Moss carpet without mesh

**gumball** · 28th Feb 2014, 13:06

Hi all,

I was wondering if it was possible to achieve a moss carpet without the use of a mesh and only gravel? I currently have flame moss weighed down using bits of gravel here and there. I was hoping that weighing it down will cause it to eventually creep (thought i know they like to grow upwards like flame, I chose this hoping that eventually it'll form a nice thick carpet).

thanks for any advice!

**Naraki** · 28th Feb 2014, 13:15

I saw polyart carpet using mini Taiwan moss(I asked). But not sure whether is it grown from mesh or What.

**thebaldingaquarist** · 28th Feb 2014, 13:19

when i trim my moss last time.. i use to let it go everywhere.. which means its everywhere in my tank.
the bits that fell to the gravel does not carpet. the fronds grow upwards and thats it.

fronds might split.. depending on the moss type. but i have never seen it carpet..

**gumball** · 28th Feb 2014, 13:44

naraki you mean the one that opens 24/7? I saw that! I looked and I could not see any wire mesh at all.

erctheanda, I guess eventually as more trimmings fall it'll slowly cover the whole floor?

**thebaldingaquarist** · 28th Feb 2014, 13:47

yup gumball.

and it became very ugly.
imagine V shaped moss structures. ranging from 3 CM 10 10 CM. its not a carpet... its a mess.

**greenie** · 5th Mar 2014, 14:26

Originally Posted by Erctheanda

yup gumball.

and it became very ugly.
imagine V shaped moss structures. ranging from 3 CM 10 10 CM. its not a carpet... its a mess.

My tank too. Done with Xmas moss, now keeping mini pellia but bits of the Xmas moss is everywhere on the aquasoil/plants.

Have become a weed in my tank. Every now & then have to pick any big bits that outgrow my "monte carlo" foreground plants.

**bluebubbles** · 5th Mar 2014, 18:54

Originally Posted by gumball

Hi all,

I was wondering if it was possible to achieve a moss carpet without the use of a mesh and only gravel? I currently have flame moss weighed down using bits of gravel here and there. I was hoping that weighing it down will cause it to eventually creep (thought i know they like to grow upwards like flame, I chose this hoping that eventually it'll form a nice thick carpet).

thanks for any advice!

Hi Gumball

There are different type of mosses in the market. Not all can carpet beautifully or naturally. Pressing them down with stones or rocks defy the purpose of wanting green carpet. However, certain moss like Java fern can stagger horizontally with chiller and look like carpet, you can observe such beautiful specimen at Nature Aquarium's display tank. Without chiller, they spread all over the places vertically and diagonally with not intention of looking tidy. Flame moss, is best to look like flame. They can never look beautiful as carpet not because you can't hold them down, it is thick and rough. I have tried tearing up moss ball and tie them to stone slab and they look like a beautiful green rug but only temporarily before turning brown (and died?).

Through my own experience, in low tech setup without fan or chiller, the best and sustainable carpet moss should accord to - WEEPING MOSS. They have never in my tank grow vertically or diagonally and they are compact too. Weeping moss, as its name suggest, only grow downward and spread its leaves. They can look "sticky" on any surface which act as a plus point to form carpet. I call them sticky moss because the moss crawl to find surface to clinch on. If you put them on bogwood, they clinched and spread downward. If you put them on rock, they stick on the rock and eventually "cover" them. Simply, they don't grow up except getting thicker with space constraint. This, I forsee, is exactly the carpet a moss can formed. However, be mindful that when the food dropped on the carpet, it entangled with the food and fish usually don't go near to pick them up, you need to siphon the uneaten food from the moss. This is the hassel of carpet moss compared to gravel for ground.

The above is my personal observation.

**Urban Aquaria** · 5th Mar 2014, 19:33

You can try using fissidens... the fissidens grinding and DSM method could work:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...dens-rock.html

The good thing about fissidens is they usually stay compact and they grip securely onto objects over time (including individual soil granules), so that could be something interesting to try.

**bennyc** · 6th Mar 2014, 11:49

Without mesh the moss will fly around easily. Unless your moss is very thick and the weight alone can anchor the moss down. I think the polyart display are able to do it because the moss layer is so thick but i believe there are still a few anchor to secure the moss carpet which is hidden and cover by the moss.

May i ask what is the reason for not wanting mesh? Cost?

**gumball** · 6th Mar 2014, 13:02

Hi all. Thanks for the insights. The reason for not wanting to use a mesh is I don't feel comfortable introducing such foreign objects into the tank. Looks like perhaps weeping moss might be a better choice. I've recently purchased some aqua soil powder. So I may do a carpet of glosso instead.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk