# A new take on an old technique: Moss walls



## almightydolla

I remember the first time I saw a photo of a moss wall. I was speechless. I wanted every one of my tanks to have one. Now. I did the quick research: get some moss, sandwich it between 2 things, watch and wait.

And so I did. I picked up some bird netting, made a moss sandwich (hold the mayo) and used magnets to hold it up. It worked, but looked really unattractive. It took a while to fill in, and while it was filling in my wife kept asking when it was going to start looking nice. Never did turn out like I liked.

I progressed into using two of those plastic grid's you can pick up at a craft store. I could only find white. I sandwiched the moss and tried to hold it together while I put it in my tank and hooked up the magnets. It didn't go so hot.

I got another aha moment and decided that I could freaking SEW the moss onto just one of those sheets. That would make it easier to hold in place while I set the magnets. And it took care of that pesky problem of having too much space behind the wall for critters to get stuck in. 30 minutes of fishing line sewing and needle pricks later, I realized two things: I finally know what thimbles are for and it looks pretty sweet out of the box, since there isn't a sandwich layer in front. The moss can start growing right away. I was proud when I took my time putting it in place, and the magnets held it flush against the back wall. I patted myself on the back with a moss covered hand. Sure, it sucks sewing all that moss by hand. I'll give you that.


That was 2 months ago. The moss wall grew in SWEET and everything looked awesome. Today while doing maintenance, I thought I saw a few strands of hair algae and grabbed and yanked with my tweezers. It wasn't hair algae, but an errant fishing line. Before I knew it I had yanked down the entire moss wall. Rusty magnets went flying off the back of the tank. I needed to find a better way.


Off to a different craft store, and I finally located black plastic grid. And then I happened to walk by some suction cups used to hang stuff on glass. An idea was born......


Get yourself a few of those plastic grids. They are usually in the sewing section. Pick the color you like best, since for the few few weeks, you'll be seeing a bit of the grid while the moss grows out. And then get those suction cups. They have a groove where a metal hook is wrapped around - you'll see how that comes into play in a second. If you don't have a box cutter, pick one up as well. Now you are set. Now go back and get another grid - you'll likely mess the first one up like I did and at under a dollar, a good better safe than sorry bet.


Size up your plastic grid and cut it to the size you want. Now here comes tricky part #1. You are going to cut out a tiny grid section in each of the four corners and use the groove in the suction cups to attach it to the grid. You'll have to remove the metal hook portion - just give it a good tug. You'll be left with a thin suction cup that will fit perfectly in the square you cut out in the mesh. This will alleviate all but 1/16th clearance on the back - none of your critters can get stuck behind now!

Now for the coup de grâce tricky part #2. No sewing, no sandwiching and no bandaids (hopefully). You are going to use the grid to hold your moss in place. Look at the photo's for the idea. Basically, you are going to cut strips of the mesh out, but still leave them attached at the end. The idea being that if you cut the mesh with all the pokey parts, they will hold on to the moss that tuck under them. You can quickly interweave the moss into all the lines you cut. When you pull the mesh tight, they will hug the moss and keep it from moving while it grows out.


Start about 1/4" from the edge and run the box cutter straight down a line of the mesh. Stop before you cut through the edge. Now move down one row and do the same thing. You'll end up with a pokey strip of mesh still attached to the overall grid. Now repeat the same thing a little bit down the mesh, producing a series of these strings to hold the moss. If you are doing it lengthwise, stagger the strips so that the overall structure of the mesh holds together. See the photo's

Did I mention safety glasses yet? I think you have to at least mention them when a box cutter is involved. I am absolved of liability now.

There you have it. Your fancy new moss wall is complete. The moss is held good and fast, and the suction cups will secure it to the back of your tank with minimal clearance. No metal wires, no zip ties and no rusty magnets. You can slide it around and position it exactly as you want it. If you missed some spots, no worries, when the moss grows in you can just tuck a few more strands anywhere. The plastic is flexible and holds tight.


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## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi almightydolla,

Thank you for an excellent DIY project with great description and pics. Looking forward to seeing a pic when it has filled in!


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## Bert H

Great idea, and presentation! Looking forward to it filling in for you.


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## tetraphonic

That's a terrific idea. I was going to the craft store this weekend to find something with grids and suction cups and you saved me the trouble of trying to figure it out. Thanks mucho!

I loved the detailed tips, instructions and photos... looking forward to any updates.


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## StrungOut

Nice interesting technique. I'd like to see the wall fill in nicely. Is there any loose moss? What kind've moss did you use?


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## almightydolla

Yes, some moss will hang out a bit. The nice thing though is that since the strips are holding the moss in place, you can tuck any pieces that are hanging out into the next strip either up or down - filling in all the empty pieces as it grows. I've already adjusted it a bit since i put it in - which is something I couldn't do when I sewed it on.

I'll post a pic 1 week into grow out this weekend.


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## goldier

Very cool technique! I think it will look great. When I make my moss wall, I' ll try your method. Thanks.


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## grak70

I had a "duh" moment when I read your post. Thanks for highlighting an obvious improvement on a well-traveled technique. Sometimes the best ideas are the most common-sense, despite our inability to recognize them.


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## Robert Henry

Ingenious!!! I'm going to have another crack at a moss wall now. My prior attempts were dismal.


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## chadly

I had a thought considering moss walls a while back. My idea involves re-growing the moss wall flat rather than vertical then inserting it as a wall that is fully grown.


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## AquaDean

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

This is the best idea I've ever seen for a moss wall!
My next tank I will give this a try for sure.
So simple and easy to do.
Can't wait for the in tank shots.


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## almightydolla

it's been a few weeks and the moss is chugging along. I took the opportunity to rescape a bit. Haven't been able to take a decent photo of the tank to save my life, but here's the best i've got. wall closeup and most of a full tank shot


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## Lydia Rose

i did that! it looks great! 
i just saw your post and found it was the same thing i did a month ago.
if you get dark green then it looks like a better contrast to the lighter green plants in front of it.


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## DarrellAR

Here is an idea for handling a moss wall. Use the net stuff and the mesh stuff from AquaticMagic. Put the moss material in between. Two problems occur with a moss wall for all it's beauty. One; small fish get caught behind the wall. Two; the moss on the top of the wall grows faster than the stuff on the bottom because it gets lots more light. You can defeat both problems with one technique. Before you fill your tank with water cut long thin strips of velcrow and with a little silicone attach these strips along the top and the sides of the tank glass you want to attach the moss wall to. The bottom should take care of itself. Now on the back of the mesh stuff attach the other kind of the velcrow including the bottom so that these two pieces can face each other. This will allow you to remove the moss wall easily and trim it laying flat. Just use a wooden piece or the handle of a fork to pry it off. It will also allow you to turn the wall over. That is, with the wall off and facing you, you can twirl the piece and have what was on the bottom be on the top and let it get the preponderence of the light for a while. Because you have placed the velcrow all the way around, you can just press it back into place. And the little fish cannot get behind the mesh of the wall.


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## DarrellAR

Here is an idea for handling a moss wall. Use the net stuff and the mesh stuff from AquaticMagic. Put the moss material in between. Two problems occur with a moss wall for all it's beauty. One; small fish get caught behind the wall. Two; the moss on the top of the wall grows faster than the stuff on the bottom because it gets lots more light. You can defeat both problems with one technique. Before you fill your tank with water cut long thin strips of velcrow and with a little silicone attach these strips along the top and the sides of the tank glass you want to attach the moss wall to. The bottom should take care of itself. Now on the back of the mesh stuff attach the other kind of the velcrow including the bottom so that these two pieces can face each other. This will allow you to remove the moss wall easily and trim it laying flat. Just use a wooden piece or the handle of a fork to pry it off. It will also allow you to turn the wall over. That is, with the wall off and facing you, you can twirl the piece and have what was on the bottom be on the top and let it get the preponderence of the light for a while. Because you have placed the velcrow all the way around, you can just press it back into place. And the little fish cannot get behind the mesh of the wall.


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## DarrellAR

No need to use thread or fish line to attach plants. Use Gel super glue. See these posts from Aquatic Quotient: 
Originally Posted by fireblade 
tried gel super glue and it works...
plants growing and shrimps are ok in the tank.. 
So it works for you. 
Quote:
Originally Posted by madnugget 
gel super glue? care to share what kind? kinda interested in glueing my mosses onto the irregular shape wood. big headache tying mosses onto it..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fei Miao 
interesting, can you share how this is done...
You can get it at Daiso($2 shop) those Gel Superglue, just do it as you normally do with superglue, either on the rock/wood or on the plant, they are not like liquid Superglue which will burn them, good about Gel type is you dont need a smooth surface, any surface will work, after you glue, just rinse it with tap water and you are ready to put into your tank.


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## bammbamm

I've used liquid superglue recently while rescaping. Will that burn our all my mosses and Narrows?
It's 3rd day today, they look good tho.


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## wicca27

how about an update shot


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## fishyjoe24

looks good are you the one on youtube with the video of the moss wall how to, it was a good video I saved it to my favorites.


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## blue thumb

I too when I first saw a moss wall years ago I always wanted to do this. What I have used is stainless mesh wrapped in green Tully material held up with suction cups. The Tully cannot be to small holes or to big. My first try the Tully was to small and seemed to block out to much light. After about a month of not really seeing any significant shoots I took it down and rewrapped it with a little bigger hole Tully material. Now after just a couple weeks the moss is shooting out everywhere. Another method I have done to start the moss faster is to buy those moss pads already growing they sell on ebay. I purchased a few Flame and Taiwan pads. Tied those pads to my mesh and whoala! instand moss wall! My latest idea is to grow a Riccia wall. Now I know Riccia likes to grow upward and not sure how it will grow on a wall. I did one complete covering on one side of my 40 gallon tank 13"x16". I just did this last night. I will see how this takes shape...
Here is my 25 gallon tank with moss wall. The top back has the Flame and Taiwan moss pads just only on the top 6". On the right is my moss wall with the stainless mesh held with suction cups. Its not a good view of it but you can see the edges of the mesh has not grown over yet..


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## Elohim_Meth

So I'm stuck with that moss wall stuff too, and here are my two cents.
I didn't find any suitable greed in my house, and I didn't want to buy one on purpose. So I've just stitched java moss to polycarbonate sheets. No suction cups needed, the sheets just got strutted between bottom and upper rib.
Plus is that the moss wall looks good from the very beginning, no greed catching the eye. Drawback is that you've got to do a lot of work stitching and moistening the moss from time to time to prevent it from drying.


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