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Re: [APD] Coconut fiber



Moontanman at aol_com at Moontanman at aol_com wrote:

> Has anyone ever used coconut fiber as a back round? I bet Java moss and fern
> would grow good on it if you could find a way to stick it to the glass under
> water.

I once decorated an established frog paludarium with coconut fiber, where I
covered some of the marginal areas in an attempt to create an interesting
textural transition between water and land. For some reason the water fouled
in about two weeks, creating a strong stink like rotting vegetables, and the
other aquatic plants (java ferns, java moss, hygrophila and  afew others)
all died. I had to tear down the tank, which had been doing well for a
couple of years, and start over.

This was fresh coconut mat like you see sold in Lowe's to line hanging plant
baskets.  I'm guessing I should have let it "age" outside for a few months
or something before using it in a closed tank.

I also used the same stuff outdoors in a garden pond, as edging along a
grass border to keep the soil under the grass from eroding into the pond
when it rained. It worked fine there (is still working, actually), maybe
because it was outdoors and got more ventilation.

Dan Dixon


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