How to tie new ferns on an existing wood?

[grey_fox]

OK, I need some advise. I have a bunch of Java Ferns that I would like to tie to an existing driftwood.

The existing drifwood is already covered with plants and is rather large.

My question is how do I tie these new bunch of Java Ferns without creating a hiroshima in my tank by taking the entire driftwood out?

[|squee|]

Lower the water to the level where you want to tie the ferns, and carefully and patiently tie them in. Or you can attach the ferns to a small rock and lodge it at the place where you want to tie them if possible.

Just theories, I only have a 2ft tank

[budak]

I find those black strips of semi-rigid plastic used to bind cable (PC, printer, phone etc) cords together very useful in attaching ferns and anubias to wood.

[grey_fox]

Lower the water to the level where you want to tie the ferns, and carefully and patiently tie them in. Or you can attach the ferns to a small rock and lodge it at the place where you want to tie them if possible.

Just theories, I only have a 2ft tank

Good idea there, thanks Terence but I have to siphon off quite a bit of the water. And that a bit might be enough to fill up a 2 footer.

[grey_fox]

I find those black strips of semi-rigid plastic used to bind cable (PC, printer, phone etc) cords together very useful in attaching ferns and anubias to wood.

Hey budak,

You mean those sort of strips that can be twisted using your fingers? I have those but they're not really long.

Also, where I am intending to tie it down would be a sloping area and there won't be any point for the cable-ties to be lodged/latched on. Currently the ferns are floating (about 5-6mm) above the driftwood where I want to tie them on.

Should I place a small rock/pebble on the Java ferns instead or like what Terence mentioned, tie them to a rock to weigh them down?

[budak]

hmm... in that case, taking the wood and winding cotton thread to tie down the ferns might be better. It is admitedly a bit messy, but if your filter is working ok, the cloudiness/debris should settle fairly quick after you put the wood back into the tank. I do this sort of retie-ing every few months as well.

[grey_fox]

I'm using 2 x 2028s, should be sufficient to take in the debris easily.

If I have to take it out, I will use those really thin nylon strings to die them down.

However I just recalled one other complication, the legs of this driftwood in question has crypts covering it and is connected to another smaller driftwood holding a medley of nanas.

This is getting a bit complicated now..

[budak]

nanas shouln't be a problem. just cut off roots that get in the way. Ditto for crypts, though a little more care is needed. But from the sounds of it, you could do well with some general thinning of your driftwood plants so take the opportunity to do all these while attaching the ferns.

[grey_fox]

Here's a picture. It's just been rescaped.



Do you see the java ferns in the middle? That's the area in question. The ferns are floating off from the driftwood right below the ferns is a rhizome of a nana "coffeeolia" and beside that nana is the plethora of nanas on a small driftwood angled downwards.

[budak]

looks pretty ok to me. Anubias can handle plenty of handling and replanting if needed.

[grey_fox]

I'll try to tie them tonight, wish me luck!

[|squee|]

I find those black strips of semi-rigid plastic used to bind cable (PC, printer, phone etc) cords together very useful in attaching ferns and anubias to wood.

They're called twist ties

I tried using cable ties once too.

[dc88]

I read in APD that one guy said he just stapled his nana on wood. May be can work on fern too ?

[grey_fox]

been there, done that.

Since JFs are loosely related to the dumbcane family... I tried to staple them once and out came the whitish liquid that you would find when you should cut a dumb cane.

Anyways, I just weighed them down. Realised that behind the driftwood an entire line of narrow java ferns, if I should take the driftwood out, I'll end up kicking myself.

So to play safe, I didn't

[budak]

I think you mean Anubias? They are in the same family (Araceae) as dumbcanes indeed. Ferns are not at all related. Methods like stapling that cause physical damage/ruptures to plant tissue should be avoided as the damage might spread to the entire plant, causing meltdown. And as with dumbcane, some people are sensitive to the sap of Anubias, which contains alkaloids that cause skin irritation or itches.

[grey_fox]

Oops!

Yup, referring to nanas stapled them to the driftwood once and the whitish liquid oozed out, ended up getting a slight itch... taught me a good lesson after that.

As for the ferns, I just weighed them down good. Hopefully they won't budge much after this. and oh yah I did staple them before as well, broken rhizome

[ziyao]

i use cable tie or just use good old black string and wrap around many times... after some time it jus bond to the wood

[grey_fox]

Erm,

I think may are misunderstanding the question (maybe its my subject question) here.

I'm not asking how to tie Java Ferns as in how to tie them.... obviously with cable ties, wire ties, strings, nylons, etc that can be done...

Question here is. How do I tie Java Ferns to an EXISTING driftwood without having the driftwood taken out and without causing the tank to turn out into a Hiroshima (with reference to the photo). Anyways its been solved.

[dc88]

If you already have some older fern on the wood and to add more can simply try insert/jam the new fern's root to the old one on the wood ?
I did mine last weekend after trimming the older fern leaf that were originally tied to the wood (while still keep all their roots intact) I just insert newer fern to the root mass and jammed between DW's branches and they seem to stay quite well.

[axela11]

I don't know if this is a good idea.. but I use strips of lead to hold them down.