Jump to content

Tying Moss to Tiles/Slates...

Dean

By Dean
in Plants & Mosses

 Share

Recommended Posts

Dean Shrimp Master

Dean

Posted
Posted

This is just a quick how to on tying moss to tiles.

Need

Tiles/Slate.

Cotton String.

Moss.

first get your self some tiles or slate of a size that you are happy with.

i used a 5x5 porcelain tile for this example.

lay the tiles out in preparation for moss.

post-24-139909856769_thumb.jpg

then add a covering of moss that you want to grow. I used Mini riccia for this example.

post-24-139909856772_thumb.jpg

now depending on what moss you are tying on you need to adjust how close your threads are tied together.

as Mini Riccia is very fine, i tied it very close together.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]251[/ATTACH]

and this is an example of how close i tied the other moss

Singapore moss

[ATTACH=CONFIG]252[/ATTACH]

US Fissiddens

[ATTACH=CONFIG]253[/ATTACH]

and after a few hours of tying and a few rolls of cotton this is what you get :)

post-12-139909856776_thumb.jpg

post-29-139909856697_thumb.jpg

post-29-139909856699_thumb.jpg

post-29-139909856701_thumb.jpg

post-29-139909856704_thumb.jpg

post-29-139909856706_thumb.jpg

post-29-13990985671_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lachie1998 Shrimp Breeder

lachie1998

Posted
Posted

wow nice Dean, thats alot of moss. did you count how many tiles there are?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dean Shrimp Master

Dean

Posted
  • Author
Posted

thanks for the sticky Benny, lol i was going to do that later myself :) but you beat me!

@lachie, yes its an old photo and the that tank is now full with 350 tiles/moss

i still have 3 more tanks that size to fill when i get the time :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dean Shrimp Master

Dean

Posted
  • Author
Posted

@ HeavyD lol, the cherry shrimp in that tank are very happy, i keep trying to get them all out but cant catch them all.

@ Loach, i might sell a few but moss takes so long to grow and every time they start to look good i use them in a tank :)

i will eventually run out of tank space for them and need to sell them so it will happen eventually .

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Loach Shrimp Master

Loach

Posted
Posted
@ HeavyD lol' date=' the cherry shrimp in that tank are very happy, i keep trying to get them all out but cant catch them all.

@ Loach, i might sell a few but moss takes so long to grow and every time they start to look good i use them in a tank :)

i will eventually run out of tank space for them and need to sell them so it will happen eventually .[/quote']

Dean, I mean the raw tiles :)

I dont have access to a tile cutter nor am i a tiler! The moss, with these great instructions i can do myself ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dean Shrimp Master

Dean

Posted
  • Author
Posted

ok, here is a little secret that everyone can use!!!

Step 1. go to your local tile shop

Step 2. ask for some 50x50 (5x5) mosaic tiles on sheets as a sample because your tiling your pool/ house/ what ever.

or say your boss sent you down to see if they had any leftovers of the above that you could use to do some repairs etc.

if its left over stock or old/ discontinued stock they will either give it to you for free or super cheep.

just make your story convincing :) and remember there are lots of tile shops in most areas so visit a few :)

Step 3. if they are on mesh backings, just soak them in a bucket for 24 hrs and give them a scrub to get any mesh glue or

contaminants off them and your good to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gbang Shrimp Master

Gbang

Posted
Posted

mr dean can you please shows ur more pics of the moss and what they look like when they are more grown? amazing btw :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Loach Shrimp Master

Loach

Posted
Posted
What kind of tile would be best? Glazed or unglazed?

Not sure if moss woud attach to a glazed tile. I have also heard slate tiles work well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dean Shrimp Master

Dean

Posted
  • Author
Posted

@ yowie, no prob mate. thought it was a better answer than just writing yes or no on your thread :)

@gbang, no prob as soon as i get a little time i will.

@Brenkirk, un-glazed for sure, the more rough the surface the better grip the moss gets and you can then remove the cotton and it looks nice and clean.

@loach, your on the money, and slate works very well indeed. just myself i found it easier to use tiles as i didnt need to cut them :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lorby Be nice I'm new here

lorby

Posted
Posted

Great DIY guide! And you have a very impressive moss growing setup!!! I would love to see a pic of all the tanks to get an idea of the scale of operations!! :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
  • 5 months later...
tangfreak Shrimp Enthusiast

tangfreak

Posted
Posted

Mite be a silly question but how do u no wen to take the cotton of .cheers who ever answers

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BlueBolts Shrimp Guru

BlueBolts

Posted
Posted
Mite be a silly question but how do u no wen to take the cotton of .cheers who ever answers

There's no such thing as a silly question..... You just leave the string on, and the moss will just grow over it, and completely hide it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aquathumb Shrimp Breeder

Aquathumb

Posted
Posted

Nice write-up dean! I have not thought to use an unglazed tile before! it will defiantly give that a go

For those interested, Here is a video I made last month on another method using slate and mesh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Igf9efoWLU

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Neo-shrimp Shrimp Breeder

Neo-shrimp

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the video Aquathumb....Your technique & demonstration certainly make DIY moss slate look like fun & easy...Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

    Shrimp Disease and Treatment
    Tibee, Taitbee, Pinto, Mischling, F1, F2

  • Tropical Fish Forum
    Discus Breeding Guide
    Discus Disease and Treatment Guide

  • Posts

    • sdlTBfanUK
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      I would hazard a guess that perhaps those eggs were unfertilized and thereby unviable? Did the eggs change colour, usually yellow to grey as the yolks used up, or any eyes in the eggs. Is your water ok, using RO remineralised and the parameters in range, as I have heard others say that if the water isn't good it can 'force' a molt? How is it going overall, do you have a good size colony in the tank, you may have reached 'maximum occupancy' as a tank can only support so many occupants.
    • beanbag
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By beanbag · Posted

      Hello folks,  The current problem I am having is that my Taiwan bee shrimp are molting before all their eggs have hatched.  Often the shrimp keep the eggs for 40+ days.  During that time, they lose about half or so, either due to dropping or duds or whatever.  Shortly before molting they look to have about a dozen left, and then they molt with about half a dozen eggs still on the shell.  Then the other shirmp will come and eat the shell.  These last few times, I have been getting around 0-3 surviving babies per batch.  I figure I can make the eggs hatch faster by raising the water temperature more (currently around 68F, which is already a few degrees higher than I used to keep it) or make the shrimp grow slower by feeding them less (protein).  Currently I feed Shrimp King complete every other day, and also a small dab of Shrimp Fit alternating days.  Maybe I can start alternating with more vegetable food like mulberry?  or just decrease the amount of food?
    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Yeah, cancer risk was a thing I'd seen mentioned a lot when looking into gentian violet briefly. I kinda just figured it might only be as bad as the cancer risk of malachite green as well, but maybe I should look into it more. I've been doing a pretty good job of not getting it on my skin and also avoiding dunking my unprotected hands into the tank water while treating my fish at least, though. Maybe I'll just not use it once I'm done this course of medication anyways, because I know a store I can sometimes get to that's pretty distant carries both malachite green and methylene blue, and in pretty large quantities.
    • jayc
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By jayc · Posted

      Can't help you with Gentian Violet, sorry. It is banned in Australia violet for potential toxicity, and even possible cancer risks. I thought it was banned in Canada as well. At least, you now know why there isn't much info on gentian violet medication and it's use. But keep an eye on the snails after a week. If it affects the snails, it might not kill them immediately. So keep checking for up to a week. Much safer options out there. No point risking your own life over unsafe products.
    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Hello! I have a tank that currently does not contain shrimp, but does contain neon tetras which I am currently treating for Ich, as well as some bladder snails. Shrimp will be a later addition, likely cherry shrimp but I'm still doing research just to be sure. Initially I'd intended to buy some sort of Ich-fighting product that contains malachite green after doing a decent bit of research on it, most of which indicated that it should be shrimp-safe so I'd be good if I ever needed to use it again once shrimp were actually introduced (though I should note I'm aware shrimp can't get Ich, I'm more wondering in case the tetras could get Ich again, or something else that responds to similar medication). I ended up not being able to find any MG-containing products without either having to travel quite far or wait multiple days for delivery (which I was worried could lead the Ich to be fatal), and ended up picking up 'Top Fin Ick Remedy', a product that contains gentian violet which is a triarylmethane dye like malachite green. The bottle has two slightly differently worded warnings about its use with invertebrates ("not recommended for" and "not safe for" respectively), but when I'd been researching malachite green, I'd also heard of products that contain MG but not any other ingredients that would be harmful to inverts still being branded with warnings that they could be harmful, just as a "just-in-case" since the manufacturer didn't test it on any inverts, and I'm wondering if maybe it could be a similar situation here. I'm having a very very hard time finding information about gentian violet's use in fishkeeping at all though, it seems currently extremely uncommon. What I will say though is that I'm on day 2 of treating my tetras with it, and the bladder snails seem just fine -- in fact today I noticed what looked to be a bladder snail that appeared to be newly hatched (because of its size) that I hadn't seen before that was zipping around the tank without issue. But obviously, shrimp are not snails, and bladder snails are also notoriously hardy little guys, so what I'm seeing right now could easily be totally inapplicable to cherry shrimp. It might even be inapplicable to other species of snails, for all I know. Has anyone else here ever used anything that contains gentian violet in a tank that actually does contain shrimp? Were they okay, or should I make sure to not use it once shrimp are added?
×
×
  • Create New...