# Moss wall, How to make one!



## tang daddy

I thought I would post a pic by pic on how to construct a moss wall in 15mins!

I wanted to build a mesh wall for the tank so I did some research and found that the local craft store was my best bet!

Off to Michaels I went to buy a few black mesh mats and some suction cups for the moss wall...

These suction cups were somewhat pricey, but I needed it so I bought it. 

The black mats were .89, the suction cups were $2.29 per pack.

I decided to use staples to hold the 2 pieces of mesh together as I dont think it will hurt or contaminate a freswater tank if it was saltwater then forsure it would rust!

suction cups


















mesh with precut holes, I decided to use only 3 as the pack came in 3 suction cups.I have faith these are strong enough to hold up the mesh...


























It was simple just layed the flame moss on


























then covered the other mesh overtop and staple!


















took less time then driving to the store to pick up the supplies.


----------



## Grete_J

Zip ties/zap straps!! It's a pain in the butt, tedious as heck but secures it really well, especially if you weave the straps through a few holes in the craft mesh before "locking" it


----------



## Petah

I remember reading that someone use some tool to melt the plastic edges together... i forgot what tool... maybe an iron will work? 
That would speed up the process. I however, did it with a fishing line... took awhile to do.


----------



## airbaggedmazda

I use gutter mesh, I put the one suction cup in each corner in one of the mesh holes and then put the moss behind the mesh, stick it to the glass and in a couple of weeks the moss grows though it and hides the mesh.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

You can use a hot glue gun to glue it together. Find someone who's into crafts and they'll have one. Or you can use aquaglue for your coral frags.


----------



## tang daddy

I have a hot glue gun, but I also have a staple wonder how that will work long term in water.... Thanks for the feedback!


----------



## crazy72

I remember reading a thread where some forum members had used some ready-made mesh from Michaels I believe. I'm pretty sure that Stuart (CRS Fan) was one of the members. PM him and he'll tell you.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

The stapler may work, but not sure if you can clamp it together tight enough. Actually some of the plastic coated twist ties may work good, you can get it tight and clip off the ends. I also like the zip tie idea too as you can get the tiny ones and clip off the ends.


----------



## tang daddy

I am using the knitting mats from michaels, they're cheap 1 for 89 cents... Wish me luck I am going to do one tonight.... Anyone know where I can get cheap suction cups locally?


----------



## herefishyfishy

tang daddy said:


> I also have a staple wonder how that will work long term in water.... Thanks for the feedback!





tang daddy said:


> I am using the knitting mats from michaels, they're cheap 1 for 89 cents...


I still have a moss wall that I put together over 1 year ago with that mesh from Michael's and held together with regular swingline staples.

I only put 4 staples in it, one at the centre of each edge. It has never fallen apart. And despite initially only covering 65% of the mesh area with thinly stretched moss, it has grown in well and I now cannot even see the mesh at all.

It's a rewarding project. Good luck!


----------



## tang daddy

Cool fishy fishy thanks for the feedback, what are swingline staples? Do they use a regular stapler?


----------



## crazy72

What moss are you going to use, btw? Flame?


----------



## tang daddy

crazy72 said:


> What moss are you going to use, btw? Flame?


Was that a wild guess or you knew?

Yes I am going to use flame, some say it's not good to use flame as it will grow up towards the light but others say it can be done with regular trimming... The best is to use weeping moss but for a standard 8x11 inch mat I don't have enough weeping moss.

I will use flame for the mat and I have some long Mazanita that will have tufts of weeping moss on it. I am really looking toward to the new shrimp tank!


----------



## crazy72

tang daddy said:


> Was that a wild guess or you knew?
> 
> Yes I am going to use flame, some say it's not good to use flame as it will grow up towards the light but others say it can be done with regular trimming... The best is to use weeping moss but for a standard 8x11 inch mat I don't have enough weeping moss.
> 
> I will use flame for the mat and I have some long Masonite that will have tufts of weeping moss on it. I am really looking toward to the new shrimp tank!


See? You can't hide anything from me. 

I didn't know of course, but I thought that flame moss was the best for moss walls. You're saying that weeping moss is better though. Could be.

Good luck with it. I don't have one myself, but I find a nice moss wall can be really beautiful.


----------



## tang daddy

crazy72 said:


> See? You can't hide anything from me.
> 
> I didn't know of course, but I thought that flame moss was the best for moss walls. You're saying that weeping moss is better though. Could be.
> 
> Good luck with it. I don't have one myself, but I find a nice moss wall can be really beautiful.


I wasn't trying to hide anything... I swear!!!

If I was tho I would probably use my lightning ninja skills...

I will be posting pics of my diy moss wall here aswell as the tank journal!


----------



## herefishyfishy

tang daddy said:


> Cool fishy fishy thanks for the feedback, what are swingline staples? Do they use a regular stapler?


Oh, swingline is just a common brand of regularly sized office supply staples. I just meant that it wasn't anything special about the staples I used.

GL!


----------



## davej

I just use the smallest black zap straps. Cheap, simple and wont rust.
I used some Tropica weeping moss that I got from Aquariums West.
They may still have some.
Took less than 10 minutes to make.
Used a single Suction cup in the middle, put a little slice in the nub out the back and zapped it on as well.
Now the waiting game for the moss to start growing out, after a week can see a few just starting to poke out.


----------



## couch

Remember a moss wall can get heavy. It is much easier putting suction cups on now than when everything grows in. At least 2 maybe even 4 (each corner) would have you forgo future problems. 

Rich


----------



## bowman00

My moss wall is almost full grown and is freaking awesome! I used black mesh little bit bigger holes than in the picture above this post. I used 2 *BIG* suctions cups, Zap straps are a *MUST*! Here is a picture of mine








Let me know if you have any questions buddy


----------



## roadrunner

I was wondering if somebody mixed two types of moss for this project.


----------



## Grete_J

davej said:


> I just use the smallest black zap straps. Cheap, simple and wont rust.
> 
> Took less than 10 minutes to make.
> Used a single Suction cup in the middle, put a little slice in the nub out the back and zapped it on as well.
> ]


I freakin' wish! The moss wall for my axie tank took me over an hour to do a strip 5 feet long.... and since I don't have a light strip on that tank, it's taking forever to slowly grow through


----------



## tang daddy

Updated with pics for anyone wanting to build one... On page 1


----------



## InfraredDream

That looks so cool! I am thinking of making one for my puffer tank. Considering how much they love to sleep in the moss 
I am worried about the staples though. I'll try to use the glue gun for that.
Thanks for the great idea. I am not sure what kind of moss I am having, but any kind should work, right? How long it takes to really see it poke from the mesh?


----------



## TomC

tang daddy said:


> The best is to use weeping moss


 What is weeping moss? Anyone know if it is available locally or on the internet?

EDIT: I just bought a small clump on ebay for $5 including postage.


----------



## davej

TomC said:


> What is weeping moss? Anyone know if it is available locally or on the internet?
> 
> EDIT: I just bought a small clump on ebay for $5 including postage.


I got some from Aquariums West a few weeks ago.


----------



## Grete_J

tang daddy said:


> I decided to use staples to hold the 2 pieces of mesh together as I dont think it will hurt or contaminate a freswater tank if it was saltwater then forsure it would rust!


Just an FYI, but over time any iron or it's alloy (ie. steel staples) will corrode or oxidize due to the oxygen and water. Salt in water would speed up the process but I've seen SS wool, screws, etc... corrode and rust in a few days.

Zap straps wouldn't be that much more work. Check out my DIY moss wall http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/65-gallon-cichlid-tank-11914/index2.html that took about a half hour for a 3' long wall


----------



## tang daddy

Grete_J said:


> Just an FYI, but over time any iron or it's alloy (ie. steel staples) will corrode or oxidize due to the oxygen and water. Salt in water would speed up the process but I've seen SS wool, screws, etc... corrode and rust in a few days.
> 
> Zap straps wouldn't be that much more work. Check out my DIY moss wall http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/65-gallon-cichlid-tank-11914/index2.html that took about a half hour for a 3' long wall


Thanks for the input, so far after 2 days the staples are fine.....
I do t think they use iron in staples, maybe steel but either way along as it's not copper the shrimps will be safe!

I will be updating the situation on staples every week so people will know if they are harmful to the shrimps!


----------



## iluvfsh

Can this be done with Java moss?


----------



## tang daddy

iluvfsh said:


> Can this be done with Java moss?


Yes, any moss really.... Even fissiden and minipellia!


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Iron is fine. Iron oxide has low solubility in water so once it's rusted, it's stable, unless you are streaming O2 at it. Copper is a bit different.


----------



## tang daddy

2wheelsx2 said:


> Iron is fine. Iron oxide has low solubility in water so once it's rusted, it's stable, unless you are streaming O2 at it. Copper is a bit different.


Thanks for clarifying Gary!

Last I checked staples did not use copper....


----------



## 2wheelsx2

I think you're plenty safe. I use push pins to hold my java fern and anubias on wood without problems. I did that until I got some aquaglue.


----------



## O.C.D Fishies

I can't wait to see how long till the moss starts growing out, I am going to have to try make one now. Looks awesome so far


----------



## tang daddy

O.C.D Fishies said:


> I can't wait to see how long till the moss starts growing out, I am going to have to try make one now. Looks awesome so far


Its in low light so it may take awhile.... Unfortunately I have no space in my other tanks.


----------



## InfraredDream

Thanks for the great idea and discussion. Can't wait to have some time to go to Michaels and make one for my puffer. She will LOVE it  I always wanted to put something on the back side of her tank. And I guess that is the best way to keep the moss in that tank, right now it is just attached with a few rocks.


----------



## rgrling

tang daddy said:


> Yes, any moss really.... Even fissiden and minipellia!


Has anyone had good results building a wall with plants other than moss? tang daddy mentioned fissiden and minipellia, and I've read elsewhere that riccia also works.

I like the idea of a wall but would like the extensions to look short and compact, not long and droopy like some mosses (i.e. java).


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Riccia will be a mess as it doesn't attach itself. I had Riccia in the past and it was a nightmare, getting into everything.


----------



## davej

2wheelsx2 said:


> Riccia will be a mess as it doesn't attach itself. I had Riccia in the past and it was a nightmare, getting into everything.


Second that, had riccia in a planted tank in the past. Would NEVER do it again. Could never seem to get rid of it, as annoying as duck weed.


----------



## rgrling

Note to self: Avoid Riccia like the plague.


----------



## neven

2wheelsx2 said:


> Riccia will be a mess as it doesn't attach itself. I had Riccia in the past and it was a nightmare, getting into everything.


OH GOD! i hear you on that man, i had it in my first real scape.... only time i got rid of it was when i tore the tank down. I went in asking for glosso, and the king ed guy recommended riccia hair netted to slate... well it kept getting lose and when it gets bushy enough trimming it was annoying to clean up.


----------



## roadrunner

Tang daddy, how is your moss wall doing? any new pics?


----------



## tang daddy

Hey, it's doing well new shoots are slowly peeking out. Hopefully it will be covered in a few months. I heard it takes 4-6 months for it to fully cover.

Also the staples havent rusted yet and it has been 2 weeks!


----------

