Hi everyone! I’m new to this site as well as planted tanks. I’ve fallen in love with all your tanks and have decided to plant mine. To start I’m staying low light and have a good selection of low light plants including Java Moss. I discovered something by accident that I hadn’t’ read anywhere concerning moss carpet mats.
1. I placed a thin layer of java moss between two needle point mats.
2. The holes seemed too small, so on the upper piece I made them larger leaving the sheet with the smaller holes on the bottom.
3. Using fishing line I tightly sewed the top sheet to the bottom all around the edges and a few places in the center. I wouldn’t say they were smashed but were pretty tight….actually they were pretty smashed. I felt maybe I shouldn’t have sewed them together so tight but as it turned out that was probably best.
4. I tied a few rocks to the bottom of the matt to weigh it down and waited.
After about 2 weeks the moss was just starting to come through the holes in a few places. I rearranged my tank and realized my mat wouldn’t fit. Since I was getting tired of looking at that ugly mesh with just a few strands of moss poking through, I decided to give it up and wrap a few rocks with the moss.
I took the mat apart and what I found was that although my moss had not grown up outside of the mat, it had been very busy growing together within. What I had was a perfect sheet of moss carpet/fabric that held together. I cut some of it to wrap around rocks. They were covered by a nice thin even neat layer. I had a good piece left over that I laid down near the driftwood on a little hillside. I found the moss without the plastic mat tended not to float as bad. I tucked one edge under the driftwood, another under a grouping of moss rocks and the outer edge I held down by a few small rocks.
I’m no longer looking at that ugly mesh. This version is much more pliable. It’s very strong no pieces are breaking away. After a few days I should be able to remove the rock weights. It’s beautiful. I have this soft grassy little hillside leading up to my driftwood where more moss is growing. I don’t think I could have achieved that look with the stiff plastic sheets. This moss carpet follows the lay of the substrate very well. It just looks so much more natural. If I had laid my gravel down flat and even the plastic mats would have probably worked fine but I’ve got high and low spots.
I think with my low light it would have taken a long time to cover that mesh evenly if ever. I read many articles and watched a few videos about making moss carpets. No one ever mentioned that the mats could be opened and the moss removed. If your making a moss wall I can see where the plastic mesh could add stability. If you need large, pliable even sheets of moss to cover driftwood, rocks, substrate etc. you should give this method a try. just be sure to remove the mesh before the moss gets too firmly attached to it. Two weeks seemed to be perfect the sheet of moss was easily pulled away from it’s mesh frame in one large tightly woven piece. In fact the sheet within the plastic mesh was greener than the moss I had under a hairnet on my driftwood.
I’m hoping I will be able to lift out the piece in one mass for trimming later. It will most likely take some gravel with it but I‘ll work that out later. I didn’t get too carried away and just did a small area near the driftwood. I am new to this so we’ll see.
When I saw that nice even thin sheet of moss fabric I had to share. Maybe this is something many of you have already discovered but with all my searches I haven’t come across this method. I’ve seen moss just anchored down in clumps which imo looks messy, I’ve seen moss tied to slate which can only lay flat or at angles and I’ve seen the plastic mesh method which is too stiff and buoyant for my needs. I’ve gotten exactly the look I wanted after only two weeks in a low light tank. Since all the moss was held flat and tight it has grown evenly and looks like a freshly cut lawn. Wish I had pictures but I’ve got no digital camera. Any advice/tips on trimming would be greatly appreciated.
1. I placed a thin layer of java moss between two needle point mats.
2. The holes seemed too small, so on the upper piece I made them larger leaving the sheet with the smaller holes on the bottom.
3. Using fishing line I tightly sewed the top sheet to the bottom all around the edges and a few places in the center. I wouldn’t say they were smashed but were pretty tight….actually they were pretty smashed. I felt maybe I shouldn’t have sewed them together so tight but as it turned out that was probably best.
4. I tied a few rocks to the bottom of the matt to weigh it down and waited.
After about 2 weeks the moss was just starting to come through the holes in a few places. I rearranged my tank and realized my mat wouldn’t fit. Since I was getting tired of looking at that ugly mesh with just a few strands of moss poking through, I decided to give it up and wrap a few rocks with the moss.
I took the mat apart and what I found was that although my moss had not grown up outside of the mat, it had been very busy growing together within. What I had was a perfect sheet of moss carpet/fabric that held together. I cut some of it to wrap around rocks. They were covered by a nice thin even neat layer. I had a good piece left over that I laid down near the driftwood on a little hillside. I found the moss without the plastic mat tended not to float as bad. I tucked one edge under the driftwood, another under a grouping of moss rocks and the outer edge I held down by a few small rocks.
I’m no longer looking at that ugly mesh. This version is much more pliable. It’s very strong no pieces are breaking away. After a few days I should be able to remove the rock weights. It’s beautiful. I have this soft grassy little hillside leading up to my driftwood where more moss is growing. I don’t think I could have achieved that look with the stiff plastic sheets. This moss carpet follows the lay of the substrate very well. It just looks so much more natural. If I had laid my gravel down flat and even the plastic mats would have probably worked fine but I’ve got high and low spots.
I think with my low light it would have taken a long time to cover that mesh evenly if ever. I read many articles and watched a few videos about making moss carpets. No one ever mentioned that the mats could be opened and the moss removed. If your making a moss wall I can see where the plastic mesh could add stability. If you need large, pliable even sheets of moss to cover driftwood, rocks, substrate etc. you should give this method a try. just be sure to remove the mesh before the moss gets too firmly attached to it. Two weeks seemed to be perfect the sheet of moss was easily pulled away from it’s mesh frame in one large tightly woven piece. In fact the sheet within the plastic mesh was greener than the moss I had under a hairnet on my driftwood.
I’m hoping I will be able to lift out the piece in one mass for trimming later. It will most likely take some gravel with it but I‘ll work that out later. I didn’t get too carried away and just did a small area near the driftwood. I am new to this so we’ll see.
When I saw that nice even thin sheet of moss fabric I had to share. Maybe this is something many of you have already discovered but with all my searches I haven’t come across this method. I’ve seen moss just anchored down in clumps which imo looks messy, I’ve seen moss tied to slate which can only lay flat or at angles and I’ve seen the plastic mesh method which is too stiff and buoyant for my needs. I’ve gotten exactly the look I wanted after only two weeks in a low light tank. Since all the moss was held flat and tight it has grown evenly and looks like a freshly cut lawn. Wish I had pictures but I’ve got no digital camera. Any advice/tips on trimming would be greatly appreciated.
