[ChemGuyEthan]

This is really neat. Way to go!

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Thanks!

 

[Carrie.a.gordon]

Awesome! Now I have something new to try to do.

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

Awesome! Now I have something new to try to do.

Yeah, give it a shot! I've enjoyed watching them grow!

The proserpinaca is flowering like crazy! It's got little buds shooting out all up and down the stem! It's awesome getting to see the growth, much faster than submersed, IMO.

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

Got the large bowl moved onto my desk at work today! Looking pretty good! We'll see what my boss has to say about it on Monday, haha. :icon_neut

Please ignore the stack of papers... :icon_redf

 

[Raymond S.]

As you know, it boils down to...if they have a reason...then they need an excuse.
I have had human bosses, but most have been normal ones...LOL...
I could picture myself sayig to an employee...
A pesonal decoration(depending on the kind) to me means that you are comfortable in your job. A good all around sign. Looks great. But I just would like to mention that I will be more than pleased as long as the garden doesn't become a farm."
But that would make me human and I guess that's why I'm not a boss...LOL...

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

As you know, it boils down to...if they have a reason...then they need an excuse.
I have had human bosses, but most have been normal ones...LOL...
I could picture myself sayig to an employee...
A pesonal decoration(depending on the kind) to me means that you are comfortable in your job. A good all around sign. Looks great. But I just would like to mention that I will be more than pleased as long as the garden doesn't become a farm."
But that would make me human and I guess that's why I'm not a boss...LOL...

Hahaha, luckily my office is pretty cool. There are already several plants on other desks. Just none with a lamp above them, haha. My corner is way too dark though, that thing wouldn't make it.

My boss usually doesn't care about too much as long as it's not affecting other people's work. I mean, I have a bunch of cigar bands pinned on my desk too which he hasn't made me take down in 3 years now, so I think it'll be ok. Undoubtedly he will comment, haha, he's never the type to remain silent in situations like this. It's more his reaction I'm curious about.

So I guess he's...part human?

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

Now, I'm sure many of you at home have been looking through this wonderful thread thinking, "How on Earth can he say 'wabi kusa' when he hasn't even made a true wabi kusa?!"

Fear not, I have heard your silent cries of discontent and logged them accordingly. And in due time, you will have your wabis.

Keep posted.

 

[Zorfox]

I like them! The fuzzy one could be water wisteria (Hygrophila difformis). The growth looks completely different emmersed. The new growth resembles submersed but later changes. The flowers will be purple.

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

I like them! The fuzzy one could be water wisteria (Hygrophila difformis). The growth looks completely different emmersed. The new growth resembles submersed but later changes. The flowers will be purple.

You are correct! I didn't update that part, but I know now that the fuzzy one you refer to is hygrophila difformis sp variegated. The newest growth more shows the variegated leaves. That one hasn't flowered yet, but I hope it will!

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

Finally got around to it...

Ok everyone, finally got around to getting some true Wabi Kusa balls made! :icon_mrgr I did a pseudo progress with pictures...but once your hands get messy it's hard to keep taking photos, haha.

Before we start, I will update on the last emmersed, terrarium-like setup I did, it's grown in well but I just don't like the look... I used about half the plants here to put into the wabis and I'll figure out what to do with the rest... Anyway, here are the pictures of that before I tore it apart.





Anyway, now onto the real wabis!

For the balls I used some MGOP as a base, added some dry peat moss for more filler, added a little bit of sphagnum moss as filler, and finally some extra aquasoil.



Added water until it "squishes" when squeezed and retains its shape nicely.



I made 3 total, of different sizes, and initially wrapped them in sphagnum moss with tons of fishing line...



...But decided to strip that off and just use a huge hunk of java moss I had from when I tore down and revamped my 40 gallon. I know now why people don't really like java moss for driftwood applications...it's so stringy...but grown terrestrially, I think it looks fine.

And then I went to town stuffing stems in those bad boys!

Got various ludwigia, some limnophila, hygrophila, hydrocotyle, HC, s repens, some myrio (that I hope survives), and probably some more that I'm forgetting. Layed down some gravel in a glass cube and BAM! roud:





I'll be moving them to separate containers, but I lost steam last night so I'll take care of that tonight. Hoping to put them in three different containers and different accent substrates.

Apologies for the delay in posting pictures, I've been quite busy as of late...

Thanks as always for looking and comments are welcome!

 

[aquarist]

Looks great! I've a little extra aqua soil and plan on making a ball at some point this winter when I've some spare time.

 

[Gravistunn]

So all you used to bind this together was Java moss? I read through this and it's was really interesting with a lot of info regarding the composition of the original Wabi Kusa ball ( http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...e/76538-secret-ada-wabi-kusa-they-filled.html ).


~Travis

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

Looks great! I've a little extra aqua soil and plan on making a ball at some point this winter when I've some spare time.

Thanks! Yeah, I find this little projects lots of fun. They don't take too much effort and now that I mostly know what to do with the emmersed growth, aren't that difficult to grow. Plus once they get settled in they are real easy to take care of and make nice table pieces! Or desk pieces, haha. I think it's well worth giving it a shot.

So all you used to bind this together was Java moss? I read through this and it's was really interesting with a lot of info regarding the composition of the original Wabi Kusa ball ( http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...e/76538-secret-ada-wabi-kusa-they-filled.html ).


~Travis

Haha, I've read that exact thread. Very informative indeed! I found the rocks thing interesting. Since (at least originally) the Amano Wabi Kusa balls were meant to give you the instant "grown in" planted look in a new aquarium, I assume the rocks were there to keep the things from floating when the aquarium was filled. Perhaps they are there to keep things more open for roots, but the mud (at least mine) is quite soft so I think the roots will grow fine.

And to answer your question, yes, just java moss...LOTS of java moss, haha. I mean, I probably had a softball size clump of the stuff. I don't think it would have worked well if I only had a small amount of moss, I would have needed the sphagnum to keep things together at that point. Otherwise the ball is just going to slowly disintegrate in the water. I'll keep an eye on it if it seems like it's falling apart I'll have to more or less start over and reattach the sphagnum.

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

I do enjoy having this at my desk at work... nice to be sipping the morning coffee, thinking all sciencey while checking out the plants.



And then we have this guy trying to crawl away...



I will be moving the wabis over to a small rimless tank I ordered later this week, they're a little cramped in that cube. I'll get updated pictures when that all happens.

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

Snapped a couple pictures here at work on my phone. Just a few of the flowers currently blooming. The hygrophila polysperma has fun little flowering stalks all over it. I can count 13 at the moment! Here's a close up I'm particular proud of my phone for capturing, haha.



And finally, something I didn't even know flowered, hydrocotyle tripartita (sp japan)!!!!

Tiny, itty bitty little white/yellow flowers!


I really need to wipe the inside of the bowl...

Looks like the hygrophila "sp bold" is also about to bloom. I think hygros are officially some of my favorite plants to grow like this just cause of the flowers.

 

[Zorfox]

Wait until you see the difformis bloom. They look like miniature orchids.

 

[Tiptop]

Very cool bowls and wabis! You might have maybe convinced me to make one.

 

[ChemGuyEthan]

Wait until you see the difformis bloom. They look like miniature orchids.

Oh wow, got me excited for this, haha.

Very cool bowls and wabis! You might have maybe convinced me to make one.

Yeah man, put those riparium skills to good use, haha.

I'll hopefully be getting the wabis moved into the tank I got online. It's a little 2.5 gallon Finnex low-iron tank. Really quite a nice tank, and at $28 shipped it wasn't a tough purchase to make!