[Killietalk] Re: java moss

["Mark & Peta" <mbethke at socal_rr.com>]

Excellent instruction, will follow thru. Yea I can't believe that dope sold those so cheap.... 
We do have a problem in our area with obtaining quality aquatic plants, tried once to get some on-line, didn't look much like the picture on the website, as it was lush and green, mine was sparse and yellowed. 
Java moss is hard to get but I'll ask my LFS guy to pick some up for me . anyways I will add it to the tank..

My big battle is algae, the short green type, not thread type , flat type, lines the leaves. I have tried everything short of an all out algaecide chemical attack as I have learned in the past that to kill algae in that manner you have to use it in such strength that it kills the delicate plants and tetras long before even putting a dent into the algae, it just smiles and keeps coming at ya. 
I have reduced light to only 8 hours for a month, didn't work.
Used Phosex to check PO4, no lasting effect,
Reduced the bioload by more than half, worked shot time then rebound
Added more plants, so progress but not noticeable.
80-90% water changes @ 2 week intervals, nope.
My lights are all 48", 40 watt, two pink full spectrum, two white full spectrum, *two blue atinic(sp)* The lights are over 1 year old, maybe they have lost their effectivness? Ballast are not the cheap chinese ones either, they are the better american built units.
Run out of ideas here chief, algaecide is not a viable option, too many chemical

  Subject: java moss


  Mark, the java fern you got is cool, but java moss is the carpet of choice for the tank bottom: lin lay eggs top *and*
  bottom I've found and the young that hatch out in the moss
  stand a better chance of survival (lots of little critters to eat
  in the moss initially). Java fern stuck in the moss looks pretty fly, too. Try it, you'll like the looks of it in the tank. You
  can make moss balls by tying the moss to rock/lava rock with 4-6lb monofilament fishline. I had these interspersed amongst the rotala indica (easy plant) green hygro (even easier) and limnophila sessiliflora (dwarf ambulia).


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