The Medieval 12G Aquatop Bookshelf Tank build for a Betta Rescue and Guppies!

Patrick_G · November 22, 2022

It'll be interesting to see how that S Repens does with the dry start method. My hunch is that you won't want to cut it up like the MC.

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 22, 2022

On 11/22/2022 at 6:27 AM, Minanora said:

You know, you could process some moss and paint it onto your decorations and dry start those as well!

Yes! I just saw this on YouTube this morning and I think I want to try as I've never been able to get moss to grow in my tanks (always died 😞 ). I'll have to find some though so maybe I'll venture out to my LFS on Friday and take a look. I'm putting down an awful lot of money for plants I've failed at before this is the last time!😄

@redfish I am using other tank lights on my 3 standard tanks that do the 24hr modes and the morning ramp up and night time modes are really nice.

@Patrick_G yes the Repens I've never tried. I think I'm just going to put it in one section of the tank and I may only try to separate it into 3 or 4 at most sections. I'll see when I get the plant out of the pot.

Anyone have suggestions on a moss?

Edited November 22, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

Chick-In-Of-TheSea · November 22, 2022

Nitrate kit bottle #1 - put a drop on a rock; if it fizzes, rock unsafe for tank. No fizz = safe.

On 11/22/2022 at 11:36 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I've never been able to get moss to grow in my tanks (always died 😞

Try Christmas moss! It does well for me. Stays nice & green.

Minanora · November 22, 2022

I'm a fan of mini pellia moss on rocks. Riccardia chamedryfolia. There's a lot of options though. Pellia is an easier one to grow. But Christmas moss is pretty as well. It's all about what you like though.

Flame moss is a very hardy moss. Taxiphyllum 'Flame'.

I can grow moss, but I'm better at growing algae on moss than just moss alone. 🤣

TheSwissAquarist · November 22, 2022

I just take the cheapest moss, because my theory is that the moss is hardy otherwise it wouldn’t be easily mass produced, which pushes the price down…😁

Edited November 22, 2022 by TheSwissAquarist

Chick-In-Of-TheSea · November 22, 2022

@nabokovfan87 has a cool moss attached to his driftwood. I’m not sure what kind it is though.

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 22, 2022

Clearly I'm motivated to just get this project going. I bought Java Moss per some recommendations online for easy grow- should be at my house Saturday. @Chick-In-Of-TheSea what do you do to "process" it? One guy on YouTube said he chopped it up "like cilantro" and painted it on.

I'm thinking of just putting it on my spider wood for tree "foliage" Which means when I get home that piece of wood is going in water ASAP.

Chick-In-Of-TheSea · November 22, 2022

On 11/22/2022 at 1:19 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

. @Chick-In-Of-TheSea what do you do to "process" it? One guy on YouTube said he chopped it up "like cilantro" and painted it on.

I don’t do well with Java moss. It lives, it grows, but it’s brown and doesn’t look nice. Mine came on a mesh from aquarium co op and I just sank it to the bottom of the tank.

For moss I soak in seltzer water for a few hours, no more than 3. Uncovered in the dark. That kills pests and algae. (See Reverse Respiration thread for more info..) Then you can superglue it to driftwood, rock, or decor. (I haven’t done a dry start or the chop up)

I do well with Christmas moss. I process that the same way and with all conditions the same, it stays green.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 22, 2022

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea ah ok, well since I've sucked at all of them it's not going to matter! Hahah! I saw the guy do it so I'm going to try it. What I can say is the place I'm getting it from, and the dry start method I'm using- I do't need reverse respiration. Plants won't be in water for several weeks and these are grown out of water (the ones I've ordered).

Minanora · November 22, 2022

Process it in a blender or food processor with a bit of water or milk. Then paint it onto wherever you want it to grow. This is only possible with the dry start method. No joke you put it in a blender lol

nabokovfan87 · November 22, 2022

On 11/22/2022 at 9:09 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

@nabokovfan87 has a cool moss attached to his driftwood. I’m not sure what kind it is though.

Taiwan moss I think.

All moss is pretty similar, but depending if you like the look of flame moss, weeping moss, Christmas moss, etc. Small variations and it's just whatever is available locally or that you can order that you like.

On 11/22/2022 at 11:21 AM, Minanora said:

Process it in a blender or food processor with a bit of water or milk. Then paint it onto wherever you want it to grow. This is only possible with the dry start method. No joke you put it in a blender lol

They sell hand blenders, manual ones, might be a good fishroom tool. I just use aquascaping scissors and cut it 1/8-1/4" long.

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 22, 2022

@Minanora @nabokovfan87, thanks! I think I'm just going to chop it up and then add some water and attach via "painting". I have a food processor but not sure with a small amount I could get it to be the right consistency anyway. I've got knife skills.

Looks like it would work either way based on both your experiences so I'll be in the middle! 😄

nabokovfan87 · November 22, 2022

On 11/22/2022 at 1:51 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I've got knife skills.

Yeah, so easy. Small dice that moss! 😂

Bonus points for a chiffonade

Odd Duck · November 22, 2022

For the moss you might want to scan through my 100 G angelfish thread. The Vesicularia group will grow much faster but doesn’t always keep a good hold, especially on hard objects. They do better when they can latch onto foam, very soft woods like cholla, etc. Those are the Christmas, Java, Taiwan, flame, anchor, weeping, etc, group. They can grow fast enough to become high maintenance.

Susswassertang is beautiful but will do the same thing, holds decent to softer stuff, not always well to harder stuff and is a bit more fragile than most mosses. Technically, it’s a fern in a kind of weird state called a prothallium or gametophyte (had to look those terms up again). I’m not sure if it’s definitively proven yet, but it’s thought to be essentially an immature stage of the Loma fern, Lomariopsis lineata.

Cameroon moss (Plagiochilaceae ‘Cameroon’) and willow moss (Fontanalis antipyretica), especially the giant willow moss variety, can get quite long strands and is much bigger scale than the Java moss family. I haven’t really tested it’s holding ability, yet.

Fissidens species will stay much more polite but will take MUCH longer to get where you have good coverage. My Fissidens in the angel tank is just now showing promise that it will get where I want it eventually. It’s still months away from where I really want it, but it’s overcoming the hair algae fairly well, finally. [I really need to get new pics but lights are on siesta right now.] The strands don’t get crazy long but are soft enough to gently wave in any current and give a “wind in the grain field” effect. Mine strands are not that long, yet. 😆

Physcomitrium hookeri (Hooker’s Moss) and the similar Jungermannia truncata (Jade Lotus Moss) and Distichophyllum ‘Maiberae’ usually hold on pretty well, can get quite long strands but grows slow enough to not take over everything unless you ignore it for about a year.

Don’t anybody get thinking I’m really this smart. I go down rabbit holes, and usually remember good tidbits, but I know how to do a google search and cross check multiple references so I can spit out the binomials. 😆 The “holding on” information is partially based on reading but all are confirmed with personal experience because I’m stupid fascinated with unusual mosses.

If anybody can tell me how to get rid of Wolffia without damaging some of my favorite mosses, I’m all ears. I only have it left in the 10 G that has some of my best mosses. Excel did nothing to slow it down and neither endlers or guppies eat nearly enough of it to make a dent. The surface skimmer motor itself got contaminated with it and it made no difference on how much was present, anyway. Now I have guppy fry in that tank (thinking more guppies might help) and I don’t want to work the net so much because I’ll be catching tiny guppy fry. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Hope some of this moss word vomit helps.

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 22, 2022

@Odd Duck Thanks much for the info! I guess it's a little late now for me because I already pulled the trigger on the Java. I'm going to paint it on the Spiderwood (if I can get it to grow longer that would be awesome!) and with your info I will also try some of the rocks, maybe even where I plant to put the EcoComplete as it's rather porous and grippy. Then I guess we'll see where the Moss grows (or doesn't).

I have Subwassertang actually, and it's in 2 of my tanks. I love the stuff. I fully plan on using it in the new tank. What I was thinking in the Medieval theme is buy (because I'm not a DIY'er for most things I like stuff to look pretty and most of the time I can't make these sorts of things look pretty) some suction shelves I see on Etsy, designed as a Betta shelf or Moss shelf I will thread some of the Subwassertang through it and let it hang like creepy seaweed/neglected ruins.

Edited November 22, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

Odd Duck · November 22, 2022

On 11/22/2022 at 5:43 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Betta shelf or Moss shelf I will thread some of the Subwassertang through it and let it hang like creepy seaweed/neglected ruins.

Love this idea! The Java moss will get you results WAY faster, for sure. I started my moss on Feb 21 and it’s finally now getting to where it looks like something I did on purpose rather than just algae. I’m a fairly lazy aquarist and needed the low maintenance but I also wanted the look of Fissidens. Somebody on here (I don’t remember who) posted a pic of their moss wall of Fiss and I loved it and had to make a try at that effect.

Odd Duck · November 23, 2022

Just took a couple pics of where my Fissidens on my branches/“roots” is now. Glass is really dirty! 😆 😝 And pay no attention to the photobombers! Or the black beard algae. 😳 You can get a feel for what it will (hopefully) end up looking like. I won’t mind some wood peeking through but I’m hoping for eventually having nearly full coverage with the moss.

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 23, 2022

On 11/22/2022 at 5:34 PM, Odd Duck said:

And pay no attention to the photobombers! Or the black beard algae. 😳 You can get a feel for what it will (hopefully) end up looking like.

LOL! I wouldn't have seen any of it, really! Well, but for the photobombers- who could ignore them?

Ok Cool. So you dry started that tank or at least the moss? I really love the look I hope I can accomplish this!

Soaking the Spiderwood! - but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to strap this baby down!

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 23, 2022

On 11/22/2022 at 3:53 PM, Odd Duck said:

fairly lazy aquarist and needed the low maintenance

Oh and this, yes, me too!

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 24, 2022

So it begins....

Edited November 24, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

TheSwissAquarist · November 24, 2022

Here goes for another fun journal (&tank) !
I’m all ears…😁

Minanora · November 24, 2022

ORD 😍😍😍😍💚💚💚💚🏯🤺⚔️

Huzzah!! Going to be a great day tomorrow. I looks forward to checking in. 😊

xXInkedPhoenixX · November 24, 2022

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

The initial build for the Medieval tank is done! I am stil waiting for delivery of the Java Moss to paint the surfaces of hardscape and the Spiderwood. I don't show it below but I did a makeshift thing to tie down the Spiderwood because it is going to want to float- It probably won't work but we'll deal with the issue when we get to it. Hoping over the weeks being in water and getting sprayed it will cooperate but I won't count on it. For your visual pleasure not a lot of text in this post, just pictures with small captions! Enjoy, and welcome to the Medieval tank!: