# Growing Moss



## arktixan (Mar 30, 2010)

When growing moss.... What's the best way to do it?

I have a empty tank floating around...

So basics I suppose...

Depth of water? Temp controlled? Substrate?
I plan on using 8-10hrs of light the odd flourish excel. And it would receive some natural sun light 

I ordered moss off eBay and it's like 2x2 squares.

I should be getting this week... Flame moss, Xmas moss an Taiwan moss.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Moss has no roots, so you don't need a substrate. It can attach itself to wood or rocks, however.


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

arktixan said:


> When growing moss.... What's the best way to do it?
> 
> I have a empty tank floating around...
> 
> ...


More light will help. You can not fill this tank fully to get more light on a moss on the bottom.
Temperature is not important. You don't need a heater there.
You don't need a substrate. As bae said, moss doesn't have roots. If you want to fertilize it (and this will help) you can just to add something into a water.

You can keep it with < 12h of light. Select the more light you get without a lot of algae.

You know, that pieces are really small  Moreover it might arrive dead.

The most important thing is to attach moss to something. It will not grow floating around. 
Get a stone of appropriate size, place moss on it and wind around with a thread or cover with a net. (Onion is selling in a great plastic nets here  )

Then just wait, moss is not a wisteria or amazon sword, it grows slowly


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## arc (Mar 11, 2010)

arktixan said:


> When growing moss.... What's the best way to do it?
> 
> I have a empty tank floating around...
> 
> ...


I`ve been growing out a piece of java moss 2x4 for a while now...same set up as you. It wasn`t going to well until I added some DIY co2 and had it in direct sunlight for 5-6 hours/day. The snails I have in there help with the algae. Its covered all the floor and climbing after 2 months. Not sure if your moss grows a fast a java though. Good luck ith it

Arc


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## arktixan (Mar 30, 2010)

My plan was just to attach it to some mesh that I have left over...and just was going to sink it in the water with some rock... That's why I asked about depth for growing it... As well would it requre a filter? Or just do water changes every few days...


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

arktixan said:


> My plan was just to attach it to some mesh that I have left over...and just was going to sink it in the water with some rock... That's why I asked about depth for growing it... As well would it requre a filter? Or just do water changes every few days...


I had a quite bug bunch of a java moss placed into a mesh with a rock inside. It was laid on the bottom of a tank. It has all died 
It should be able to grow its rhizoids, then it will grow stems/leaves.

If you need it grow in a temporary place, cut a thin slice on sponge and attach moss to it. It will grow rhizoids into the sponge. I did it and this worked fine.

I can't say about filter necessity, it looks like you don't need it.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Christmas Moss (xmas moss) likes colder water. It also really likes to grow on driftwood or stone. Ie; I put in a small bunch growht, like maybe a few fingernails of actual live material on an otherwise browned out clump, and filaments of green xmas moss are growing attached to my drift, little spores turning into filaments.

You can use fishing line to tie the moss to the drift. It's the only way you will get the signature triangle growth pattern.


I turned a 1" section of live moss into a 2x2 in approximately a month. the spores/rhizomes on the drift happened themselves. likes at least some nutrients and co2 and good lighting. it would probably be a good choice for a moss wall, as well as taiwan moss.

Flame moss would look really good attached and grown to drift.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

you people that can grow moss is great.

I've had this moss for a while now probably since Jan.

I really don't think it has grow at all... not sure but I'm not getting the growth that people would say it should grow.

SUPER FAST!

oh well... I have moss in a shrimp tank and a platy tank. (both 10 gallon) 

Do I need a better fluorescent lighting? I have the standard one that came with the tank and the person at big als suggested I should get another one that will penetrate the glass thats between the bulb and water.

Is it bad to wedge the moss between two rocks to anchor it?


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

If you want to grow moss just to produce moss, the shallower the water the better. In nature most of these plants grow on partially submerged materials and crawl right out of the water, sort of self-siphoning to keep themselves wet. You do have to keep the humidity as close as possible to 100% for this to work, however.

I once saw a very large and beautiful planted tank that had a large piece of driftwood protruding from the water. Java moss and riccia had grown right over the exposed part and were thriving beautifully. On a more mundane level, I have a piece of blue styrofoam floating in a frog tank for the frogs to sit on and for their food dish. Java moss has voluntarily attached to this and grown up and over the whole thing on occasion. The frogs keep it wet by climbing out of the water onto it.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

bae said:


> If you want to grow moss just to produce moss, the shallower the water the better. In nature most of these plants grow on partially submerged materials and crawl right out of the water, sort of self-siphoning to keep themselves wet. You do have to keep the humidity as close as possible to 100% for this to work, however.
> 
> I once saw a very large and beautiful planted tank that had a large piece of driftwood protruding from the water. Java moss and riccia had grown right over the exposed part and were thriving beautifully. On a more mundane level, I have a piece of blue styrofoam floating in a frog tank for the frogs to sit on and for their food dish. Java moss has voluntarily attached to this and grown up and over the whole thing on occasion. The frogs keep it wet by climbing out of the water onto it.


interesting, never heard about the shallower water being better.

Thanks


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Fish_Man said:


> you people that can grow moss is great.
> 
> I've had this moss for a while now probably since Jan.
> 
> ...


Moss is relatively slow growing, even under good conditions.



Fish_Man said:


> oh well... I have moss in a shrimp tank and a platy tank. (both 10 gallon)
> 
> Do I need a better fluorescent lighting? I have the standard one that came with the tank and the person at big als suggested I should get another one that will penetrate the glass thats between the bulb and water.
> 
> Is it bad to wedge the moss between two rocks to anchor it?


What kind of light do you have? Fluorescent tube? How many watts? It will be printed on the tube. If it's the kind of light that takes screw in light bulbs, you should definitely replace the incandescent bulbs with CFLs. Far more light, much less energy and heat.

Within reason, for the particular type of plant, plants will grow more with more light. Most lights that come with a kit are adequate for you to see the fish, and the fish to see their food, but can be quite limiting for growing plants.

You can wedge the moss between rocks, but the part that isn't exposed to light will die. You can tie it to rocks or wood with string or thread and it will attach itself after a while. Black cotton thread works well, and it eventually rots away.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Not sure the wattage on the light

and its a fluorescent tube not the screw on incandescent.

guess I'll have to tie it.

Do people buy the fluorescent tubes from the fish store or at home depot?
(Random thought)


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Fish_Man said:


> Not sure the wattage on the light
> and its a fluorescent tube not the screw on incandescent.
> guess I'll have to tie it.
> 
> ...


I buy fluorescent tubes at hardware/building supply stores. Cool white and daylight work well.

Your light should be okay for very low light plants like moss, but it won't grow very fast.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

I got a small 3 finger pinch sample of flame moss off JamesRen about a month ago. My 5.5gal has no lights over it. The 2 x 40W T12 (I think but I know it's 40W tube) in my laundry room is about 1 meter and 1 foot from the tank. 

So far the flame moss is not spreading out side but has grown flaming upwards about 1/2 to 1" as I did not notice the growth there till one day while doing laundry I checked the tank and the growth jumped out at me.

Nothing real spectacular there as I was hoping it would spread faster but that's just my experience here.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

bae said:


> I buy fluorescent tubes at hardware/building supply stores. Cool white and daylight work well.
> 
> Your light should be okay for very low light plants like moss, but it won't grow very fast.


How do you know what wattage and etc... from the hardware store?

I have no clue how to pick the tube if I were in the hardware store 

Just tied the moss to the stones with black cotton string.... so ugly right now...


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## arktixan (Mar 30, 2010)

Home Depot, Rona, Lansing... any kind will have lights.
Canadian Tire even... just goto the lighting section, if you like, take out your bulb and bring it with you. 

The Wattage is usually printed on the box, and the actual tube itself.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

does it matter what spectrum the light bulb is at?


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Fish_Man said:


> does it matter what spectrum the light bulb is at?


Not really, within reason. Many people like 'daylight', which is on the blue side while others prefer 'cool white' which is warmer and makes plants look greener. GE makes a 'sunshine' tube which has a nice color. So-called plant lights have a sort of pinkish purple color, and appear dimmer to our eyes, but they aren't any better at growing plants, nor are the various 'full spectrum' type lights. Daylight and cool white are usually the least expensive and grow plants well.

So pick the color that looks good to you, again, within reason, i.e. not black lights!


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

bae said:


> Not really, within reason. Many people like 'daylight', which is on the blue side while others prefer 'cool white' which is warmer and makes plants look greener. GE makes a 'sunshine' tube which has a nice color. So-called plant lights have a sort of pinkish purple color, and appear dimmer to our eyes, but they aren't any better at growing plants, nor are the various 'full spectrum' type lights. Daylight and cool white are usually the least expensive and grow plants well.
> 
> So pick the color that looks good to you, again, within reason, i.e. not black lights!


Alright! I think that is good enough info for me to walk into homedepot and get a fluorescent tube without being clueless. Now I need to bring my tube to homedepot so I know the length I need. So the tube that came with the starter kit isn't that good right?


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Fish_Man said:


> Alright! I think that is good enough info for me to walk into homedepot and get a fluorescent tube without being clueless. Now I need to bring my tube to homedepot so I know the length I need. So the tube that came with the starter kit isn't that good right?


The tube that came with the starter kit may be just as good as anything else. Tubes of the same dimensions are usually the same wattage. You can only use tubes that your ballast is designed for.

Try keeping the lights on longer for more effect from the same tube. I leave lights on for 12-14 hours. I don't have algae problems from this, but some people do.

If you've been using the tube for some time, it may need to be replaced. They produce less light over time. If you can see a dark band near the end, it may be time to replace the tube. If you can see that band when the light is off, it's more than time to replace it.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

bae said:


> The tube that came with the starter kit may be just as good as anything else. Tubes of the same dimensions are usually the same wattage. You can only use tubes that your ballast is designed for.
> 
> Try keeping the lights on longer for more effect from the same tube. I leave lights on for 12-14 hours. I don't have algae problems from this, but some people do.
> 
> If you've been using the tube for some time, it may need to be replaced. They produce less light over time. If you can see a dark band near the end, it may be time to replace the tube. If you can see that band when the light is off, it's more than time to replace it.


No band so far since I got the tank in late Jan. Wow! no algae problem from keeping the lights on for 12-14hours... that's crazing.

I'm not sure if the fact that there is a glass piece between the light and the water makes a difference.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Fish_Man said:


> I'm not sure if the fact that there is a glass piece between the light and the water makes a difference.


Not much. The glass is transparent, right? And you wash off any dust or hard water marks or algae or whatever periodically, right?


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

bae said:


> Not much. The glass is transparent, right? And you wash off any dust or hard water marks or algae or whatever periodically, right?


yep I wash it periodically but there is still some stain water marks which are hard to get off. Not a lot tho


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Wet a paper towel or cloth with vinegar, wipe the glass then rinse to get the hard water marks off.


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## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

I use a razor blade to remove my hard-water marks. I also leave my lights on for 12-14 hours and I don't have an algae problem. I guess its all about balance.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

thats nice!

I think I'm having a bit of an algae problem soon in the shrimp tank.. I see little green dots on the glass... very very small dots


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