# cocos panels vs tree fern plaque



## Smashtoad (Apr 27, 2007)

The tree fern panels appear to look more natural, but seem much less dense and thicker. The cocos panels by Viv Concepts seem to be well thought out, but seem thin to me.

Anyone have an opinion? Would the cocos last longer?


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## Alex007 (Apr 15, 2007)

*Hello*

Ive tried both in the same Viv and the tree fern seem to last longer than the coco panels. They both work great to mount plants and both seem to hold water good. The coco panels break down faster when they get wet. I like the tree fern because the moss that grows naturally there seems to grow faster in time. Good luck


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## trunda (Oct 15, 2007)

i have no personal xpirience with coco but i read on poison-frogs.com that they last only like 2 years and then they break down, treefern should be more durable IMO. The second thing is that treefern panels are thicker, so u can hide some waterfall pipes etc. easier. Good luck


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## flyangler18 (Oct 26, 2007)

I'm a big fan of tree fern myself- both the plaques and the small pots. Drainage is incredible (sometimes too good  ), they last a long time, and the added benefit of ferns and mosses (spores) that might be in the fiber is alway appreciated when it begins to grow.


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## DrSalsa (Nov 4, 2007)

I've gone for Epiweb, which is plastic made, much more Eco-friendly than the dwindling numbers of treeferns. 
It dranins fanstastically. Just wash it with minced moss and in a few months it will all be covered with moss. Orquids, and climbers love it!


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## Smashtoad (Apr 27, 2007)

DrSalsa said:


> I've gone for Epiweb, which is plastic made, much more Eco-friendly than the dwindling numbers of treeferns.
> It dranins fanstastically. Just wash it with minced moss and in a few months it will all be covered with moss. Orquids, and climbers love it!


Plastic is more eco-friendly than tree fern? There's at least a couple hours of debate in there...I'm guessing tree fern would classify as a renewable resource.


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## Raymond (Aug 26, 2006)

Smashtoad said:


> Plastic is more eco-friendly than tree fern? There's at least a couple hours of debate in there...I'm guessing tree fern would classify as a renewable resource.


I believe that there is some debate over how 'renewable' tree fern is. Again, I'm no expert but I think there are supposedly some farms which produce tree ferns, in which case it would be renewable. However, I know that there is a lot of TF on the market which has been produced from endangered tree fern plants. Something like that, I'm pretty sure that there have been threads regarding the subject.


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## DrSalsa (Nov 4, 2007)

Epiweb is made from recycled plastic fibres, so no new plastic is needed. 
And Treefern takes a LOOOONNNGG time to grow... and need replacing every few years. There is nothing ecological about that!!!


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## UmbraSprite (Mar 2, 2007)

Was gonna say did has anyone tried EpiWeb but looks like you already mentioned it. 

What have your experiences been with the EpiWeb and do you have any photo's?

I just began offering it on my site and have been curious to get some feedback from those using it.

Thanks!


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## DrSalsa (Nov 4, 2007)

Hi UmbraSprite, 
I am indeed using EpiWeb, and although I'm new to the hobbie, and the tank has only been set up for about 4-5 months, I'm very happy with it. Got ficus, orquids, and broms (just recently added) growing happily on it.
I've used treefern before for growing orquids, but I was not so keen on using it again for several reasons:
1) grows very slowly
2) to farm produce it, you need to clear jungle first to create the farm area 
3) it needs to be shipped from the other side of the world
4) needs renewing

Epiweb is clean and easy to shape.








And to plant it, you just fix plants with toothpics, but many roots just get entangled within it, so no need for more fixtures.
Here's some pics of how it looks like now.







It's not the greatest of pics, but you can see the roots of the ficus going right throught.







And here you can see the effect from the front. In a couple of months wont be able to see anything!! Two of the orquids on the pic are fixed to the Epiweb and seem to be doing fine, the big is fixed to some wood with moss.
I have a homemade "raining" system that I turn on a couple of times a week (now it's "dry cold "season on my tank) and a biweekly thorough wetting with a gardeners sprayer. 
Hope you sell lots of EpiWeb!!!

Cheers,

Nik


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

I'm using the Epi right now, but not in a viv yet, I'm using it in a freshwater planted tank!
http://tinyurl.com/2x92qx
This was just set up over the weekend but I know that Anubias is going to attach to it like crazy and I've had the plants to the left and right (on the bottom) planted in the Epi for at least a couple weeks and they already started throwing roots into the Epi, you can't see any of it because I have SMS over the top (and both SMS and ADA Amazonia underneath).
What I'm assuming and hoping for with this project is that 1) I will have a "substrate" which will allow easy rooting, 2) it won't break down or discolor the water like treefern, 3) it's a super high level of recycled stuff and 4) if I want to move, sell or anything it will be easy to pull out and lightweight enough to ship with the plant if I do that, without upsetting all the roots.

I bought mine from http://www.dartfrogdepot.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=66&osCsid=4d3cc22e4dc3f7fae156e54146f94d89 and I plan on buying more soon!


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## didi (Feb 21, 2008)

I order the tree fern panel and found it was very messy to work with.
Is the epiweb easier to work with?


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

didi said:


> I order the tree fern panel and found it was very messy to work with.
> Is the epiweb easier to work with?


I cut it up with scissors, I got some fibers but it didn't make a huge mess really and I'm really persnickety about messes. hehe


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## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

My only hesitation with the Epiweb is how realistic does it look. With those pics I can't tell. :?:


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

If you look at Nik's second photo you can see it's color in the background. It's a dark gray color and looks kind of like some sort of scrubby or filter media but if you have plants kicking butt on it... I was thinking it would probably make a great moss wall with a dripper or mister going at it but *shrug*
I'm sure they aren't everyone's cup of tea but I'm glad I got it and do plan on getting more.



jdogfunk99 said:


> My only hesitation with the Epiweb is how realistic does it look. With those pics I can't tell. :?:


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## DrSalsa (Nov 4, 2007)

Cheers for the backing Cassie! Very interesting that you use it underwater, had not thought about that! MIght try it on one of my fishtanks... 

Didi, Epiweb is VERY easy to work with. You just cut with a pair of strong scissors into whatever shape you want. In my first pic you can see a channel I carved on the back of it to fit the pump pipes can cables. You can even twist it and sew it so make pots, baskets, branches... let your imagination loose!

And jdogfunk99, if you cant tell from the pics, then that's a good sign!!! It's that dark grey/brown stuff at the background of the tank. As said before, plants will grow over it quite quickly to cover it up, but it never bothered me (or the frogs for that matter) while it was still in view. 

:wink:


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## didi (Feb 21, 2008)

Well then, I can just imagin me going poor. LOL
I'm going now and ordering some.
Thanks for the infoe.

Diane


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