# Is my moss dying?



## Guest (Nov 6, 2004)

Hello...im pretty new to the hobby, and i just set up a ten gallon tank about two months ago. the top is glass, with about 1" at the back edge that is just mesh to allow air flow. there isn't any condensation on the windows ever..yet the ground always seems completely soaked. the moss that was bright green when i got it is now turning brown in many parts. is this normal or should it be staying bright green? i don't know how it could be too wet if there isn't even condensation on the glass. the temp is def. in the low to mid 70s. thoughts? thanks,
eric


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## kleinhanz (Oct 18, 2004)

I found that I had to constantly replace my moss until I upgraded to a higher quality fluorescent light. 

What type of light(s) are you running?

Also, the water in the bottom of the tank should not be so high that it soaks your substrate. What do you have in the bottom of your tank that separates the top layer (moss) from the bottom? It sounds like you do not have a false bottom tank but do you at least have gravel or clay pellets?


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## Guest (Nov 7, 2004)

i have the substrate from black jungle...terra light or something like that. the water isn't up to the dirt though i know that for sure. i had a crappy light bulb in there before from an old tank, and just this week i got a 15W full spectrum bulb to go in with it. should i wait a little longer to see if this helps? also...one of my plants, a fern...has been getting brown at the tips of it.


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

Some ferns like a lot of light some ferns like none, it really depends on what fern you are talking about. I'm not an expert, but you might want to try posting this in the plants section and see what happens.


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## froglady (Feb 21, 2004)

Just curious......

I assume that you are dusting your food items. When you feed do you feed in the same spot everyday or kind of sprinkle it all around the tank? The reason I ask is that we noticed that the vitamin powder tends to kill the moss. If this is the case you can solve it by feeding only in one location (so you only kill the moss in one location) or drop the food on a piece of wood etc rather than the moss.

Water is also a possibility. If you are using ...say aged tap water... the water can still have minerals in it (especially if you live in an area with really hard water). Those minerals can coat the moss and keep the light from getting to the moss.

Also, upgrading lighting will help.

Another thing is if it isn't a moss from a tropical region then it probably needs a dormacy period. It might be dying from a lack of a dormancy period.

Just some thoughts.......


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## Guest (Nov 7, 2004)

hmmm interesting...yes i do dust and usually in the same place...that could be the problem ill try dropping them onto the wood. is the 15W full spectrum enough for a 10 gallon tank? i didn't get a 30 because i didn't want the tank to get too hot (my room is usually around 71 degrees).


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

In the ten gallon tank I have my terribilis in (for now), I have a 100% glass top, with two 15watt reptisun 2.0 bulbs, and it has never gotten too hot, the moss that was in there was a local variety, and died off after about 8 months or so. The temperate climate moss is not supposed to last in a terrarium so I wasn't surprized.
As far as light, everything else in the tank has grown like crazy, and I can go in there with the scissors, and cut everything down to a few inches, and a week later, you'd never know it had been cut!
One of those bulbs may be sufficient, but might not. I've seen a pillow moss supplier recomend (if I remember correctly) no less than 15 watts of flourescent light per sq. ft. A ten gallon is a little more than one square ft.
I usually try to put as much light on a tank as (tank) temperature will allow. Usually with regular flourescents, you could almost cover the whole top of the tank with bulbs, and still have you're tank within an appropriate temperature range for (most) darts.


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2004)

alright well thanks a lot for the advice i think maybe ill go out and get another bulb and see what happens


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2004)

alright well thanks a lot for the advice i think maybe ill go out and get another bulb and see what happens


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

I run a pair of 19w 6500k spiral flourescents with standard screw in fittings over my 10 and after 1 1/2 weeks the sheet moss is already climbing up the glass/wood. I got the bulbs from Home depot, and would highly reccomend them for moss.


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