Moss Wall

[loopy119]

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/plants/leong_Moss_Wall.html

I was looking at some random mosses on e-bay and I found a reference to a "moss wall". I typed it into google and found the article above! It looks like it is very easy to do, but I was just wondering if anyone has done this or anything similar to this before. What types of moss should be used if no CO2 will be used? I saw the reference on an auction for Christmas moss...is this a good choice with no CO2? I've also seen a plant called Willow moss that looks kinda cool too...would that stuff work?

I might try this in a 10 gallon or something, or maybe even my 30 or 55 if I'm brave enough...it might look kinda neat! I'm kinda afraid that the moss might wiggle loose or something though...is that a possibility? I can think of a few ideas that would improve the design too...like weaving fishing line through the whole piece of mesh after stuffing it instead of just around the edges...kinda like you would do with a quilt to support the batting... Maybe instead of doing a background with it I could do a wall on just one side of my tank as an experiment... I guess I'll have to ask Mike what kinds of mosses he can get.

OK, all of you plant lovers give me some feedback!!!  

Rebekah

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: Moss Wall

You missed the LHA class on moss walls, i think it was given by Taipan.

Maybe you could ask him to make it another class at the upcoming GHAC meeting.

Christmas moss grows like crazy in my tanks without co2 or good lighting.

[loopy119]

Re: Moss Wall

:wink: Nah, I may just talk to him in private at the meeting...I wouldn't want to subject everyone to his rambling  :wink:  :wink: LOL!  :bsjoke:

But for real, I'll just talk to him about the mosses a bit at the meeting. I'm not really ready to do anything right now, I'm just kinda planning some things I might want to play with after my tanks are established the way I want them. I always like to learn about new things and I really would like to try this later on! It looks like a pretty neat idea!

Rebekah

[Ranakalea]

Re: Moss Wall

Let him ramble on, I would like to hear it as well. It looks interesting

[loopy119]

Re: Moss Wall

Maybe he'll read this! I'll try to PM him tomorrow if he don't see this and respond tonight!

Rebekah

[justdoit]

Re: Moss Wall

That is very cool.  Would love to do that for the shrimp !

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Moss Wall

I have a small moss wall that I made for my shrimp tank(though my moss mountain has covered it).....it's moss so it grows in just about anything but I noticed with good light/co2 the growth is a lot different and much nicer!

[Tiapan]

Re: Moss Wall

yes im reading this, sorry been workin and movin. anyway Moss will grow just about anywhere. but you see different kinds of grow much like Ek said. There is a great deal of controversy online as to the sale of mosses, largly because it is sooooo hard to identfy them by sight. and the same moss probably goes by different names in different regions. Honestly i had java moss/ and xmas moss in several tanks and most of the time cant tell them apart. and they grow different colored and different speeds in all the tanks. either way they are typically easy to maintain, though they do require lots of pruning, i asked the guys at ADG how they did the pruning without moss everywhere and they said they have a little syphon running next to where they clip to suck up the clippings. they have a lot of little moss covered rocks for forground(looks really cool too). anyway to have a wall all you need is something for the moss to grow up, whether its a piece of weighted cork or flat piece of bark. Or even a mesh or piece of plastic grate. I of course prefer natural materials. You can have really cool lattices made with natural cords (read that as plant line or vines, but be careful what vines you use) tied to different woods. I sometimes just tie the wood togethere with moss and have big balls of it grow at the junctions. So many options with moss. I also saw a lot of competitive photos that had very artistically clipped moss in them (obviously right before the photo, but hey its for a photo contest)
Ok i have rambled enough on moss here, other people ehre keep several types, but i think my favorite and most practical use of moss is that baby fish love it, because it protects them and provides living space for lots of infusoria that they feed on, even cichlid babies, so moss is essential for any breeder from amatuer to pros. at least in my opinion

[Tiapan]

Re: Moss Wall

oh and a lot fo mosses can grow emergent as well, but they like lots of moisture (check out the frog exibit at the museum adn you see lots of what looks like java moss in the enclosures.

[Tiapan]

Re: Moss Wall

wow that article was cool too, though i dont like having plastic throughout the tank, even though you cant see it. Maybe use a mesh made up of woven bamboo, like old wickering, just use untreated so there are no chemicals. i wouldnt worry about the wall coming apart as long as there was a solid fram originally because the moss shoudl grow thick enough to support itself, especailly if it had some really wood or thin bamboo support within the mesh or weave.

[loopy119]

Re: Moss Wall

Yeah, I thought it might look really neat in my 55 for the background. It would also actually serve a purpose because I will be breeding the giant lyretail mollies in there and the babies would have a ball! The plastic seems like it would be a more consistent look for the wall...seems like less of a possibility for gaps... I have Java moss and Riccia in there already tied to petrified wood, so I kinda want a different looking moss to change it up a bit. I will have Marisa snails in there too, so I wouldn't have to worry too much about trimming and pruning the wall when it and my Marisa colony get established. Thanks for all of the tips about the mosses! I'll definitely have to talk to you about it some more at the meeting on Friday!!

Rebekah

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Moss Wall

I used the cross stitching grids sold at the craft stores held onto the wall with suction cups.

[Tiapan]

Re: Moss Wall

thats a good one too, havent thought of that one, so many options, and yet so little time.(and money)