Organizing java moss-ideas?

[gabysapha]

I put a good amount of java moss in my 20g endler breeder tank. It's taking over and looks ugly. Loose tangles take up half the tank. Hornwort is the other plant i use in this tank, and some small java ferns tied to small rocks.

Yes, the tank is ugly but it gets the job done well! This tank is the lowest of low maintenance and i want it to stay that way. There is not even a timer for the light, i just turn it on in the evening to enjoy the fish. It gets a lot of natural ambient light during the day.

What are your methods for keeping java moss looking pretty in large quantities, while still being able to gravel vac? I have no driftwood or other ornaments for this tank besides plastic plants! I wish i had a nice piece of driftwood!

 

[black hills tj]

I put a good amount of java moss in my 20g endler breeder tank. It's taking over and looks ugly. Loose tangles take up half the tank. Hornwort is the other plant i use in this tank, and some small java ferns tied to small rocks.

Yes, the tank is ugly but it gets the job done well! This tank is the lowest of low maintenance and i want it to stay that way. There is not even a timer for the light, i just turn it on in the evening to enjoy the fish. It gets a lot of natural ambient light during the day.

What are your methods for keeping java moss looking pretty in large quantities, while still being able to gravel vac? I have no driftwood or other ornaments for this tank besides plastic plants! I wish i had a nice piece of driftwood!

Ditch the moss altogether. While Christmas Moss looks a little nicer, if you have a healthy tank, the moss will just outgrow everything else and soak up most of the nutrients. In my opinion, moss isn't worth the effort of keeping it trimmed to it looks nice.

Somehow some of both Christmas Moss and Java Moss snuck into my high-tech 75g, and its a huge headache.

 

[gabysapha]

Ditch the moss altogether. While Christmas Moss looks a little nicer, if you have a healthy tank, the moss will just outgrow everything else and soak up most of the nutrients. In my opinion, moss isn't worth the effort of keeping it trimmed to it looks nice.

Somehow some of both Christmas Moss and Java Moss snuck into my high-tech 75g, and its a huge headache.

What other super low tech options are there? I only use java moss in this tank because it's so nice for the fry

 

[jetajockey]

I don't gravel vac, that's my solution. As far as keeping it in place, the only way I can do that is by not having a power filter in the tank and just running a sponge.

One other option is to sandwich it between two pieces of plastic mesh canvas, pull bits of it through the mesh holes and then you can remove it all as one piece. Eventually it will fill in.

 

[gabysapha]

I don't gravel vac, that's my solution. As far as keeping it in place, the only way I can do that is by not having a power filter in the tank and just running a sponge.

One other option is to sandwich it between two pieces of plastic mesh canvas, pull bits of it through the mesh holes and then you can remove it all as one piece. Eventually it will fill in.

I wouldn't gravel vac either if my tank wasn't so sparse! Maybe i'll try a java moss lawn. But i can see that get really ugly really fast, eww.

Plastic mesh sounds good!

And now im really tempted to get some driftwood. Ermmm.... I should stop playing with Aquabid....

 

[aqua_chem]

People are often lured in by the hardiness and ease of java moss. It's actually quite messy and difficult to mess with. I've relegated mine to a jar on my desk w/o light because I don't want to mess with it in my tanks.




On a related note, it apparently does just fine in a jar w/o ferts or lights for long duration. Huh.

 

[jetajockey]

Yeah, I have moss in several tanks that have no light on them at all.

 

[black hills tj]

What other super low tech options are there? I only use java moss in this tank because it's so nice for the fry

Hornwort, anacharis, and guppy grass all come to mind.

 

[gabysapha]

Poor sad unloved java moss.

I also have najas grass but it's like java moss to me, just messy and floating wherever it goes. Is there a better way to use it?

I have yet to try anacharis!

Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

[black hills tj]

Poor sad unloved java moss.

I also have najas grass but it's like java moss to me, just messy and floating wherever it goes. Is there a better way to use it?

I have yet to try anacharis!

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Yeah, I don't like it either...just another option that's good for fry. A little easier to maintain than java moss, but still a giant pain.