# An idea for making a moss wall



## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I came up with an idea for making a moss wall. My way so far has been tying on pieces individually onto cross stitching backing which is a whole lot of work. I do not like the sandwiching method.

My thought is using a sheet of foam and poking pieces into it. I am thinking it will be fairly fast to push pieces into it and I think it will give good surface area for it to attach to and grow.

Anyone ever try something like this or think it sounds promising?


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## NuclearTech (Mar 23, 2008)

Some food for thought:
What type of foam would you use? 
Would there be enough water flow and light for the parts of the moss "poked" into the foam to provide for adequate gas/nutrient exchange as well as light to prevent die off of the "poked in" pieces?

I'm not sure how you are tying off your pieces on the cross stitch grid, but if you just use a needle and thread to sew it in, you don't have to "tie" anything. This may decrease the amount of work for you. Of course, if you are already doing this, and you feel like this is still a lot of work, then go for it!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I've thought of trying this, and have so far acquired a few items to try out.. just haven't tried yet. One thing I got was a slab of thin coarse foam which is sold for humidifier pads. It does not list anything antibacterial as being part of the foam, so it 'should' be ok. Not certain of it, I was going to try to find out from the maker if it has any antimold agents in it. It's yellow, which is kind of ugly, but it will darken with time. I know it will, because my very first sponge filter was yellow too, and has now darkened to a dull brownish colour.

Another thing I got was a filter pad, I think for a furnace, made of the same type of stuff as filter floss, but in a slightly compressed pad that was about the same size as one end wall of my tank. It's quite thin, soft, should make good rooting. White, which is not attractive, and I'm not so sure it will darken that much. Regardless of which backer I tried, I was going to try rooting some plants as well as moss into it, behind a SS mesh face, to give it some stiffness and stability. I was also going to put something behind the backer to make sure it did not smush up against the glass.. because I would worry about lack of circulation if it was squashed onto the glass. I think there needs to be a space between the back and the glass. Maybe some small pebbles or even small cut buffers cut from a cheap sponge would probably do the trick. I use cheap sponges in my filters.. the kind they sell in bags of ten in various colours. I make sure the label does not say not to use them for cleaning aquariums and so far, no problems with them. I've noticed most sponges and scrubbies do say, NOT for use to clean aquariums.. so I do make sure anything I get does not have this warning on the label. That humidifier pad isn't for cleaning so it does not say, which is why I want to ask the manufacturer if it has had anything added to it to stop mold or bacterial growth before I try using it. Didn't cost much, so there is little loss if I cannot use it.

I have had moss and some plant roots grow into my sponge filters all on their own, so I see no reason they wouldn't grow into a foam backer pad or the filter floss stuff. I am not so sure about poking holes in it though. I was going to simply stick the moss through the mesh, fasten the backer pad on around the edges and a few places in the middle to keep it hanging together and let nature take it's course. Same with plant cuttings, though I was going to try for those that had a few roots already, so they'd take hold sooner.

You could use one of the black foam slabs they sell for Mattenfilters, BAs has them in various thicknesses. Safe, for sure.. not cheap though.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Is this a case of great minds think alike or demented minds think alike?


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Definitely the former !


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Well, I have a great but demented mind


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## LTPGuy (Aug 8, 2012)

*Plastic Gutter Guard!*

Plastic Gutter Guard!

Used it for my Riccia.

Now trying with Flame Moss for a wall.

The mesh size is large enough to perfectly fit cheap suction cups from Dollarama for attaching to the tank wall or base.

Plenty of lights and water circulation.

Here's the photo:


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

i have tried the following:

1 sheet of white canvas (i couldnt find black)
1 sheet of plastic black mesh on top of the canvas
sowing moss on the mesh, thus moss visible from site, and the back is mesh / canvas

I used magnets to hold it to the backwall, so no suction covers involved.


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

I have a Hamburg Matten Filter for my shrimp tank, which is basically a big sponge wall in which water is pumped out from behind the sponge into the tank, thus forcing more water to come through the sponge, acting as a giant filter. At the bottom of the sponge in the substrate, I planted moss directly in the substrate touching the sponge, so in time, the moss will grow up the sponge creating a huge moss wall/sponge filter.


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