Marimo Carpet, Do You See Any Problems?

[starlitsunrise]

Hey everyone, 
I have a 5 gallon tank (Tetra Complete LED Aquarium 5) that I am currently cycling with Dr. Tim's One and Only. I have a small LED light that came with the aquarium kit (I'm not sure about the strength of the light), a 50 watt heater, that heats the tank to about 80F, an air stone powered DIY sponge and terracotta filter, I also will dose small amounts of Seachem liquid fertilizer and I am going to house pond snails and shrimp.
 
I am trying to create a hobbit hole from The Lord of the Rings (if you don't know what I'm talking about just Google "The Shire"). I want to use marimo moss balls cut in half or in thirds and then sewn together as a carpet on probably 75-100% of the gravel, to help mimic the rolling hills in The Shire.
 
I have a few specific questions already:
 
1. Will the gas build up in fine aquarium gravel like it does in sand?  
2. If the underside of the marimo carpet dies will it cause the whole plant to die?
3. Will the carpet hinder or completely stop any good nitrifying bacteria that are living in the substrate? 
 
 
For the first one, I assume that I could just periodically lift the carpet and poke at the gravel with my fish tweezers. But I'm not sure about the second or third question.  
 
Does anyone have any ideas or see any other issues? 

You can see some pictures of the tank I'm talking about here : http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/435547-5-gallon-shrimp-and-snail-tank/#entry3694738

 

[ellena]

I'm far from expert, but thinking about the moss balls, the centre never gets any light and they're fine, so I imagine unrolling them would be better if anything.
I think the idea sounds amazing and I can't wait to see pics

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Gas will only build up in any substrate if it is deep enough... thinking more than 2 inches.  In your case, since you aren't planting any plants with roots, the depth of the substrate is rather inconsequential, I'd suggest keeping it to an inch or so, and you won't have to worry about it.
 
 
Next, the moss ball will be fine... 
 
The bacteria will live on every surface in the tank, nothing to worry about there, plus the moss balls themselves will bring some bacteria in with them.  
 
This project sounds very interesting, and adding a "tree" might be a fun experiment as time goes by.  I'd suggest Christmas or flame moss for the 'leaves' of the tree.
 
Something like this:

 
http/qtiny.com/aquascaping-how-to-make-trees-in-planted-aquarium

 

[starlitsunrise]

I'm far from expert, but thinking about the moss balls, the centre never gets any light and they're fine, so I imagine unrolling them would be better if anything.
I think the idea sounds amazing and I can't wait to see pics

 
I hadn't thought about that actually xD, thanks for pointing that out. I'll definetly post pictures of it in the journal I linked in the first post  
 

Gas will only build up in any substrate if it is deep enough... thinking more than 2 inches.  In your case, since you aren't planting any plants with roots, the depth of the substrate is rather inconsequential, I'd suggest keeping it to an inch or so, and you won't have to worry about it.
 
 
Next, the moss ball will be fine... 
 
The bacteria will live on every surface in the tank, nothing to worry about there, plus the moss balls themselves will bring some bacteria in with them.  
 
This project sounds very interesting, and adding a "tree" might be a fun experiment as time goes by.  I'd suggest Christmas or flame moss for the 'leaves' of the tree.
 
Something like this:

 
http/qtiny.com/aquascaping-how-to-make-trees-in-planted-aquarium

Ok I think the main part of the substrate is only an inch or so deep, and the hill has some large rocks under the gravel so it is not just entirely gravel. A 'tree' would be a neat addition to the tank...I may have to look into this haha. Thanks for your input  

 

[daizeUK]

Love the idea!
 
Have you seen this aquascape from the 2012 AGA contest which used moss balls as a carpet, just as you are planning?
http/showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2012/show309.html
 

 
I've always liked this aquascape and I'd love to how yours turns out!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Intriguing idea  
 
Will be keeping a close eye on this

 

[starlitsunrise]

Love the idea!
 
Have you seen this aquascape from the 2012 AGA contest which used moss balls as a carpet, just as you are planning?
http/showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2012/show309.html
 

 
I've always liked this aquascape and I'd love to how yours turns out!

Thanks! I hadn't seen it, but I'll definetly take a look! I'm pretty excited about it myself  
 

Intriguing idea  

 
Will be keeping a close eye on this

Haha thanks

 

[bigcheed]

i may be very wrong but im sure someone told me marimo balls die after a while. please feel free to correct me. i am by the way looking forward to seeing the pics of the project it sounds really cool.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

FYI:   http/www.buymarimo.com/marimo-care/

 

[starlitsunrise]

i may be very wrong but im sure someone told me marimo balls die after a while. please feel free to correct me. i am by the way looking forward to seeing the pics of the project it sounds really cool.

 
Hmmm...from what I have read they can live for a very long time, it takes them years to grow to the large sizes you can buy in stores and online. I don't know, I'll see what happens haha. And thank you

 
 

FYI:   http/www.buymarimo.com/marimo-care/

Thanks for the info

_________________
 
I just ordered 5 giant Marimo Moss balls off of ebay (I wish I had thought to order them sooner). I believe this should give me enough plant matter to carpet the tank. 

 

[b3cca]

There are lots of fakes out there sold as moss balls which are usually just scrunched balls of fern.
 
You need to make sure you get actual real authentic Marimo which are 100%  algae.
Real genuine ones should live longer than you provided you don't put it through any extreme temps or direct sunlight etc