I finally got some cheap 5/8" Manilla rope from;
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...192487648&rd=1
5/8" is much larger than I need, so I unwound the
three main strands to create 3 separate moss ropes.
You can use a hack saw or serrated sheers to cut it.
I then crimped 4cm of aluminum modeling wire to
each end to keep the rope from unwinding further.
This rope should be water logged outside of your
tank for a day, then it will actually sink on it's own.
I'm definitely doing a Subwassentang rope with it,
also F.Fontanus, then maybe stringy or spikey moss.
as usual, it takes a few Months for these projects
to bare photographs, so please be patient. Manilla
is a great plant attaching medium that will take years
to biodegrade, so I can imagine a lot of possibilities.
the ribbing makes it easy to insert moss bits to start.
I may try binding the moss with either cotton thread
or caging it in my 1/2" mesh, that I will remove later
once the moss takes better hold of this rope than nylon.
The idea of all this is to find a rope that moss likes to attach
to, and minimize moss frond bruising and breaking away,
and perhaps encourage the moss to distribute more evenly.
My black nylon rope has worked, but maybe this is better.
over time, I'm not concerned if the rope unwinds further,
I'm more concerned that any exposed parts will become
a magnet for algae, so I'll cover it completely with moss.
