Trying something different

[Glenc]

Quick update, little tank is looking better, Marsilea quadrifolia is filling in nice. Waiting for it to work it's way into the rear right corner. Should fill that bare spot nice

 

[rich311k]

Looking really good, Glen.

 

[triazole]

absolutely stunning...i stared at it for at least 10 mins straight!

 

[Glenc]

Another update, the clover has just about covered the entire bottom, starting to grow on top of itself in spots. This stuff was a bit slow to get started but once it takes hold, it is very easy to grow and quite pretty as well. I would highly recommend it as an easier option other than H.C. or glosso for a nice foreground.

 

[triazole]

alright, your work is done here glen....kudos...(bows to the master)...i haven't seen such a beautiful and serene layout in a long time...

 

[Jchillin]

If you recall, I ran out of thumbs awhile back. I finally got in a shipment of new ones and this one was the first out of the box. That tank looks absolutely stunning.

 

[Glenc]

Thanks for the kind comments guys, I learned everything from all of you.

 

[Glenc]

I released the Riccia from it's cage as it had grown in a fair amount, put it into the needlepoint grids as seen on Steve Hampton's site. It's all in one big one, does the whole side of my ten gallon. Held on by 4 small suction cups. The possibilities are endless, you could cut this stuff to any shape you want, foreground,background, just about anywhere. Should be interesting, lets see what it does.

 

[WaterPond]

wow, riccia wall... thats awsome. I can't wait to see it once thats grown in. Shouldent take long.

 

[Atl300zx]

where did u get that plastic material?

 

[Glenc]

This thing should take off like a chia pet in a couple of weeks. The Riccia should grow through the grid in search of light, forming a nice carpet. When the Riccia grows out of control you can remove the whole grid and trim it outside the tank, no mess inside the tank. Brilliant, to bad I didn't think of it! I'm trying a pretty big one, the examples I've seen were much smaller. My only concern is the Riccia in the lower part of the grid won't get enough light and die off. I could always flip the grid around if that's the case. I got the grids in the craft section of Walmart, only place I could find them. They come in large and small sheets, cheap to. 2 large and 2 small cost 6 bucks.

 

[Purrbox]

where did u get that plastic material?

Any craft supply dept or store should carry it. I've seen it at Walmart, Michaels... the list goes on and on. It'll be in with the yarn or needle point stuff and is called plastic canvas.

 

[dskidmore]

When the Riccia grows out of control you can remove the whole grid and trim it outside the tank, no mess inside the tank.

Been there, done that. I didn't have enough light for Riccia in that tank, and eventually picked out the dying bits, but I've now got a moss wall going in that fashion. It's not so easy to trim out of tank as you'd think. When you pull it out, the moss all lays down flat and clumps together. You'd have to submerse it in another tray to get the plants to stand up and be mowable. Riccia is stiffer than moss, may work better....

What kind of suction cups did you use? Mine is just wedged in. Substrate grabs it at the bottom, the little tabs for holding dividers at the top. (The 2.5 gallon was apparently designed with keeping 3 Betas in mind. Poor Betas...) I have a little trouble in this setup with getting the two sheets of plastic canvas to stick together all the way accross.

For those of you feeling creative, in larger craft stores you can also find these in precut shapes, like circles, ovals, stars... You could also use fishing twine to sew up boxes or the like... (I was familiar with plastic canvas way before aquascaping.)

 

[Glenc]

Hey dskidmore, nice to hear from you! Thanks for the tips on pruning this stuff, learning as I go. I used the suction cups from a couple of bubble ladders I have kicking around. 2 on the bottom, 2 on the top. Post some pics of that wall. love to see it

 

[ryan]

could you also use this as a carpet like cutting it into the shape u want and place it in your forground on slate or something and have different levels for a deeper look?i assume uyou can but just asking also what are the requirements for riccia??

 

[dskidmore]

could you also use this as a carpet

Yes, but you need to weigh it down with something.

 

[Zezmo]

That plastic mesh will look great once it has filled in. You can use that stuff with a lot of foreground plants, and mosses.

To hold it down you can just attach an "anchor". Tie a rock or some such to it with some fishing line, and bury the rock.

The shot of your tank from June looks awsome BTW
How about an updated full tank pic with the wall in place?

 

[ryan]

what i was thinking was using a invisible hairnet and put it over top of the ricca and slate would that be good enough for an anchor??and by the way glenc the tank is looking great

 

[dskidmore]

what i was thinking was using a invisible hairnet and put it over top of the ricca and slate would that be good enough for an anchor??

I think Travis wrote about that awhile ago, right after he sent me a big ball of ricca. He was recommending this for making covered round stones, but it should work with slate too.

Here it is.

 

[dskidmore]

Post some pics of that wall. love to see it

Took the camera to work today. I'll post picts tonight. I'm paying for my sins though. I haven't been topping off the tank, so when I took the pic you can see clearly where the moss stopped growing due to insufficient water. I also think I need to keep it more tightly pruned in order to have enough light for good growth on the bottom.

... So basically I have a thick, lush 2" wide band of moss growing on my moss wall.