SilverBlade86 Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 I had recently installed a mesh fencing behind the tank so that a Moss Wall could grow. Not only that, I started typing down whatever Moss I had to different ornaments. Now, how can I encourage the Moss to grow faster? Just by looking at the amount of Moss I had growing in the past year, by rough calculations it would take at least a couple of years for the Moss Wall to be finished. (unless I misjudged badly). Anyways, how could I encourage the plants to grow faster? The Moss seems healthy enough, it is totally bright green when held towards a light. Suggestions would be very useful. I am a bit impatient with this heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 More light, more nutrients, more co2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 Mosses feed through the leaves so need nutrient in the water. You do need all three---nutrient, carbon and light. One or two is no use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinsonMassif Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 Using Excel, dosing Flourish trace, Flourish Iron, and dosing Nitrogen to 15ppm, with 2wpg lights I have moss growing in plague proportions. One small palm sized bunch of java moss grew enough to cover a 60x30cm tank and was 10-15cms high in only 6 weeks. One thing to remember in growing a wall is that all of the moss needs light. If you only place one light above it, then only the top will grow because the bottom part of the wall will be shaded. For it to look more dense it is a good idea to keep trimming the moss flat, this will encourage the moss to grow more shoots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade86 Posted July 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Ok then, the lights are on 24 hours a day, and I'll be making a makeshift CO2 thingie with yeast and sugar. The Flourish Excel I'll get on TM and try it out. Will see what happens in a month or so. Hopefully it comes right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Having the lights on 24 hours a day won't necessarily speed up the growth - plants need a rest period too. Can you sit the whole mesh structure horizontally for a while, in shallow water with lots of light? That might give the moss a chance to get really well established before you put it in its final position. If that's not possible, can you shine a light at it through the front of the tank for a certain period each day? Of course if you have other plants they might also end up growing horizontally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 By the way have you seen Patrick Blanc's "vertical gardens"? http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11 ... _green.php Quite a nice bit of inspiration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinsonMassif Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Ok then, the lights are on 24 hours a day, and I'll be making a makeshift CO2 thingie with yeast and sugar. The Flourish Excel I'll get on TM and try it out. Do you have fish in the tank? If so you shouldn't have lights on for 24 hours. Makeshift DIY is notoriously irregular so do you homework. Flourish Excel is a very reliable source of carbon. I suggest you try this first before bothering with the fuss of DIY CO2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 the other thing is there is probably plenty of people on this forum chucking out heaps of the stuff every week as they prune there tanks i would post in trade and exchange a lot of people would rather give it to u than chuck it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 You cannot grow plants with the lights on 24/7 as they need a rest period. I push the lighting more than most but only go 17/7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade86 Posted July 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Ohh ok, I'll turn off the lights before I go to sleep then. And no, I don't think it's possible to let the moss grow before I put it in the tank as it's quite large, and took me quite a bit to actually get it in the tank. Anyways, alright then, so my plan would be: Lights out for about 8 hours a day, and buy some Flourish Excel for the plants and dose according to the specs. Would that be fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Mosses feed through the leaves so need nutrient in the water. You do need all three---nutrient, carbon and light. One or two is no use. CARBON: You've covered this by dosing with flourish excel. NUTRIENTS: Do you have a good general fert to dose in the water? Flourish seems to be a good one. (Note: flourish general fert, not flourish excel) LIGHT: What lighting do you have? ie. wattage, type of tube, positioning of tube in relation to moss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... em_guide:3 Scroll down for step-by-step instructions on making a java moss wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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