Journal JUNGLE PUDDLE: Dooa Mizukusa wall

[Ady34]

Thought I’d share my latest project 😁
I have just started building a mizukusa wall system. This will be another new facet of the hobby for me and one I’m looking forward too.

I’ve had a wish list system in storage for a while now and felt with a creative itch to scratch, but indecision on which aquascape to swap out, that the time was right to bring in the ADA cube cabinet full stand kit. I purchased this set from @Horizon Aquatics just before the opportunity arose to purchase the 60p garden stand set from another hobbyist. After finding that set I wanted to set the 60 garden stand up together with the 75p garden stand so the cube cabinet set went on hold.
I had an ADA 60f tank which came as part of the 60p garden stand purchase and thought this would marry perfectly with the dooa mizukusa wall. As it happened I had a vision for a particular scape, and once I placed the tank and wall together I felt the dooa neo terra 23 would be a better option with a shallower aspect and more open aesthetic, so I swapped out the tanks and began playing with sticks and stones to see if my concept would work in the small tank…
I had some large pieces of wio Neptune wood intended for the ea1500 tank. With there being little chance of a return of that set up in the near future I thought I’d like to try the oversized pieces in this open shallow system.
This is pretty much up to date with the scape concept firmed. I just need to deconstruct and rebuild with refinement 😁

The set with the ADA 60f, a beautiful little shallow which I will use for a dedicated scape in the future, but too tall for my plan:

Swapped for the dooa neo terra 23 with the beginnings of the hardscape creation in development.

Frontal:

This is where I am currently and will work on refinement and details over the coming days as and when I have time.
The system is all about the out rather than the in and the underwater section will have little in the way of planting, perhaps only botanicals and a small shrimp colony.

Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[Alpaca]

Oh this is great, I am just about to start the same process, but with a 60p, replacing a currently rather overgrown and neglected layout.
I am really at a loss about what plants to put on the wall other than moss, I have a terrarium with some ferns, and I would like to have some bucephelandra emersed and immersed too , to get some sort of continuity between the bottom and the top. Look forward to following this.

What's the light and stand?

 

[Ady34]

Oh this is great, I am just about to start the same process, but with a 60p, replacing a currently rather overgrown and neglected layout.
I am really at a loss about what plants to put on the wall other than moss, I have a terrarium with some ferns, and I would like to have some bucephelandra emersed and immersed too , to get some sort of continuity between the bottom and the top. Look forward to following this.

What's the light and stand?

Sounds great, I know what you mean about the plant choices….i haven’t really sat and thought fully about it yet and am in unknown territory really as I have no soil and a new system to work with so it will be a learning experience. I have been concentrating on getting the hardscape finalised and will now sit on it for a short time and consider planting.
The light stand is part of the ADA cube cabinet clear set which comes with boards that hold the ADA solar light arm.
Good luck with yours.

 

[Tim Harrison]

Crikey that’s a very bold, and very interesting composition Ady. I like it a lot. Can’t wait to see where you’re going to go with this 🙂

 

[Alpaca]

Yes I am worried about how the humidity levels will work out here, since it isn't an enclosed paludarium -- I couldn't get hold of the Paluda 60 which was my first choice.. So even with the water tricking down and possibly the mist flow device as well, my flat is quite dry so some things will get dry and crispy. Presumably the moss itself will be fine on the mats, and plants on the branches close to the water will be ok if the branches are wrapped in some wicking fabric. I guess I just have to try it out. Now of course is the worst time to do it I suppose as the air is dry from my central heating.

 

[Wookii]

Come on Ady, you can fit a bit more wood in there! 😜

Looks great as always, looking forward to see how this develops!

 

[Bradders]

Come on Ady, you can fit a bit more wood in there! 😜

What wood?!

 

[Ady34]

Yes I am worried about how the humidity levels will work out here, since it isn't an enclosed paludarium -- I couldn't get hold of the Paluda 60 which was my first choice.. So even with the water tricking down and possibly the mist flow device as well, my flat is quite dry so some things will get dry and crispy. Presumably the moss itself will be fine on the mats, and plants on the branches close to the water will be ok if the branches are wrapped in some wicking fabric. I guess I just have to try it out. Now of course is the worst time to do it I suppose as the air is dry from my central heating.

I know exactly how you feel. I think I will fill the tank and run without planting to see how the moisture creeps on the wood naturally and then add wicking tape where I would like extra.
I also think I will run the mist flow unit permanently to begin, and see how things go.

Come on Ady, you can fit a bit more wood in there! 😜

Looks great as always, looking forward to see how this develops!

Ha, thanks Wookie…maybe some detailing branches, as yet undecided as I like the boldness.

Crikey that’s a very bold, and very interesting composition Ady. I like it a lot. Can’t wait to see where you’re going to go with this 🙂

Thanks Tim, I have finalised the hardscape for this set up and will sit with it for a while to formulate a planting plan.

Cheerio,

 

[VarunA]

Incredible Day. Love how bold it is.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Loving that wood😍 ,guessing it's expensive ,reminds of the huge chunks the ADA creaters are using at the moment

 

[Ady34]

Incredible Day. Love how bold it is.

Thanks, hopefully when I plant it it will grow in as beautifully as yours.

Loving that wood😍 ,guessing it's expensive ,reminds of the huge chunks the ADA creaters are using at the moment

Hi, its wio Neptune wood, it wasn’t particularly expensive, I can’t remember how much as I purchased it a long time ago.

 

[Ady34]

Little update.
I have started planting this with moss from @Horizon Aquatics and I visited a garden centre in York called Deans which has a great selection of terrarium suitable and unusual plants. A little out of season, the range was still good with some nice plants which will only get better as the season goes on. They were already building stock so it will be really cool.

Here are the plants, I also got a Vanda orchid which you can see in images further below….

Anyway I started by adding moss to the branches, I really liked just the mossy look and could envisage it just like this with some anubias sp. and ferns… the giant Vanda orchid is in situ here also, it’s a large bold statement but there’s nothing really subtle about this layout so I feel it works. I was already toying with the idea of adding trailing vine like wood from some of the larger branches so when I saw this orchid I knew it would be perfect with its impressive trailing roots….

I then began with the rest of the planting in hope that I didn’t spoil the bold simplicity by overcomplicating.
I wrapped some of the plants roots in sphagnum moss rather than the soil they came in as I didn’t want to add a specific soil substrate to this system. Soil areas add extra complications to hardscape construction and retaining to prevent mixing with foreground sands etc. I knew the underwater section was going to be difficult to access for maintenance so wanted as simple a set up as possible. Epiphyte planting made sense….

These were wedged and strapped to chosen areas…..

I like the colour contrasts, and still had more plants to add but had to wait for another evening. Here are some more close up images…

Next was adding a plant I really love, the serracenia sp Bella, another carnivorous plant.
This was a little more challenging as it’s a ground plant so I needed to ‘plant it’. They can grow in sphagnum moss, but i still needed to retain it somehow in the designated confined area. I have removable wood at the front so the plant had to be self contained behind this.
To do this I carved out and cut to shape a foam filter pad into a rudimentary shallow ‘planter’ which I then added some of the soil the plant came in and planted them into that. I didn’t take any images but it was a bit of a faff on, forward planning would definitely have been beneficial here, but i really had no idea how I was going to plant this until I visited the garden centre and saw what plant options I had.
Anyway, the serracenia was added, time will tell how it does as although it likes it moist, this is pretty much sat in the water. This whole set up is a bit of a trial for me as it’s all new territory…

This is where I am up to.
I need to add detailing plants, the vine like plants I have for some of the branches and also some underwater plants just to tie the two areas above and below together.

I’ll keep you posted on progress and on how things fare in the coming weeks as I’m sure there will be ups and downs….

I will add a full plant list at a later date when planting is finalised 😁

Cheerio
Ady.

 

[Ady34]

Hi,
just about done now with more plants added to the exposed branches. A begonia amphioxus and some peperomia piccolo banda were added to the foremost left and right branches.
Perhaps only a few creeping Marcgravia and Solanum sp. here and there will finalise things.

Time to see what happens but I’m already seeing a little crisping of some of the Nepanthes pitchers. This could just be transition, natural loss or something else….

A link to an insta video walk around:



Cheerio,

 

[Mike Singh]

Hi Ady an amazing scape you have created here. I have a few questions.
What moss did you use?
How do you keep the moss wet on the higher parts of the drift wood?
What is the climbing vine on the driftwood on the left side?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

just about done now with more plants added to the exposed branches.

Your Vanda is fantastic.

cheers Darrel

 

[Aqua360]

You may (or may not) regret adding the nepenthes, if it takes off!

 

[Ady34]

Hi Ady an amazing scape you have created here. I have a few questions.
What moss did you use?
How do you keep the moss wet on the higher parts of the drift wood?
What is the climbing vine on the driftwood on the left side?

Thanks.
Mainly Christmas moss, but Java moss, spiky moss and a tiny bit of weeping too.
I keep the moss at the top wet with dooa terra tape laid over the branches and dipped into the water weir at the top of the mizukusa wall so it wicks along the branch. The mist maker helps also. I have twisted terra tape also strung from the weir to to other branches into sphagnum moss to keep plants attached in that wet too.
If it is the green climber it is a Marcgravia but if it is brown then Solanum sp 👍🏻

Hi all,

Your Vanda is fantastic.

cheers Darrel

It’s a beauty, I saw it and knew it would be perfect even though it’s quite large.

You may (or may not) regret adding the nepenthes, if it takes off!

Hopefully it gives me that option 😃

 

[Tyko_N]

Stunning setup!

already seeing a little crisping of some of the Nepanthes pitchers

That's usually what happens when you move them, as long as the new pitchers are developing without problems I wouldn't worry. I only have experience with Nepenthes x gaya but with that you can control the shape of the plant to some extent, give it something to climb at it'll climb, or leave the pitchers hanging and it'll stay low (might grow into quite a large clump though from all the off-shoots).

 

[Ady34]

Stunning setup!


That's usually what happens when you move them, as long as the new pitchers are developing without problems I wouldn't worry. I only have experience with Nepenthes x gaya but with that you can control the shape of the plant to some extent, give it something to climb at it'll climb, or leave the pitchers hanging and it'll stay low (might grow into quite a large clump though from all the off-shoots).

Thank you so much for the information. I’m a novice keeper so hearing from someone with experience is reassuring. The new leaves are developing pitchers so I will monitor progress.
I won’t mind the plant becoming bigger, I nearly purchased a larger one but once I saw the oversized vanda orchid I thought it may have been too much initially. I’m presuming you can just trim out leaves to keep it from taking over?
Thanks again
Ady.

 

[Tyko_N]

I’m a novice keeper so hearing from someone with experience is reassuring

Not sure if I'm that experienced, just lucky maybe. My Nepenthes get treated the same way as most of my other epiphytes; airy substrate, watered with (soft) tapwater to keep evenly moist, and fairly bright light. That's usually more than enough for them to grow well, and I've had a couple surviving just fine in much worse conditions. Hybrid Nepenthes isn't nearly as tricky to keep as some people would have you believe.

The new leaves are developing pitchers so I will monitor progress

Then you're likely safe. Not sure how high air humidity you manage to keep around them, in dry winter air the pitchers might not fully develop, but the plant will keep growing and you'll get some nice pitchers developing eventually.

I’m presuming you can just trim out leaves to keep it from taking over?

Yep, I remove leaves with dried pitchers every now and then to allow more light for the off-shoots at the base of the plant. You could probably also do it the other way by removing the main stem if it becomes unruly, treating that as a cutting and letting an off-shoot or two take its place. They're not that fast growing though, especially when small (unless they start climbing), so you should be fine for a good while.