# Yoghurt method moss - Dry start method - How to grow moss



## Nigel95

Probably some people already know this method.. For the people that don't know it already here is a step by step guide. I really like this method for a natural effect and it saves some money. Enjoy guys! 

How do you attach your moss and why?



Example of my forest with this method. 



details growth by nigel by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## zozo

Great video.. .. Little remark tho, probably not that important, in context i guess everybody knows what you want to say.. But it sounds funny.

You mean Flooding. but as you pronounce it it sounds like Flu-ding.. I think i understand where it comes froom because Room has double O and pronounced as the U in Flu.
That's probably a gramatical rule in English OO in front of an M and an N as in Moon or S as in Moose is U as in Flu or the OE in Dutch.

Anyway Flood and Flooding is pronounced with a short O like in Rock. 



Keep it up great work..


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## Nigel95

zozo said:


> Great video.. .. Little remark tho, probably not that important, in context i guess everybody knows what you want to say.. But it sounds funny.
> 
> You mean Flooding. but as you pronounce it it sounds like Flu-ding.. I think i understand where it comes froom because Room has double O and pronounced as the U in Flu.
> That's probably a gramatical rule in English OO in front of an M and an N as in Moon or S as in Moose is U as in Flu or the OE in Dutch.
> 
> Anyway Flood and Flooding is pronounced with a short O like in Rock.
> 
> 
> 
> Keep it up great work..




Thanks man. No clue that I was pronouncing that wrong. We learn everyday . I guess there will always be some mistakes if I make english videos. But people get the idea (I hope Haha)! 


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## tam

Very clear video - thanks for sharing


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## TBRO

Great video, really clear. I’m tempted to try this but just for some rocks, that I then place in amongst the hard scape once the moss is established. Thanks. T 


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## Nigel95

tam said:


> Very clear video - thanks for sharing



You're welcome. Thanks for your reply. 



TBRO said:


> Great video, really clear. I’m tempted to try this but just for some rocks, that I then place in amongst the hard scape once the moss is established. Thanks. T
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Thank you 

That should work well!


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## zozo

Nigel95 said:


> We learn everyday . But people get the idea (I hope Haha)!



Yup absolutely. that's what UKAPS is for.. For me too, it's hitting multiply flies in one blow. Learn more about the hobby, improve my English and above all meeting lovely creaive people.. Nothing wrong with having funny ALo ALo and Chef Bork moments in your video...  All part of the process..


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## Keith GH

Nigel
An excellent Video and presented perfectly.

Keith


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## TBRO

Giving this a go with a few bits of lava rock + some bigger bits of shale. Put some in with my Monte Carlo and the rest in a big plastic store box. Similar to dry start....

My 4 year old loved helping with this one. Thanks T 









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## Nigel95

TBRO said:


> Giving this a go with a few bits of lava rock + some bigger bits of shale. Put some in with my Monte Carlo and the rest in a big plastic store box. Similar to dry start....
> 
> My 4 year old loved helping with this one. Thanks T
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



That will work. I did it once to. 
Just have patience! 






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## TBRO

Just to report my progress with this. First attempt failed due to mould.

Tried again just with lava rock. Fissidens works but very slow to grow. Christmas moss work very quick. Willow moss just started to grow, very slow! 

Think the lava rock on a bed of wet aqua soil is good as it stays damp, even with no misting. Other plants also seem to suppress mould? I agree with Nigel, slow but looks very natural.

Christmas Moss: 









Fissidens:






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## Nigel95

TBRO said:


> First attempt failed due to mould.



Yeah I had mold as well on my first attempt. But this caused no problems after flooding. On other dry starts there was little mold but was really easy to fix by more ventilation. It also seems that many people use a lot of yoghurt. I only use a tea spoon and this doesn't cause bad smell or problems.

First dry start in my forest toke quite some time because the scape was low light.

Now with med / high light it develops much faster.

*Day 14 


fissidens riccardia day 14 detail shot by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr

Day 51*



day 1 vs day 51 dsm by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr



vivarium mountain aquascape nigel hoevenaar by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr


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## TBRO

It does really look great, I would have done it for my upcoming scape but already have a lot of shrimp etc with no other place to put them. I guess Dragon Stone also wicks the water and stays wet? Some of the harder stones I tried just dried out so fast, even misting twice a day. 

As you say, minimal yoghurt, I used a tiny bit on a tea spoon, no mould the second time. 

A great technique, thanks T


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## Nigel95

TBRO said:


> I guess Dragon Stone also wicks the water and stays wet? Some of the harder stones I tried just dried out so fast, even misting twice a day.



Not sure even for me when spraying twice a day some of the moss at the surface seems to look a little dry.. but moss is very strong.. just dont let it go dry for to long.

You're welcome! 

The thing that I noticed is that lava rock is probably the best rock for this. Very porous, moss attaches very good. With dragon stone as you can see the riccardia stays in place but need to trim it gentle or some pieces will deattach.


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## Oldguy

Great video, thanks for making and sharing. Inspiring pictures. Informative comments. Does the yogurt form a Casein plastic which glues the moss fragments to the substrate?
I have used stale milk to age roof tiles and help the new tiles to blend in with the existing older tiles but never thought about yogurt & moss for dry starts in aquariums.
p.s. Flooding is pronounced Fludding as in 'lud'.


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## Nigel95

Oldguy said:


> Great video, thanks for making and sharing. Inspiring pictures. Informative comments. Does the yogurt form a Casein plastic which glues the moss fragments to the substrate?
> I have used stale milk to age roof tiles and help the new tiles to blend in with the existing older tiles but never thought about yogurt & moss for dry starts in aquariums.
> p.s. Flooding is pronounced Fludding as in 'lud'.



The yoghurt gives some nutrients to the moss I believe. I really like this method if you plan to go heavy on moss. Saves a lot of money. Imagine a 120 cm layout full of riccardia and you need to buy it all to glue it! If you just want a few moss details in your scape it might be not worth the time it takes. If you glue your moss, let it age and trim it can also look really nice.


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## Oldguy

Nigel95 said:


> The yoghurt gives some nutrients to the moss I believe. I really like this method if you plan to go heavy on moss. Saves a lot of money. Imagine a 120 cm layout full of riccardia and you need to buy it all to glue it! If you just want a few moss details in your scape it might be not worth the time it takes. If you glue your moss, let it age and trim it can also look really nice.



Thanks Nigel195, I will give your yogurt method a try on boiled heather stems [these are supposed to look like roots] I will look out for a big sweat jar for the starter tank.


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