# Pinecone + Moss = ???



## Morgan (Apr 15, 2008)

Recently I've gotten a somewhat odd idea - Of using pinecones as decoration or decoration bases in my aquarium.

I figure a pinecone covered with moss would look at least fairly cool, if nothing else. Is this possible? Will Java moss attach to it, and more importantly, will the pinecone survive in the aquarium?


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

No, No do not put anything pine in your tank. First off pine cones have syrup in them also they will rot in water like bark. This is ok in rivers and streams as everything gets washed away. Do not use any soft wood in your tank. If you want to use wood make sure its hard wood elm, oak ,maple, or white birch, take off the bark ,boil it for a hour or so till kill the germs however wood will still leak tannins which will not hurt your fish but will stain your water brown.If you dont want tannins in your water you can put the wood in a garbage can filled with water and change the water everyday till its clear then put it in your tank. Pat


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Morgan said:


> Recently I've gotten a somewhat odd idea - Of using pinecones as decoration or decoration bases in my aquarium.
> 
> I figure a pinecone covered with moss would look at least fairly cool, if nothing else. Is this possible? Will Java moss attach to it, and more importantly, will the pinecone survive in the aquarium?


I'm sure java moss would attach to it, as it will attach to just about anything. I'm not sure about the lifespan of a pinecone in your tank though - I'm pretty sure bacteria will start breaking it down pretty quickly - probably not a good idea.

Why not just use small rocks? Java moss will attach to those too 



> Do not use any soft wood in your tank.


I don't fully agree with Pat here - but what I do think is that you should use driftwood (ie. wood that has been tumbled in the water, or windblasted, for a long time) and not stuff snapped off or cut from trees. Both hardwood and softwood have pitch (maple syrup anyone?), but softwood will leak pitch longer and often times decay faster in water. I find cedar, however, works quite well.


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

You can use soft wood / leaves in your tank... but it's not meant to last. It could be used to add tannins to water and lower pH / water hardness to RO water to start with. 

Java moss will attach to just about any surface imaginable... some have reported it can attach to the glass.

Even hard driftwood breaks down over time in the aquarium, just at a much slower pace. The only thing that won't break down are probably rocks and gravel.


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## t2lieu (Feb 26, 2008)

you can try coating the pine cone...

but i forgot what coat you should be using for aquariums. Yah use a brush so you can get the entire thing covered. Or i suppose just dip the whole thing in to the coat.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Its just not a good idea. The pine cone's shape would eventually be lost to an inverted strawberry shaped clump of nicely thatched moss (knock on wood ((not pine)) anyways and you'd lose the pinecone. Just chip light porous lava rock into the desired pinecone shapes and tie the moss down running in straight strands top to bottom (pull it apart carefully) then wrap fishing line or something around it going across the strands all the way up and tie it off. This will force the moss to grow in a nice criss cross pattern like so


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## kweenshaker (Mar 11, 2006)

that would look impressive, but I also agree that it probably wouldnt be the best idea. It would rot and like someone said, the resin that could be in the cone could harm your fish. Not to mention pesticides or whatever else might be on it.

And for the record, not all maple is hard


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

kweenshaker said:


> And for the record, not all maple is hard


Sugar Maple is though = )


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## kweenshaker (Mar 11, 2006)

yep, but i don't think the average person would be able to tell the difference


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