM-J700T1 using Tapatalk

02/03/2017, 05:08 PM	#3
FamilyTank Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Downriver,Mi Posts: 226	I have no experience at this, let me get that out there. Could you use wire cutters or tin snips?

02/03/2017, 05:20 PM	#5
Zatoichi Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 440	Oh I thought we were talking about SPS if you can remove the coral from the tank you can set it on a piece of wood and hit it with a hammer and chisel or a Spade drill bit to fracture the LPS branches at the base where they connect it is not an exact science and a wet bandsaw is always best Sent from my SM-J700T1 using Tapatalk

02/04/2017, 04:29 AM	#10
Zatoichi Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 440	You can also put some cheater bars on your current cutters to give you more leverage usually they use 1 foot pieces of half inch conduit or PVC possibly Sent from my SM-J700T1 using Tapatalk