Question: Idea for a Moss ceiling

Greetings all,

After doing some reading I have realised that my tank light (60 cm 20 watt tube) may be a little on the powerful side.

Shortly after finding that out I read this thread on creating a moss wall:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...ubstrate/71451-how-create-java-moss-wall.html

30 mins later and with some fiddling in powerpoint I have come up with an idea.

I would love some feedback on whether people think it's good, bad, ugly or just plain won't work for some reason.

The ceiling will be held in place by resting on suctioned hooks. Also planning on having some kind of hinge mechanism on one side, not sure how this will work til I go to the hardware store and have a look around.

The pros as I see it are:

Shade for Axolotls
Still keep Nitrate munching plants
Potential to house shrimp in upper layer? I imagine they will move around a fair bit but still...
Axo's still have access to surface if necessary

Cons I can think of:
Might be a pain when trying to vaccuum tank/feeding time

Cheers in advance,

-D-

Another way to lower light intensity that might be easier is floating plants. I had a little bit of duckweed that got into my tank and a few weeks without funneling it out and the majority of the surface of my tank water was covered in duckweed. I've heard water lettuce is pretty prolific as well, and it's not as thin

I think you would get very tired of the mesh cieling. I had a wire lid that covered everything in my tank, but it was a pain in the butt to remove to feed/water changes, and I ended up breaking it on accident. But while it was together it was not fun to have. Another potential problem I see is that your water level will drop if you have fans on your tank to help lower the temps. I have to do daily top offs, so you would have to put the mesh low enough to where the evaporation wouldn't cause the water level to go below your moss ceiling.

I've had java moss before, and it grows just about anywhere, so I don't see why your idea wouldn't work, it would just annoy the heck out of me

Heya,

Thanks for the feedback :happy:

Another potential problem I see is that your water level will drop if you have fans on your tank to help lower the temps.

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I have a refrigerated chiller not fans, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem

Another way to lower light intensity that might be easier is floating plants. I had a little bit of duckweed that got into my tank and a few weeks without funneling it out and the majority of the surface of my tank water was covered in duckweed. I've heard water lettuce is pretty prolific as well, and it's not as thin

Click to expand...

Weeds Australia - Weed Identification - Water Lettuce

I think Water lettuce may have been declared a noxious weed in Australia so that one's out but I'll have a chat to my local Aquarium place to see what sort of options for floating plants they might have.

I think you would get very tired of the mesh cieling. I had a wire lid that covered everything in my tank, but it was a pain in the butt to remove to feed/water changes, and I ended up breaking it on accident. But while it was together it was not fun to have.

Click to expand...

I think you might be right but I'm hoping the hole in the middle will mean I only have to raise it for cleaning (hopefully this will be offset by how much easier it will be to clean without bastard plants to vaccuum around )

Does the Java moss 'shed' much? Are the shrimp a good idea?

Cheers,

-D-

I agree, it would probably end up being a pain.
But it is still very creative, and would work if you decide to go through with it. Java Moss breaks easily, so I believe it would tend to shed. It also sinks, so would end up on your substrate unless it is very close-fitting wire.

Duckweed is very fast growing, and will do well.
What about water-sprite or hornwart? They are both floating plants, do well in low light, but can also be planted if you happen to change your mind. They prefer tropical water, but I reckon they will be alright.