Roger,
When I was growing the moss on driftwoods, I never experienced what you mentioned. Although those fronds under the ones on top turn brown, usually you won't be able to see them because any frond that is exposed to enough light will remain green. Here's a picture of the Christmas Moss when I was growing them in my cube tank. The pic was taken several years ago:
http://killies.com/Smalltank01BP.htm
I don't think you should remove the brown fronds because mosses have a way of reviving themselves. As far as I know, even a completely dried-out frond of moss will resurrect itself and turn green if given the right conditions.
It is a good practice to keep moss layers thin. I think it is impossible to grow thick amounts of them without seeing any decay. Like many other plants which grow into dense bunches, those right inside the bunch does not get enough light and will die. I don't think there's any way to stop this. I've grown many moss walls and the one I have now in my tank is probably my 7th of 8th wall. As far as I know, the wall looks best about 2 months after setting it up. When growth has become too thick, the wall doesn't look nice. You can keep the layers thin by pruning them constantly. But don't use scissors to cut moss because tiny fronds will settle all over the tank and it won't look nice. To prune moss, I pull selectively. But this is easier said than done and there were many occasions, I pulled too much and left a gaping hole in the wall.
The moss traps debris but this shouldn't be a problem. After all, it helps to keep the water in the tank crystal clear. But if it bothers you, you can clear some of the debris by beating on the moss gently with your fingers when you are changing water. It's like in the old days when our mothers put out the bedsheets and pillows and beat them with a stick to clear the dust. Only difference is you shouldn't beat as hard
By the way, the easiest way to propagate and grow the Christmas Moss is to do it emmersed. Here's a picture of my emmersed moss growing on a piece of driftwood in the tank outside my house.
Loh K L
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