# DIY Wabi Kusa Spaghnum



## Aqua360 (22 May 2020)

Hi all, 

This is going to be a pic and text heavy thread, I made some wabi kusa balls, and wanted to share details in case others wanted to try it! 

(Disclaimer: I literally just made this, so I can't say its successful yet!)

You may have seen the commercial wabi kusa balls selling for £20, these balls are superb, however a bit pricey! 

The materials I used for mine included:

1 x monofilament (£2)
1 x spaghnum block 100g (£6)
1 x small pebble (free anywhere, outside) 
1 x Xmas moss (£3)

So basically a tenner, and with these materials I could make about 10 wabi kusa balls.

So, my steps below! 

1) collect pebbles


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## Aqua360 (22 May 2020)

2) wetten spaghnum moss, this balloons up to an insane amount, I was surprised just how much I got from 100g


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## Aqua360 (22 May 2020)

3) grab a handful of spaghnum, and wrap it round a pebble then squeeze it by cupping both hands around tightly.

4) begin to wrap the monofilament around tightly, any bits of spaghnum poking out, simply wrap round them till it looks like below


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## Aqua360 (22 May 2020)

5) add Xmas or whichever moss you prefer, and do the same thing by winding round the monofilament


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## Aqua360 (22 May 2020)

6) plant up by tying or poking holes and inserting stems. I've used a mix of emersed and immersed Monte Carlo below! Not pretty just now, but it should grow in I hope!


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## Aqua360 (22 May 2020)

7) Finished! All that's left is to find a suitable container, add a cover for humidity, choice of suitable light, and some light fertiliser. Fingers crossed for this one guys!


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## Aqua360 (23 May 2020)

Some more of the finished wabi balls in situ!


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## Aqua360 (8 Jun 2020)

Update on some of the DIY wabi's, the absolute best plant I've encountered for these so far is hydrocotyle tripartita, the pic below is of a small one that is 4 days old, wrapped loosely with cuttings, it grows insanely fast in this method!

Monte Carlo has also been successful, going to try it without a cover to see how it responds


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## Majsa (9 Jun 2020)

Thank you for sharing, inspired by your wabis I've now made one of my own too (with a little different recipe though) with (among some other plants) hydrocotyle tripartita, and I'm too surprised how it is pushing new leaves after a few days only


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## Aqua360 (9 Jun 2020)

Majsa said:


> Thank you for sharing, inspired by your wabis I've now made one of my own too (with a little different recipe though) with (among some other plants) hydrocotyle tripartita, and I'm too surprised how it is pushing new leaves after a few days only



Nice! What approach did you use to make your wabi's?


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## Majsa (10 Jun 2020)

I've made only one so far to try it out. I bought one more of those Aqualighter lamps and a pot of hydrocotyle tripartita, otherwise I used materials I already had and plant cuttings from my tanks. The ball is Tropica soil powder pressed together with some NZ sphagnum moss which I normally use for my orchids. I think only a piece of 2 cm x 2 cm dry moss, but you know how much that is when wetted. I broke some of the soil with a mortar and pestle to even smaller grains, thinking the ball would form better, but I am not sure if that was such a good idea, it was messy and the ball is a bit "leaky"...but so far holding together with black polyester thread. Covering the ball with live moss would have been good, but didn't have enough. 

I was planning to put this ball in the wabi set you also have, but then I couldn't cover it with cling film. I like this cube too so I think this is where it'll stay for now.


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## Aqua360 (11 Jun 2020)

Majsa said:


> I've made only one so far to try it out. I bought one more of those Aqualighter lamps and a pot of hydrocotyle tripartita, otherwise I used materials I already had and plant cuttings from my tanks. The ball is Tropica soil powder pressed together with some NZ sphagnum moss which I normally use for my orchids. I think only a piece of 2 cm x 2 cm dry moss, but you know how much that is when wetted. I broke some of the soil with a mortar and pestle to even smaller grains, thinking the ball would form better, but I am not sure if that was such a good idea, it was messy and the ball is a bit "leaky"...but so far holding together with black polyester thread. Covering the ball with live moss would have been good, but didn't have enough.
> 
> I was planning to put this ball in the wabi set you also have, but then I couldn't cover it with cling film. I like this cube too so I think this is where it'll stay for now.
> 
> View attachment 150198 View attachment 150199



Looking good! The wabi set can be covered with cling film since the light is held on with a magnet 
It doesn't however offer the same height for the plants to grow as the glass you've used, so probably the right choice!


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## Aqua360 (22 Jun 2020)

An update on how the wabi balls are doing submersed! I don't think I'll actually go back to planting in the substrate lol


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## ommmartin (24 Oct 2020)

I also have found tripartita to be soo willing!...I have a commercial ball hanging on my scape with a central dot of reinickii mini surrounded by tripartita...seems to work well after initial transition period and adds a whole new third dimension to any tank....like the idea of making my own though!...thanks...having tropica soil as the core instead of the stone seems more fruity and nutritious?


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## Aqua360 (24 Oct 2020)

ommmartin said:


> I also have found tripartita to be soo willing!...I have a commercial ball hanging on my scape with a central dot of reinickii mini surrounded by tripartita...seems to work well after initial transition period and adds a whole new third dimension to any tank....like the idea of making my own though!...thanks...having tropica soil as the core instead of the stone seems more fruity and nutritious?


Think both work tbf, they take the nutrients from the water around them anyway; had to trim mine religiously


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## ommmartin (24 Oct 2020)

ok...I guess thats right...I might give it a go...thanks a lot for the shove!


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## dean (12 Mar 2021)

Aqua360 said:


> 7) choice of suitable light, ]






Did you make the base of this yourself as it looks like an IKEA light 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Aqua360 (12 Mar 2021)

dean said:


> Did you make the base of this yourself as it looks like an IKEA light
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yep, I got the light and board both from IKEA, think the light was £10, chopping board was about £3 from memory. 

Then just drilled a suitable size hole in the board, and the light already has a kind of stud that just fits right in, no glue or anything necessary. 

I originally seen this idea on that IKEA hack website!


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## aec34 (28 Mar 2021)

Aqua360 said:


> An update on how the wabi balls are doing submersed! I don't think I'll actually go back to planting in the substrate lol


Love these! There’s no problem with submerging sphagnum moss then, it doesn’t decay?


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## Aqua360 (28 Mar 2021)

aec34 said:


> Love these! There’s no problem with submerging sphagnum moss then, it doesn’t decay?


Not that I've found, but I can't vouch longer term; my tanks chop and change regularly as I get bored quickly lol


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