# Leca Balls and moss?



## njfish77 (Aug 5, 2006)

I just set up my 56 L30xW18xH24 and i was wondering how much of this i need and how deep should it be? I was thinking of the 1/2 a cubic foot. Would that be enough. Also what moss do you guys use to layer the bottoms of you tanks?


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Half a cubic foot will give you a layer 1.5" deep. I'd probably go with double that personally, but it's a matter of prefference. 

Moss, as in the green stuff that looks pretty, or moss as in the light tan stuff people use like substrate. Green moss is pretty much any moss that will grow in a viv, and it's hit and miss to say the best. The tan stuff is long fiber sphagnium moss, you can get it online at orchid places or even some viv stores, or at local places like nurseries, garden centers, or hardware stores like Lowe's/HD.


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## njfish77 (Aug 5, 2006)

Which is better the sphagnium moss or the live assorted mosses?


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## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

Hi, I have both the sphagnum and live moss. The live green moss is really the way to go for looks and a comfortable place for the frogs to sit. Like what was said above it can be tricky to grow. Most of my substrait is covered with live tropical moss I purchased from Black Jungle, I believe they are currently out of it. This kind of moss has been working about the best for me anyway. I use the sphagnum moss for touch ups or filling in holes or whatever. John


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## njfish77 (Aug 5, 2006)

I was thinking of ordering that green moss in the bale for the bottom. Is that fine?


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Itll be fine, but it may be the green spagnum moss, which *probably wont grow, but I have seen that take off in some peoples' tanks. Personally, I would just get a couple bags of the moss form Home Depot, then cover the bottom with that. If you want live moss, get a square foot from a vendor, split it into smaller pieces, and spread it around your tank to see where it will grow. If the moss doesn't grow there, just use leaf litter. Im personally a fan of magnolia leaves.


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## cobaltsinoh (Mar 13, 2006)

Might I also suggest looking around the forum for a Moss Milkshake. I've done this with just some moss I found around my house here in Cleveland. I'll post some pictures of it when I get a chance tomorrow or later tonight. It seems to grow incredibly well. 


Tony


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## njfish77 (Aug 5, 2006)

Thanks. I livee in new jersey but by my dads house its very woodsy so i may be able to pick some from up there but i dont know if that will work so well.


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## cobaltsinoh (Mar 13, 2006)

This is approximately 1.5 to 2 months of growing. Would have worked better i think if I used more moss when I made it. I was just toying around and got really good results. I think I'll be doing it again on my 35G tank and can take more pictures of the pocess this time if people want to see it.


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

You were planning on putting the moss on top of the LECA right? 

One thing to think about with respect to growing live moss, is that, for the most part, moss will only grow in slightly acidic environments. LECAs tend to have some “basic” buffering capacity, so live mosses rarely grow well when they are directly on top of LECA. A small layer of sphagnum , hardwood mulch or other substrate will help the live moss to thrive. Most mosses also require fairly strong light.


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## njfish77 (Aug 5, 2006)

No im not going to put it on the LECA balls im putting down LECA, Dendro bedding, and some sphagnum moss to patch up some blank areas of the tank.


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

Java moss is also a good one, but be prepared for it to take over your viv. It grows well in water or soil, on wood and on top of your coco huts. It looks pretty nice. ( I think it might be the same thing in cobaltsinoh's pic.)

I have heard from most people that the tropical moss from Black Jungle is one of the best but hard to get, they are almost always out.

I have been trying a very low growing moss that I piked out of my yard and so far it is doing very well. It is very bright green and seems to like it shadey.[/img]


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## njfish77 (Aug 5, 2006)

Is there any way of trimming back the java moss if it gets out of control. A local Metropolitan Plant store has a few mosses including Java moss. I may choose another one but if not ill probably get the java.


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## cobaltsinoh (Mar 13, 2006)

The moss in my picture is from a moss milkshake I created from mosses I grabbed off of my property. AFAIK it isn't any type of Java moss but it is growing tall stalks first that later spread into better cover. 

Tony


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## njfish77 (Aug 5, 2006)

Cobalt i like it but ive never seen that in my area. Im also going to a reptile show Sept. 10 so hopefully theyll have some diff. mosses there too.


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## cobaltsinoh (Mar 13, 2006)

Funny you should say that. I should take some pictures of the moss as it looked when I gathered it too. Since making the milkshake and it growing the moss in the viv looks totally different than when I plucked it off the bricks outside. I'll try to get a picture posted tomorrow. I guess what i'm trying to say is if you have any nice green moss give it a shot. It will either grow and look cool or not. 


Tony


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## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

Check Black Jungles website from time to time for the live tropical moss, it goes pretty quick when ever they get it in. It comes in a 10 inch square. I just cut with a razor and laid it on my substrate, I even laid a piece of it on a coco-hut and its growing! John


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