Cleaning planted tanks

[lava]

Hey guys. I wanna make a moss lawn and a mass wall for my tank. So I was just wondering how would I clean the fish waste out of the moss? I dont think syphoning it out will work cuz that might just rip out all the most? or the poop will get stuck to the moss? Also what type of substrate should I use if i am gonna end up putting moss over it? X_X

[Ryuu]

I would get some large rocks and tie the (im guessing java moss) moss to them. that way it would ancor itself to the rocks and spread around. For the syphoning and cleaning im not sure sorry.

[lava]

Is moss expansive? I am aware that there are many different moss's out there. But in general how expansive can it get? and what is the size of it for the price? just an estimate would be great. Oh and where to buy for a cheap price xD

[Wild Turkey]

Just be careful and keep the siphon head off the moss a little bit, moss should be regenerating pretty quickly so i dont think it will become a big problem if you use care. Shrimp with clean the moss for you a lot of the time. Cherries do an excellent job, i cant comment on other fw varieties.

[lava]

Just be careful and keep the siphon head off the moss a little bit, moss should be regenerating pretty quickly so i dont think it will become a big problem if you use care. Shrimp with clean the moss for you a lot of the time. Cherries do an excellent job, i cant comment on other fw varieties.
Will the cherry shrimp take care of the poop too? o_O

[korith]

Will the cherry shrimp take care of the poop too? o_O

Nope!

Oh for when I clean near the plants, I lower the suction on the python so it doesn't damage the plant or pull it out of the substrate.

[lava]

Nope!

Oh for when I clean near the plants, I lower the suction on the python so it doesn't damage the plant or pull it out of the substrate.
Ic thanks!

[Wild Turkey]

Will the cherry shrimp take care of the poop too? o_O

They will clean it off of the moss, yes meaning u wont have to vacuum the moss as much, the poop will be other places in the tank

they walk down each strand of moss end to end and clean it one by one, thats pretty much their MO.

[smaug]

With a well planted tank,poop is your friend,,,,,,,,,well its your plants friend in any case.I only siphon twice a year in my planted tank,any more then that is taking free fertilizer away from the plants.

[Sharon]

Goodness...my plants are probably starving!:ssuprised:

[lava]

Goodness...my plants are probably starving!:ssuprised: Not enough poop you say? lol


They will clean it off of the moss, yes meaning u wont have to vacuum the moss as much, the poop will be other places in the tank

they walk down each strand of moss end to end and clean it one by one, thats pretty much their MO. Awesome! IM GETTING ME SOME CHERRY SHRIMP NOW! :D


With a well planted tank,poop is your friend,,,,,,,,,well its your plants friend in any case.I only siphon twice a year in my planted tank,any more then that is taking free fertilizer away from the plants. Hmmm I do know that poop is good for all plants but having to much of it does not look good >_>

Btw how would 2 pairs of cherry shrimp and one apple snail do in my tank 55 gal, I dont want the to pairs to be male and female cuz I dont want any fry >_<. Also what good community fish would do great with cherry shrimp and apple snail? Im thinking neon tetras and maybe something eles?

I was walking through the home depo today. To buy some plastic mesh(did not find it though) and then I ran into florecent lights. Witch were HECKA CHEAP! like 3 bucks for two pair of 40 watts!, and then the sales man came up to me and started talking a bunch of bs, he was like , if your gonna use it for your aquarium go with "these" pointing at the aquarium bulbs that cost like $9 he tried to tell me that there was a difference in the two, he said the $9 one makes the scales on the fish reflect or something. Does that sound like bs? the only thing different I saw on the $9 one was that it said full spectrum , what does that mean o.O? both the $3 and the $9 were 40 watts they didnt have anything higher.

[TazManiac]

I was walking through the home depo today. To buy some plastic mesh(did not find it though) and then I ran into florecent lights. Witch were HECKA CHEAP! like 3 bucks for two pair of 40 watts!, and then the sales man came up to me and started talking a bunch of bs, he was like , if your gonna use it for your aquarium go with "these" pointing at the aquarium bulbs that cost like $9 he tried to tell me that there was a difference in the two, he said the $9 one makes the scales on the fish reflect or something. Does that sound like bs? the only thing different I saw on the $9 one was that it said full spectrum , what does that mean o.O? both the $3 and the $9 were 40 watts they didnt have anything higher.
The aquarium bulbs will be a better spectrum (Kelvin rating) than the normal shop fittings. I have always used shop fitting bulbs on my tank and have found them to promote algae growth. When I get my tank set up again I will be using the aquarium bulbs this time as they promote plant growth instead of algae. You want to aim for 5500 - 8000K I believe.

[lava]

Ic thanks!

[Jenilyn]

i always cyphon close to it, but am careful not to touch it.

[lava]

Thanks! do you guys know where I could get them for cheap? pecto and petsmart only carry those ugly golf ball moss' also how much would I probably need to buy in order to do the whole wall? my wall is 48'inchs long and about 16 inches high, like how many clumps or clutches should I buy? will it spread fast ?

[fishbum]

Christmas moss is what I would use for a moss lawn and wall.Aquabid was the only place I found it,but I am sure if you look,you might find it somewhere else as well.As far as finding it locally,good luck,but this will give you an idea of what it looks like,http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?liveplantsm&1231495804
I would also use this lighting for it,http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/209500/product.web ,the better the light for it,the more of a carpet and wall effect will be created.The link I posted would be lowlight,but I think it would grow moss just fine.I do not have a good answer for how fast it will grow.Having higher light,it will grow faster.Or how much you need to buy to start,but I would start with a good amount myself.The bid for the pic I posted is for $1.99,which is probably a small handful,I would get at least 15 or 20 for a good start in a 55g.
Once you get good ground cover with it,there will be no way to vacuum the gravel.I have a high tech planted tank with micro sword carpet that all I do is change the water,and wipe off the glass.If you have small fish,you will never see the poop,so don't worry about that.Plus,like others have mentioned,you can hover the vacuum of your siphon over it to pull up any debris.

[lava]

Ah thanks guys your the best!

[lava]

Ah thanks guys your the best!

[fishbum]

Good luck with it.
Start a thread and take pics of your progress.I'd love to see how it goes for you.

[lava]

I sure will! ONe last question though lol. Can I reuse the moss that has been prooned? or it will just go bad if I keep it?

[korith]

I sure will! ONe last question though lol. Can I reuse the moss that has been prooned? or it will just go bad if I keep it?

You can reuse it. I made a few moss balls myself, using a piece of cork, some nylon mesh and java moss. Just take any bits of moss you pruned and put them in the mesh and then around the cork. The moss will eventually grow out and through the mesh. Then just tie a rope around the cork, and tie it off to a rock and drop it in your tank. Or you could always just take the moss you cut off and let it loose in the tank and it'll be fine too.

[Ty]

I take all of the clippings and loose bits from my 46 gallon and put them in my 75 gallon tank for gold fish snacks, man do they love that stuff.

[lava]

Sweet thanks guys! that will help me save a lot of money.!