Low Tech Moss Tank

[mikster]

Ok basically i had a spare tank, 18x10x10 about 7 US gallons i think? Stuck some sand it, tied all my spare moss from my main tank to slate chips, filled with water, stuck a small spare filter in, rigged a 15w pygmy light bulb thing to it and bobs your uncle.

No heater as theres no fish in it at the mo and the tropica website says it can survive down to 15 degrees and my room never gets that cold anyway.

No co2 or ferts.

Big shot

close up

Any suggestions as to how long to light it for? Am i going to get lots of algae? Any other advice? Also if it works i will get a black background but im not going to buy one yet as its an experiment. Theres a plastic condensation tray in there as well and im hoping that keeps the light dry but we shall see.

thanks for looking

mike

 

[Neal]

You won't get the effect your going for, I can tell you that now, if it's the effect I think your going for to cover everything? You could do it with riccia, and your light will be ok, I can grow it like mad under 0.7WPG, it just doesn't pearl. It looks much better and it's covered mine. It may get like that after LOTS of months, but mine stayed the same after about 3 months, so I just gave up. Riccia looks alot better aswell. You could always try it with a bowl and get a hairnet and put it round the bowl turned upside down with the moss under it. That should look good.

Neal

 

[mikster]

well i already have one big peice of slate in my main tank and its totally covered that and also grown up alot and ive trimmed it once the other week and its back to the same height again now.

Heres a pic of the one in my main tank, 29 us gallon, 40w light (one standard, one plant) tetra liquid fert and yeast based co2.

Im just curious to see how it fairs in this tank, im not expecting it to be as good as that one but its just an experiment, can always fill it out with more moss from the main tank as well.

 

[Neal]

Are you wanting it so it's like a dome and you can't see the cracks or something?

Neal

 

[mikster]

well that would be nice but im not sure if it will get that good, see how it goes, might add co2 at a later stage and see how it goes. I kind of like seeing the rocks so i gues i just want it till fill out a bit more but not cover everything.

 

[robjack]

I would expect that you will get some big algae issues, especially at the start - perhaps it would be worth just bunging in a few bunches of a stem plant, stick them either side or something.
From what i've read, it is possible to create carpets of Java Moss, but it does take a while. I love this tank, which is Java Moss and Hairgrass, but that has CO2, and, as you can tell, he's planted it a bit more densly than you have. Still, it should be interesting to see how it pans out! I'm thinking of trying this on a tank one day.

Rob.

 

[mikster]

Yeah i think i have seen that tank or a similar one that gave me the idea, im can add co2 if necessary and i do have some plants in my main tank that i can add, but they arent super fast growers i guess, amazon swords and vallis are my fastest growns, well actually i have a floating plant called Phyllanthus fluitans and this has multiplied like nobodys business, 100s of new little plants appeared in the space of a week. Might bung some of this in the tank to try and stave off algae. If that doesnt work will try co2 as well.

 

[mikster]

Ok ive added diy co2 and changed the pygmy to one of those fancy 11w arcadia pod lights, its lower than the 15w pygmy but it seems alot brighter and it covers more of the tank and its more designed for plant growth it says plus if i can always get a second one if i want to grow more demanding stuff and just put one 1 3rd in and one 2 3rds in. Heres a couple of photos of what its like niw, ive been experimenting with growing moss on wood and also a fern plantlet on a stone.

Full tank

Closer shot

Cant really clean my substrate very well, tank is only 10 inches high and its awkward to use my gravel vac, any ideas any one? i have no fast growing plants but i havent had any major algae problems so far as far as i know, theres no brown algae or algae on the glass, theres little squiggley stuff on some of the moss though, is that hair algae? I havent dosed many ferts just dosed 1ml of tetra plant food a few days ago. Any comments or suggestions? Any advice would be more than welcome as i am far from an expert although my big tank has turned out quite nice i think.

Also how long does live food last for? i just bought some when i got the new light.

cheers

mike

 

[TammyLiz]

I don't know what is available in the UK but I've got a few little gravel vacs for my small tanks, about 6 or 7 inches high. I love them. I used to try doing it with something larger but its so much easier this way its not even funny.

What kind of live food did you buy?

 

[mikster]

Daphnia and bloodworms, Doesnt really matter now as my fish have happily munched all of it in one night, my tetras couldnt even swallow the daphnia so they had to nibble it, never underestimate the greedyness of a gourami to confuse all food in sight though and of course the 6 cories had a good time with the bloodworms. Its alot more fun feeding them live foods but i dont think i will do it all the time, just as an occasional treat.

 

[mikster]

Bit of an update, took a few cuttings from my big tank, two anubias nana cuttings tied to small chunks of slate, some vallis and a windelov java fern plantlet on a chunk of slate and also a small echinodorus ozelot. Still got a long way to go but its going ok so far, need to add more plants still though when i get some proper time.

Full tank

Right side

Left side

Middle

Got this off ebay, says it will work with DIY too but the pressure needs to be high, im planning on using the soda bottles method soon so i think i will give it a try then as i will be able to get better co2 running.

 

[Neal]

Hey, out of interest how much was your diffuser? I'm planning on getting the same one, or similar. Is that the mini one or the normal one?

Neal

 

[TammyLiz]

Do you have your anubias attached to the under side of the slate pieces?

 

[mikster]

I got the nano diffuser off ebay, shop called aquaticmagic i think, guys ships the stuff from singapore, theres been a thread on this forum about there shop being good i think, i had already ordered it by then so i was pleased to here it. Its pretty small, hence the 50 pence peice for scale.

And as for the anurbias yes i have tied them to slate chippings, i chose the chunkiest ones as the thin ones wouldnt stand up well enough.

 

[mikster]

Ok my mossy hill is turning out quite nicely so far, firstly theres a pic taken on the date of the first post in this thread and the second one i just took tonight.
27th October

22nd November

Ive found the best way to grow the moss is too keep trimming any bits that grow upwards and this makes it grown my outward branches. Its not exactly quick growth but none the less its starting to look nice and im sure in a few weeks it will look better.

Still no idea how im going to scape the rest of the tank it got all random bits of plants and stuf in it from my main tank.