# How do I make a fern, anubia wall?



## mangisda (Feb 3, 2010)

As the title says, how do I make a fern, anubia wall in this low tech 150gallon tank?








I have these javas that i attached with suction cups but the cups just loses suction after a while. 








I want to fill the entire back of the tank with java, narrow leaf java, anubias, and maybe bolbitis.
Im thinking egg crate but will the roots attach to it?
How about some kind of cork that will not rot and foul my water?
Thanks in advance!

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## serenityfate1 (Sep 4, 2014)

I had did this once on my 40 b. Tank. I used java fern. Funny thing is i didnt use egg crates ( i thinkbi read it somewhere that the roots do attach to that material) but i used a mesh. I took forever to tie the java ferns up. It did grow and root but as it gets denser the bottom doesn't recieve much light and it grows even slpwer then the top causing a unevenness which i hated. But i guess if you keep up with the maintenance itll workout.


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## Kerry (Sep 5, 2013)

An easy (removable) wall would be to start with an eggcrate frame and use pond foam to fill it in. Measure the crate to size needed and lay flat on a plastic sheet. Spray the foam to completely cover the surface area and allow to dry. You can make pockets if desired to use like plant pots. If you don't like the glossy lava-like finish of the foam you can pinch off the outer skin for a matte rough foam finish. When ready, you can silicone it to glass along the top...just lower the water level and clean the glass really well. Then just a line of silicone along the top and be sure both surfaces are dry to get the silicone to adhere properly. To remove, the wall can be cut away by using a long thin flexible blade to cut through the silicone. Make the wall long enough to push the bottom into the substrate so the substrate can help hold it in place. It will float like a cork otherwise. Plants can be attached a number of ways, stiff wire can be wrapped around the rizome and the ends pushed into the foam like pushpins, or, you can also superglue them...a glob of gel glue on the root, and, another on the background and press together with a slight twisting motion while both glue globs are still wet. This works very well for attaching live coral to liverock and works under water...just have to work fast 'cause the glue skins over instantly when it hit water...that's why you need that little twisting motion. HTH!


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## junglefowl (Nov 16, 2012)

One of my friend use this method. He attached suction cup to a filter sponge (the one that we put on top of the canister filter). Then he tied the roots of the plants to the sponge and put it up on the wall. Once the plants grow roots, it will grow through the sponge holes. This works since plants and the sponge not too heavy to lose suction cups.
The bad thing is it will be hard if you try to get the plants out of the sponges since the roots stuck all over the sponge.

This sponge:


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