The DB-100 Inland Coral Bandsaw Review: The Best Saw for Fragging Corals

For many reefers with saltwater tanks, fragging corals becomes a necessity for a number of reasons. They may be outgrowing your tank or picking fights with their next-door neighbours. You may want to earn a bit of extra money as a side hustle selling your frags. Whatever your reasons are, some of them cannot be safely fragged without using an aquasaw. In this article I will review the DB-100 Inland Coral Saw, the best saw for fragging corals, in my opinion.

best aqua saw for cutting corals

What is the best saw for fragging corals?

The Inland DB-100 band saw is the perfect workbench saw for fragging certain corals. The saw was developed for cutting through glass, stone, tile and ceramic, plastics and shells with a diamond band saw blade. The included water reservoir feeds through to the saw, controlled by a flow valve. This ensures that the blade does not get hot during operation, and also makes sure that you do not blunt the blade prematurely.

This makes the DB-100 band saw the best saw for fragging corals. The diamond blade makes very quick work through some of the toughest coral skeletons, like a knife through butter. It cuts cleanly through the coral without any further damage, such as coral burn, due to the water fed saw blade.

It gets better. The DB-100 is capable of cutting intricate shapes, organic curve and inside curves. This is especially relevant when fragging corals such as Acans, when you want to avoid cutting though the polyps. You simply guide the blade around each polyp.

When asked ‘What saw is used to cut corals?’, the Inland DB-100 has far exceeded my expectations.

Discount Codes

Use our personal discount code
SALTYSIDESAW
to get $10 off any SALE listed DB-100 Bandsaw prices
or
SALTYSIDE10
to get a 10% discount off all items on inlandcraft.com except machines and gift cards.

How to use the Inland DB-100 coral bandsaw

Once you have followed the detailed assembly instructions included with your saw and installed the diamond blade, and checked the tension as described in the manual, it is ready to put the saw to work. Fill the reservoir with fresh RO water, keeping more available to the side just in case you will need more. Check the water flow valve and get a feel for the flow rate. When I use the saw I use a relatively fast flow rate as an added security measure for safeguarding the corals while cutting.

Move the Inland DB-100 saw to the edge of the counter and attach the included outlet hose. By placing the saw on the edge of the counter, you are ensuring that the hose follows a downward slope. This encourages the waste water to find its way down the hose into a bucket or waste collection container. 

best aquasaw for corals
which coral saw is the best

On the right hand side of the bandsaw you will find the power knob. This works by graduating the power/speed that you want to use. The more you turn the knob, the faster the saw blade turns.

The Inland DB-100 coral bandsaw can accommodate a saw height of up to 3 1/2 inches by sliding their cleverly designed blade guide all the way up. The minimum saw height is 6/8 of an inch, by sliding the guide all the way down.

alternative aqua saw to gryphon

After you have quickly learnt your way around the saw, it is time to saw. With the reservoir already filled with water, adjust the height of the blade guide and adjust the water flow rate onto the blade. Turn the saw on via the adjustable speed knob, and guide your coral slowly through. You will soon discover why I think this is the best saw for fragging corals.

fragging with a bandsaw
Glitter Bomb Goniopora being fragged

For more information on how to frag LPS corals, click here.

For information on how to frag SPS corals, click here.

How to clean and maintain a coral bandsaw

The Inland DB-100 is not only simple to use when fragging corals, it is very easy to maintain too. The saw is comprised of an easy to open access compartment, which is held closed using two thumb bolts. Once open you have full access to the inner workings. This makes cleaning the internal components a straight forward job.

best saw for fragging corals
band saw for coral fragging

The blade is self-cleaning, helped by a piece of leather that is wedged into a slot provided for that purpose. This means that on each rotation of the blade, it is cleaned of any build up that may hamper the cutting performance.

When you have finished fragging, fill up the reservoir again, and run the saw with the water open to maximum. This will help to flush out most of the waste that has accumulated during the fragging session. There may be some water that has pooled beneath the unit onto the counter. Simply wipe it away.

Conclusion

I have been using the Inland DV-100 Coral Bandsaw for over a year. In that time I have not had to replace the diamond blade, and it has remained in brilliant order. This saw takes the guesswork out of trying to use coral cutters, and is a huge step up from traumatising your corals with a Dremel. This is by far my favourite reef investment and the best saw for fragging corals.

Grab yours here using discount code SALTYSIDESAW

Best Saw for Fragging Corals: The DB-100 Coral Bandsaw

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