tying down plants.HELP

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phanizzle

AC Members
Jun 27, 2007
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hey everybody i would like to know if i can use the string for sewing to tie down moss or other plants on top my drift wood? :help:
has anyone tried it? will it affect the water?
 
I use 100% cotton thread to tie my plants. It rots (and/or is eaten by the snails) in about a month, which is generally long enough for anything to root itself quite nicely.
 
Fishing line works too, and doesn't disintegrate as fast, if you need longer-term attachment.
 
Go ahead and use sewing thread. I used it to tie my moss to slate tiles and it still hasn't disintegrated and that was months and months ago.
 
To elaborate a little, any of the aforementioned will work, some are more permanent than others.

  1. Cotton thread will be the least permanent as it dissolves after some time.
  2. Rubber bands can be used and will also eventually break down under water, but not very quickly. If I use rubber bands I snip them and pull them out once the plant has taken root.
  3. Sewing thread (typically a synthetic) will stay in place for quite a while and can also be snipped.
  4. Hairnets, unravelled bath poofs, and various plastic netting (like the ones that hold chocolate coins or marbles) are fairly permanent: they can be used for plants such as mosses and riccia that will eventually grow through the netting and cover it up, but not for ferns and the like.
  5. Fishing line is the most permanent, and ends up being the one I use the most, partly because it is so easy to conceal. I have snipped it once it served its purpose, but often just leave it in place as it can be a handy place to grab with tweazers to pull or move the item it's attached to.
I've been making Riccia rocks lately and tried both hairnets and fishing line. The fishing line is by far the most versatile as I can use as much or as little as necessary when wrapping, and it allows me to not squish the plant down as much. The hairnet was tough because initially, even if you stretch it out, it smashes the whole mess to the object and looks pretty silly until if and when the plant grows out. I even tried pulling some pieces out of the holes to improve appearance a bit and train the plant where to go, but found this frustrating. Securing the net was also a bit odd, as I considered tying the net on the underside of the rock by threading fishing line through, but decided on just spinning the whole thing, tying a not and cutting of the excess. Meh.

Hope this helps and Feel free to add to or critique this. We can add this to our "Aquascaping Tips and Tricks" sticky thread when I finally get around to PM'ing Mgamer with details.


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Sewing thread can be cotton, rayon, or nylon, or most anything. Cotton sewing thread is more comon. Nylon, which is what fishing line is made of, will not dissolve. Cotton, or any natural fiber thread will dissolve.

None of them pose any threat to fish or animals other than them possibly getting tangled in it if its loose
 
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