# Using moss as substrate for floating island



## ghostsword (1 Jun 2010)

I have spare moss and I am thinking about using it as substrate for HC or UG, on a floating island above the java fern, to provide some shade. 

Has any one tried it before?


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## LondonDragon (1 Jun 2010)

when I had my moss wall I had glosso growing emerged just on top of the moss wall, so I don't see why not.
All you have to remember though is that moss doesn't float, it will sink to the bottom of the tank, so you will need something to keep it at the surface.


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## a1Matt (1 Jun 2010)

Ditto what Paulo says. Moss is viable as a planting surface. Another thing to bear in mind is that if you have dense moss with no flow through it eventually the lower lays will rot.

On a related note...
Some people who grow crypts emersed use moss as the planting medium. 
I found better results with compost or akadama myself.
I did find that moss across the surface of the planting medium helped prevent mould 
(I'm told this is due to the low ph, whatever it is due to, it worked   ).


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## ghostsword (1 Jun 2010)

Many thanks.

I bought a couple of meters of plastic net and I got closed cell foam, so I would like to build some rafters, maybe with a sandwich of rockwool and moss, then I would plant HC and/or UG on top. It would be no more than 2cm thick. 

I will keep in mind that moss would rot on the mid to bottom layers, maybe I can use some other fibber for it.


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## dw1305 (1 Jun 2010)

Hi all,
Definitely a runner, all sorts of plants grow really well on the top of Hamburg Matten Filters, I would thing that both HC and UG would grow very well. For UG I'd try to get some sphagnum moss (ideally growing) before I planted it in the moss layer. PM if you want some.
cheers Darrel


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## ghostsword (1 Jun 2010)

Thanks Darrel...

On that train of though.. What about Hanging Basket Liners? Would they rot on the water?  The plants would root on it, right? 

Sphagnum moss would probably rot on the water, not sure how it would take to being submerged for that long.


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## dw1305 (2 Jun 2010)

Hi all,
I tried the coconut coir hanging basket liner (like the on in the picture), it did work but it was a bit messy, and the fibres eventually went everywhere. They grow mosses really well.





It also had a lot of tannin in it, even from small squares. If I had another go I'd bond it together with silicon before use.

After some though I think I'd use florists "Oasis" on the floats. I used it for do a trial of propagating substrates years ago at Bath University (in the now defunct Hort. dept.)  and it was excellent. The product you want is "Genuine OASISÂ® Ideal Wet Floral Foam Brick"

Sphagnum should be all right wet, if it's happy it will mound up out of the water. I don't think it will get on very well with pH over pH7, or with high ferts., but neither will UG.  A peat block works for UG, but I'm not sure where you would get one from (I've just found out via EBay, seller "dow9955" http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/dow9955/) .

HC grew really well on the sponge so I don't think it will matter what the substrate is. A _Hydrocotyle_ also liked live on the top of the sponge, and used to flower really well.

cheers Darrel


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## ghostsword (2 Jun 2010)

Ok, so UG will not do on my tank, lots of ferts..  

Hydrocotyle grows on anything, I even got it growing and flowering on a floating log with Willow moss as substrate.

Oasis is a good idea, did not think about it. So plants would root on Oasis? And as it floats I can sandwich it between net with a topping of sphagnum moss. I will try first with Rotalas and MU, as they are cheap to play with and survive well emmersed.

Once it grows well and the integrity of the island maintains, I can then make another island with Hydrocotyle and HC. 

Hydrocotyle I now have quite lots of it, from one pot I made two very large islands.


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## dw1305 (2 Jun 2010)

Hi all,
Root growth (in shrubs) was very good in Oasis. The idea was that you didn't need to re-pot the plant as such you just potted up the Oasis block, particularly useful for plants like Pointsettia which object to root disturbance. It didn't catch on commercially, possibly because the Oasis was too expensive. You can still buy them as "Oasis Root Cubes", I think they had a bit of a vogue with the "grow your own" merchants .

I've since talked to a lady who does the "church flowers", and she said that they keep their green foliage growing permanently in the Oasis, they just add flowers and rotate the blocks in and out of the church.

cheers Darrel


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## ghostsword (2 Jun 2010)

Thanks Darrel, that is very good information on the Oasis. If stuff can grow on it then it is a very good choice for what I want to try on.  

Anyone want a floating log with Hydrocotyle on it?


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## nayr88 (2 Jun 2010)

this is pretty good idea, but once the hc gets thick wont the light be blocked and then the moss will die

 'floating log'   haha  how comes it still floats ?

hows the swamp going? and that little better nano tank?


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## TBRO (3 Jun 2010)

UG and moss go together very well, the UG I have growing on my mossy island looks pretty healthy and is spreading underwater. 

Riccia also seems to work well. 










The moss island project worked out quite well this all based on some kind of terrestrial moss.


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## dw1305 (3 Jun 2010)

Hi all,


> UG and moss go together very well, the UG I have growing on my mossy island looks pretty healthy and is spreading underwater.


 Yes that is looking really good.

cheers Darrel


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## ghostsword (3 Jun 2010)

nayr88 said:
			
		

> this is pretty good idea, but once the hc gets thick wont the light be blocked and then the moss will die
> 
> 'floating log'   haha  how comes it still floats ?
> 
> hows the swamp going? and that little better nano tank?



The log has closed cell foam attached to it. 

The swamp was loaned to the primary school, and the nano was entered on the ADA comp.


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## ghostsword (3 Jun 2010)

I would like to try Riccia emmersed, that would be something to try. 

I got now Riccia that sinks to the bottom, it becomes darker green and then stays on the bottom in between the plants, quite odd.

Received the plastic net I needed to create the floating plants, it was very cheap, at Â£2 for a 25cm square, so it will be good to try.


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## ghostsword (4 Jun 2010)

Got the plastic mesh sorted out, it arrived yesterday. So I created a bed of willow moss, and tied on top Hydrocotyle V., some Lileaopsis and some Rotala Cuttings. I planced some closed cell foam on the bottom so it is floating on top of the Java Fern and Anubias corner, meaning that they get shade and the fish get a riverbank to hide under. Quite cool with the neons.

I also got the flame moss on a floating raft, same plastic mesh.


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## howanic (7 Jun 2010)

I have grown Riccia emersed accidently. I didn't remove the floating bits after trimming and they attatched themselves to wood. Then as the water levels dropped from evaporation they gradually flattened against the wood and stuck. When I topped the water up again they crept up further until they covered the top. I have tried to do this again but it always dries out before it attaches.  I'm sure you won't have a problem though


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## ghostsword (18 Jun 2010)

The islands are taking off, got mosses, Marsilea and Hydrocotyle V growing on it. On one island, 15cm by 10cm, the flame moss growing emmersed has started to be attached by algae, green silky algae that is growing mixed with it. 

I can dose some easycarbo on it, but I do not want to kill the moss. 

Have you used Easycarbo on mosses?


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## mr. luke (18 Jun 2010)

Dilute it a lot, then use a spray bottle to dose it 
So, a tanks dosage worth in a spray bottlee, then mix with about half a sprayer full of water.
It can melt mosses if used at to high of a concentration.


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## ghostsword (18 Jun 2010)

Thanks I will try it today.. The moss is growing higher than the algae, but would not like it to spread out to the rest of the tank.


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## TBRO (19 Jun 2010)

Any photos yet ? T


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## ghostsword (21 Jun 2010)

TBRO said:
			
		

> Any photos yet ? T



 

yep, here they are:

Hydrocotyle Verticillata on a 20cm floating raft:









Flame moss bed, with staurogyne on top, also staurogyne and Lileaospsis on wood on the left side:




Staurogyne on floating log:


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## ghostsword (21 Jun 2010)

Emmersing Willow moss:


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## dw1305 (22 Jun 2010)

Hi all,
Looking really good, especially like 





> Flame moss bed, with staurogyne on top, also staurogyne and Lileaospsis on wood on the left side"


 You can see that the fertilizer addition is making everything grow really big and vigorous.

cheers Darrel


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## ghostsword (22 Jun 2010)

Yep, EI makes everything grow like mad. The only plants I currently have that need soil are the Amazon's, even rotalas grow on a bunch.

I have now used your soil to try and grow L Aromatica emmersed, on a 5L bottle. the condensation should provide enough humidity to keep them growing. I got enough cuttings to try ideas about. 

The issue with EI is the balance of light, CO2 and water changes. Also triming is an art that I have not mastered yet, so I trim all the stems heavily.

MU for example, if we have enough CO2, nutrients and light, can recover from 5 or 6 stems of about 10cm long, as the rotalas, but L Aromatica gets legged, if trimmed too heavily, but gets thicker as well. 

I need to get a notebook and start document the changes.


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