Marimo/Moss ball

stoddern

Large Fish
Jul 26, 2009
153
0
0
Vermont
#1
I have recently started dosing my tank with seachum flourish, all my plants love it and in the 3 weeks I've been using it they have all gone ape and grown an inch or more, I'm loving it aswell as my tank now looks great however my moss ball seems to have started to die it has gone from a nice dark green to a pale green almost white around the edges and seems to have started to fall apart it has a hole in one side which has started to open up to the point where it is almost flat, I have read that they don't like much more then 77*F and my tank heater is around 79*F and isn't an adjustable one I don't think a 2 degree jump would make a huge differance, do you guys think the flourish is burning it? too much fertilizer?
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#2
Marimo is a type of thread algae, not a moss, and from what I've learned from those that have it, it likes high light and CO2 injection. I can't see why Flourish would hurt it. Is it being shaded too much by other plants that are growing faster now? Marimo grows very very slowly,
 

stoddern

Large Fish
Jul 26, 2009
153
0
0
Vermont
#3
it gets plenty of light I have a full sun light bulb and a high blue/red spectrum bulb. I have thought of co2 but can't afford the setup and don't want to deal with the mess of the yeast based home kit. is there another was to get co2 in the tank by adding like some pellet or something?
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#4
it gets plenty of light I have a full sun light bulb and a high blue/red spectrum bulb.
How many watts of light do you have over this tank? What sized tank? What else are you growing besides the Marimo?

I have thought of co2 but can't afford the setup and don't want to deal with the mess of the yeast based home kit. is there another was to get co2 in the tank by adding like some pellet or something?
Excel is a liquid source of carbon that some plants can use in place of CO2.
 

stoddern

Large Fish
Jul 26, 2009
153
0
0
Vermont
#5
I'm running a 20gal. with Anubias lanceolota and Water Wisteria. unfortanatlly my hood is only a single bulb 20w that I've been swapping the 2 bulbs back and forth in giving each a week at a time, I do a 30% water change atleast once a week and I declorinate the water I put back in, I test ammonia, nitrates and nitrites every 2-3 days and ph once a week they are all good, tank stays atleast 79* with heater ambiant air temp may raise it higher, it does not get direct sunlight and is in a cubby space that is recessed into a wall under some stairs so the space behind and under the tank stays atleast 10* cooler then the rest of the house. the anubias and the wisteria love all that is going on they each grow about a half ince a week.
 

#6
Moss/Algae Balls like to be rolled around from time to time. Take it out and roll it around, kinda like what you would do with clay to form a ball. It's ok to give it a good rinse every now and again to to keep them clean.
They tend to sit there and collect debris...

-O
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#7
Moss/Algae Balls like to be rolled around from time to time. Take it out and roll it around, kinda like what you would do with clay to form a ball. It's ok to give it a good rinse every now and again to to keep them clean.
They tend to sit there and collect debris...

-O

They certainly do like to collect debris! A friend of mine has three of these and said to me that they require the same rinsing/squeezing that her sponge filters do!

stoddern -- not sure about the amount of light they are getting. Those that I know that are keeping them are using more light. The friend that has the 20gallon long tank has 55watts over it, and it seems to do fine in that. The other folks I know have them in larger tanks with more light and some 'perched' on top of driftwood and large rocks, so getting more direct light than sitting on the bottom of the tank. All say they rinse them out in the water they are removing during water changes, then kinda 'roll em' around to keep the round and put them back in.
 

Aug 31, 2009
1
0
0
#8
i'm having the exact same problem. my marimo has like some sort of green outer layer and it looks disgusting. if you need a picture i would be happy to take one, but how do i get it back to normal?

more info: i accidentally left it alone for like a month cause i was out of town, when i came back, there was some white and a weird very green layer around it. its been next to my window, but theres not much sunlight that gets through, but it might have gotten a bit hot because its summer. the lid of the container was wide open.

is there someway to get it back to its original state? i tried cleaning and scrubbing, but that didnt work. (ps i scrubbed while rinsing it under water.)
 

stoddern

Large Fish
Jul 26, 2009
153
0
0
Vermont
#9
for the last week and a half I have had my moss ball sitting on a piece of drift wood that is stood on end to get the ball closer to the light, that seems to be working, I did a water change today and while rinsing the ball out it was firmer when squeezed and is looking abit greener deep down, the outer layer is still a white/pale green and pieces are coming off but my fish are eating these pieces, so my guess is that a good portion of the outer part has died and that the inner part is making a slow recovery
 

Nov 19, 2008
702
0
0
Des Moines, Iowa
#10
wow that is all weird. my girlfriends sister and her boyfriend started out with a moss ball at the beginning of this year. since then it has almost covered half of a 29g tank (which i got a huge handful because its not a ball anymore but spread kinda like algae does and has attached itself to many pieces) and also they have another 30g, only half full of water so about 15g, light never gets turned on and i dont think any fertilizer or anything at all and started with a really small piece of moss and now all of the water part is pretty much filled with the moss so lighting i dont know is a complete issue. i may be wrong and he may just have some unique water conditions that that moss can thrive in i dont know. just seems weird that it is said that they need high lighting.

i will say this though the ball that he had kinda unraveled and became like an algae carpet so there is NO ball
 

stoddern

Large Fish
Jul 26, 2009
153
0
0
Vermont
#11
thaqts because these are not moss at but a unique form of algae from japan, the reason it flatened out and became a carpet is because there isn't enough water flow for it to bump around and stay round.

it is found naturaly in both forms so it's fine unless you don't want it to cover you can always take some and roll it into a ball and help it reform over time and when you do your water changes just give it a good rinse and squeeze it like a spnge afew times to clean it and then lightly roll it like your making a meatball to help it stay as a ball
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#12
And what if i dont want it to stay as a ball, and ,say I kinda tie the ball to driftwood. theoretically would it spread out across the top of the driftwood? because thats the look im looking for, the moss(/algae) growing in a short but thick layer on top of the driftwood...is it possible like that?
 

Nov 19, 2008
702
0
0
Des Moines, Iowa
#14
And what if i dont want it to stay as a ball, and ,say I kinda tie the ball to driftwood. theoretically would it spread out across the top of the driftwood? because thats the look im looking for, the moss(/algae) growing in a short but thick layer on top of the driftwood...is it possible like that?
that is exactly what im trying to do in my tank but im also wanting it to cover the piece on the left side of my tank, the driftwood and the castle. my pic of my tank is in my avatar. over a period of time it will attach itself and stay there permanetly you just have to trim it so it doesnt get out of control
 

stoddern

Large Fish
Jul 26, 2009
153
0
0
Vermont
#15
I've been adding flourish for my plants which are doing great, I guess this is why my marimo ball is dieing. I'll try putting it in a mason jar for awhile see if it bounces back and if so I'll be putting it in the jar when I dose and keep it there for a few days till I do a water change. I'll let you guys know what happens.
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#16
thats nice, how is the mothod working out for you? is the ball starting to flatten out and cover with driftwood? what color is the marimo youre using? darkish lush green? or does it have the gross whitish blotches on the outside of it like some people have?
im guessing giving it fertilizer and more light would eliminate the whitish growth right?

EDIT: to the post above- so youre thinking fertilizing with liquid fertilizer will actually turn it pale and it will die? dammit...

and no i havent purchaced my marimo yet, i just taking precautions lol
 

Nov 19, 2008
702
0
0
Des Moines, Iowa
#17
thats nice, how is the mothod working out for you? is the ball starting to flatten out and cover with driftwood? what color is the marimo youre using? darkish lush green? or does it have the gross whitish blotches on the outside of it like some people have?
im guessing giving it fertilizer and more light would eliminate the whitish growth right?

EDIT: to the post above- so youre thinking fertilizing with liquid fertilizer will actually turn it pale and it will die? dammit...

and no i havent purchaced my marimo yet, i just taking precautions lol
i actually got a handful of A LOT of the run off of a ball from my girlfriends sister and her boyfriend. i just got it earlier this week so it will take a little while to attach itself but ive got it wedged in certain places. it is a dark green. i also have plant substrate. i also use quite frequently liquid fertilizer for plants. it helps them grow and be flourish with green. i dont know what fertilizer would cause a plant to die. hmm. to my understanding the moss is easy growing, and doesnt cause much work to maintain only if you dont want it to become too much which eventually it will reach that stage just how fast depends on how you have your tank setup
 

Nov 19, 2008
702
0
0
Des Moines, Iowa
#18
fertilizer and replacing your lighting to a plant bulb probably around 7000k spectrum will help out a lot and help the growth of plants. if you plant plants in your substrate your gonna wanna get plant substrate also because it has all the good nutrients your plants like a lot.

my only suggestion is if your gonna go planted ask lots of questions before you do it so you dont waste as much money and get a plan first then do it after it has been perfected or near what you are wanting to accomplish
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#19
I am not going to try any sort of moss or hairgrass for the time being, until i get my water to normal parameters (my GH is failing)
I do not have special plant substrate, and really cant get and use it. i do have root tabs and use those in the gravel for my plants as well. I will also start liquid fertilizing as sson as my water conditions calm down to normal. (and yes its still cycling with small traces of ammonia, no Nitrites, and about 5ppm Nitrates)

I bought a special plant growth lamp (ZooMed Flora-Glo) a while ago, right when i joined these forums. its 33 watts i think (i know too low for 40 gal) but its color spectrum is finely tuned to the needs of chlorophill a...or some bull like that. i do think it will be sufficient enough for the plants that im planning on putting in my tank. (except for the hairgrass, which is expected to grow much slower in this light as opposed to a higher wattage.

I am slowly doing this to make sure that i dont waste a bunch of money right away and end up with a dead tank. My driftwood, which i recently bought, has been soaking in my 10 gal for a few days now and being boiled every day to reduce the color affecting chemicals (forgot what theyre called...tannins?) I plan on soaking it in changed tank water for a few more weeks. ill place it in the tank right before i start adding grass and the moss.
 

Nov 19, 2008
702
0
0
Des Moines, Iowa
#20
I am not going to try any sort of moss or hairgrass for the time being, until i get my water to normal parameters (my GH is failing)
I do not have special plant substrate, and really cant get and use it. i do have root tabs and use those in the gravel for my plants as well. I will also start liquid fertilizing as sson as my water conditions calm down to normal. (and yes its still cycling with small traces of ammonia, no Nitrites, and about 5ppm Nitrates)

I bought a special plant growth lamp (ZooMed Flora-Glo) a while ago, right when i joined these forums. its 33 watts i think (i know too low for 40 gal) but its color spectrum is finely tuned to the needs of chlorophill a...or some bull like that. i do think it will be sufficient enough for the plants that im planning on putting in my tank. (except for the hairgrass, which is expected to grow much slower in this light as opposed to a higher wattage.

I am slowly doing this to make sure that i dont waste a bunch of money right away and end up with a dead tank. My driftwood, which i recently bought, has been soaking in my 10 gal for a few days now and being boiled every day to reduce the color affecting chemicals (forgot what theyre called...tannins?) I plan on soaking it in changed tank water for a few more weeks. ill place it in the tank right before i start adding grass and the moss.
yeah if i could do it all over again, i wouldve done a ton of reading, researching, and asking tons of questions. ive dumped between $1500-2000 in my tank since being set up a little over a year and a half ago and i couldve probably saved around 700 between fish and plants of whats compatible, and that if i knew what i was doing and did the research ahead of time. but i have learned a lot since then. this site and the people on here give some great advice and are honest and tell you the truth whether you like to hear it or not. glad to hear your not jumping in without knowing anything. smartest thing you could ever do. also i know that color spectrums from 4500k-9000k are meant for freshwater (plant lights) and above 9000k spectrum is saltwater. i also noticed most plants will accept and grow good under around a 7000k spectrum. watts i dont know just the spectrum. bag of plant substrate is what you will need when going fully planted or heavily planted. helps a lot. i think you can get a big bag for around $30. some people though use actual soil but i dont know the process to turn it into the substrate that you need. tons of DIY methods out there also that save tons of money