Moss rocks iwagumi

[Yonjuro]

Hi all

Some of you might have seen this on the anti-shrimp forum LOL . , I stripped down my fully planted cube and have decided to simplify things in order to be more shrimp friendly.

Aquarium:Starfire Custom Cube W32 x D32 x H32 (cm)

Lighting: LumenAqua LED 200

Filtration:Eheim 2211(Seachem Matrix, nitrasorb, purigen)

Substrate: Benibachi Powder, half a jar of Mosura Old Sea Mud added below substrate. ADA 'Nile' decorative sand.

I am using dry start method to get things going.

In the following photo you will see the substrate divider I have siliconed to the base for a small beach/creek effect - basically to add some brightness to the tank. Note I have splayed the divider outwards to create a basin.

[Yonjuro]

... next I have added a piece of PVC pipe that I have crusted with soil using thick super glue. This will allow be to place and cover around 75% of the 25w heater - the top will be obscured by the main rock.

You can see the Mosura Old Sea Mud as base layer

[Yonjuro]

... now I have added the first layer of the Benibachi Powder and ADA decorative sand.

[Yonjuro]

... now I have added the honey-combe rocks and added more soil.

You wont be able to see this, but I have glued a limewood airwood to the back of the main rock - I have used black silicone airline so this should make this hard to see against the black background.

[Loach]

Haha, going to be epic for the 3rd time :p

Cant wait for the current stuff!

[Yonjuro]

... and now for the somewhat experimental phase of the scape.

I have layered mini pellia over the slopes of the scape. I am hoping that this will eventually form a carpet. In any case the mini pellia sinks so I may have to reposition once the tank is flooded.

The next somewhat scary part is the mini-fissidens. I managed to get hold of around 1 golf balls size portions from 2 friends . In Perth this stuff is very rare. Using a tip from Eco Graffiti, I blended the mini-fiss with some natural yoghurt in the barmix (luckily my wife was out at the time ) and then applied the paste to parts of the rock surfaces and around the decorative sand and foreground ( all pre-moistened)

I will be misting a couple of times a day.

Well, thats all for now, I will be changing the positions of the small rocks in the deco sand at some point. Fingers crossed this works as planned?

[Yonjuro]

Flooded on Sunday 15th. Overall I am quite happy with the start. Must admit I am pleasantly surprised with the mini pellia has stuck and carpeted quite well. I did add a few small extra pieces during the past weeks.

[Yonjuro]

Hi all

Managed to get some shots of the inhabitants. I believe the colours are a bit stronger in person.

[Yonjuro]

new updates, sorry for the poor quality photos, I should have taken them at night.

[Dean]

Wow, this is the first time i have seen this tank/thread and can honestly say it is sweet :encouragement:

few questions for you,

why did you cover in the white sand?

whats the reason for adding the yogurt with the grinded fissidens? i used it straight the same way and worked also, so just interested in this.

how long was the dry start to get hte mini pellia stuck to the soil?

great looking tank A+++

[Yonjuro]

Thanks Dean!

I actually didn't cover the white sand, the little shrimpy buggers just managed to move the substrate over the white patch over time. I am working on trying to get a fissiden 'hedge' that will keep the benibachi soil out.

Regarding the yoghurt, the reason/ theory was that the yoghurt acts as a food medium for the moss spores, meaning you can get a better spread and it will stick to the rocks and substrate. Having said that, if I had heaps of it I probably wouldn't have bothered. To be honest the jury is out for me as to whether it is of great benefit. It certainly is a sound theory and used in eco-graffiti.

Mini Pelia took around 4 weeks to stick I think. THe more spread and mass the better me thinks.

Cheers

Jase

[Dean]

thanks Jase, got to love the shrimps own renovating skills :)

teh hedge will be sweet idea and should stop them i think. did you get any mold iseus using the yogurt and a dry start?

the pellia look amazing.

[Yonjuro]

thanks Jase' date=' got to love the shrimps own renovating skills :)

teh hedge will be sweet idea and should stop them i think. did you get any mold iseus using the yogurt and a dry start?

the pellia look amazing.[/quote']

THanks Mate!!

Yeah, there was a little mould but not enough to be of any great concern, I just needed to keep on top of the moisture/spaying. THe Mini P result was what I was very happy and surprised with.

[Gbang]

mega mega mega froth!!! mate if you didn't post this again i wouldn't have seen it. by far the best post eva!!! purely cause i'm in love with mini pelia hehehe any more scapes you can share??? please please please?

[Loach]

My next tank will be a mini pelia carpet :)

I have been truly inspired ;)

[Yonjuro]

mega mega mega froth!!! mate if you didn't post this again i wouldn't have seen it. by far the best post eva!!! purely cause i'm in love with mini pelia hehehe any more scapes you can share??? please please please?

THanks very much! Have got another smaller nano - with a mini-pelia bonsai - suffice to say I like Mini P LOL. Will try and get some pics soon.

My next tank will be a mini pelia carpet :)I have been truly inspired ;)

Cheers mate, mini P carpet really is just so easy, HC pftttt! LOL

[BlueBolts]

Jase....just curious...are you still using CO2, issues with hair algae ? ..... Still have hair algae in mine, and it's frustrating the bejesus in me.....

[Yonjuro]

Jase....just curious...are you still using CO2' date=' issues with hair algae ? ..... Still have hair algae in mine, and it's frustrating the bejesus in me.....[/quote']

Nah mate, no CO2 for around 3-4 months - in fact I just sold my unit. I really think my luck in algae is due to the broken photo-period. 4 hours on, 2 off, then 4 more on. As you can see the moss and pelia haven't suffered but algae don't like it. Having said that the marimo (clado alga) is going fine. All I do these days is a quick fortnightly wipe with the Two Little Fishies mag cleaner on the glass.

I add no ferts or glut. Hair algae is the scourge, my only advice is to try the reduced and broken photo period. Failing that we need to go H2o2 after a thorough manual clean.

Touch wood, its worked for me so far in this set-up.

Prior to this I had buckets of hair alga throughout my plants. The old toothbrush, super glued and tied to a wooden chopstick works really well for manual removal, it keeps your hand oils out of the tank and if you twirl it like spaghetti on a fork it helps to remove it from the base. I haven't needed to use and H2O2 or glut in this tank.

For you mate, I still recommend that you carefully remove the driftwood from you tanks, and get some tuppaware containers, use tap water as it contains a small amount of chlorine that is safe on mosses but harsh on algae. Change tap water daily and keep container in the dark. 7 days and it should all be dead.

Tis a pain but I reckon it is worth the effort. Interestingly, I have the bits of moss from your tanks in my tank and there is no algae on them.

[lin]

is all that mini pellia how in the world do u get them to grow so fast

[Yonjuro]

is all that mini pellia how in the world do u get them to grow so fast

90% in Mini P, the rest is Mini fissidens, some marimo squashed into the holes in the rocks and a few bits of mini riccia.

The trick seems to me dry start method and separating the individual mini P leaves so you can spread a layer over the area you want to carpet. Mine took around 3 months to create thick carpet. It is now around an inch thick everywhere I want it to be. No ferts or CO2 in my tank.

[Foxpuppet]

thanks so much for sharing this Mr Yonjuro ;) i do remember seeing the part about the heater enclosure but nothing since then. what an amazing layout. i new about the yoghurt/milk idea from years ago, my mum used to do it on rocks out in our garden to encourage lichen/moss... but yours just looks awesome. haha yoghurt me thinking about rescaping now ;)

[lin]

anyone has to much mini pellia and like to sell it i really want some now it looks awesome

[Jess]

Wow, your tank looks incredible! O.O

I'm definitely going to get some Mini Pelia for my next tank!

[Yonjuro]

Wow' date=' your tank looks incredible! O.O

I'm definitely going to get some Mini Pelia for my next tank![/quote']

Many thanks Jess!

[Gbang]

thanks for the advice yonjuro :)