# Flukers all natural moss



## Guest (Dec 1, 2005)

Hello from the great white north!
This "Q" falls in the beginner forum for sure.
I,m setting up a small 20g with false bottom, 501 external turtle filter to run a small water feature... I'm going to use a similar Atlanta Botanical Gardens mix less fern bark. My question is...I purchased some Flukers all natural moss. Does this green stuff actually grow or is it dorment or even dead moss?


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Im not sure about the flukers, i'd have to see the package...but the nature zone stuff is supposed to usually come back to life...they have several types.


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2005)

Tks Dave,
This stuff is quite green and soft in the pkg. It looks like it may grow. I wonder if I should just mix it in with the Atlanta Botanical Gardens mix, or just apply it on top of it all ??..... I'll find out one way or another but it helps if some one else's trial and error's could save me the grief... :^{I)
Thank you....kaybee.....


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## Jesse (Sep 19, 2005)

*The MOSS.....*

Hey,

If it is this stuff, don't use it, it is crap. It really isn't moss, something man made. If it is in a humid habitat, like a vivarium, it will just rot and smell bad. I used to have a Leopard frog set up and this stuff started to rot a couple weeks after I put it in. Go with spagnhum moss, they sell it at Home Depot, Lowes, or Ace. Or there is live moss, you can order online.











Thanks,
Jesse


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

ya that stuff isnt great, but i think flukers also has a natural moss similar to the nature zone stuff. In my experience these mosses tend to die more often then they survive. They rehydrate...look good, and within a month start dyin. But sometimes they make it


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2005)

Jesse,
Yes, thats the stuff, and I went ahead with the project (dang)...I ground up about 2 cups and mixed it in with the base substrate, then I added about an inch or 2 of straight moss over the top of it all. I'm hoping that the "bio" filter (Zoo-Med 501) along with the carbon will filter out any chemical toxins and equilize a bacteria level....no froggies till it smells "sweet".....
kaybee...


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Pull off the top layers of moss and trash it, it will only causes you grief. You can cover the soil with leaf litter (which I recomend most) or a layer or more appropriate moss (sphagnum is most recomended).

That stuff actually is a dried moss, I could pull similar mosses out of my parents' backyard and dry it out and get the same thing, but brown. That moss is actually dyed green. It rarely if ever comes back, and is not meant to. It does not hold water very much at all, and rots incredibly fast in our environments. You just can't get good moss out of a pet store, unless they are a specialty store that sells sphagnum moss, live moss, or dried sheet moss. No chain store that I know does.

The smell is not really that harmful to the frogs, just means you've got an active compost pile going - its also a sign the soil is staying too moist (if it smells like a swamp its because the soil is in the conditions of a swamp - thus the importance of the fir bark) or your "compost" is out of balance (compost done right doesn't smell). Either way its not leaching toxins, the gas is giving off by bacteria in the soggy soil, and really isn't a hazard as much as an annoyance and a sign that you need to fix something in your tank.

The only dried moss I know that is dried out and MEANT to come back alive (and is also naturally green in its dried state) is the sheet moss. The stuff is great with splashing water features, a patch of moss to stop the splashing, and usually in a couple of weeks its alive and growing. It looks great if you allow it to grow around the roots of the epiphytic plants, makes it look more natural. Sphagnum moss occassionally does as well, but its more exception than the rule.

The best moss for mix in soils and as a tempt tank base (and I used in all my reptile humidity huts for shedding) is sphagnum moss. Everyone should have a bag or two of it at all times. Its like a sponge, takes months to years to rots, plants love it, and just great for emergencies.

Your filter will not do anything about whats going on in your soils (unless its running thru your soils, which is shouldn't, thats instant bog and a stinky mess if done wrong). Plants and naturally occuring critters in the dirt will take care of the soil in time, and act as the soil "filter" of sorts.


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2005)

anyone have the partnumber for sphagnum moss at home depot?

The people there look at me like I'm dumb when I ask for stuff like that, they are less than helpful, unless I need wood cut, those guys are the only ones in the place that know how to help


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2005)

with all due respect...please start your own topic and don't hi-jack mine
Even though my question has been answered, there is still the chance that some one might of had something to ad.
Thank you and no hard feelings.
Kaybee


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2005)

I didnt threadjack, the previous replies were talking about home depot spagnhum

I did find my answer anyway, the home depot clerks were no help, but I walked past the bags and noticed it, got plenty tonight


I will try to not post in your threads again, touchy touchy arent we


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

Make sure you get a good clean type of sphagnum too. The newzealand stuff for orchids is definitely the best, but hard to come across at times. Lowes carries a similar type, but it often contains sticks, which doesn't bother me, but it is cheap and clean in all other ways. I have had it come back to life in most the vivs I use it in, really neat stuff. I fill gaps on the walls with it, plant orchids, wrap the roots of epiphytes in it. It is just an all around thing like KeroKero was saying. great stuff,

ed parker


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2005)

Well I took the majority advise. I sucked out the moss and substrate with a wet/dry vac and started from scratch.
This time I was able to find some live sphagnum moss at a local garden centre. $8.00 for about a 10 quart bag. This stuff was about half green and half dried out. I picked out the green stuff, spritzed it, and it was standing up in minutes. My viv looks beautiful now. I'll give it a couple of weeks before I add my eagerly awaited frogs.
Thanks for all the advise....
kaybee


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Don't throw away the dried up moss. Given that part of the moss was alive, the dried up moss should spring back to life given enough moisture and light.

Bill


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Yeah, don't toss what looks dead. Not only does it work just as well (even tho its not as pretty), its possible that it could come back to life even from that state. 

I had collected some native sphagnum moss for my oddball leopard frog which did well until I moved to my apartment. It prompty died with the lack of light, went completely yellow. A couple pieces placed in front of my window came completely back to life! When I move him into a new tank with lights hopefully the rest will come back as well, if not a little bit of the live stuff will take over in no time. Then Oddball will be back into his own little sphagnum moss bog like where it was born


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2005)

Well, just for interest sake, here is a pic from my crummy camera. The external turtle filter to the right is perfect for these types of small setups. Quiet user friendly and a decent flo rate








Thanks again for your help, and for any one in need of a tension reliever go here... 
http://fun.from.hell.pl/2003-11-24/bubblewrap.swf
kaybee


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Id like to throw out some caution with most store bought sphagnum moss as it can have additives in it and kill your frogs. Early on I had very bad luck with the moss from Home Depot and lost a number of froglets.

Please look into a good Orchid or plant store to get some:

Chilean, or New Zeland is normally the best.

http://www.calwesttropical.com/


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I get my sphagnum from frog suppliers at this point, they use it without problems so... AZDR and HerpSupplies sell it. Oddly enough the bags of sphagnum I've gotten from Home Depot in the past are the same brand I got from AZDR, I've never had problems with it. This is not to say all Home Depots carry the same brand as I know its varied in the past, and could vary by region.

This is the same brand sold by orchid suppliers.


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