[Shremph]

substrate: laterite layer, osmocote/flourish tabs, activflora top.

Today I went ahead and set up one of my new tanks that I got from Petco dollar per gallon sale. I wanted to dry start some Fissidens on a few pieces of drift wood and black lava rock. I was going to grind the Fissidens and rub them on the hardscape, but I could get myself to do it. Instead I just pressed the thin sheets of Fissidens onto the hardscape. I am patient and are willing to wait however long it takes for the Fiss to grip the hardscape. This is my first dry start and any help would be appreciated.

My question is, will the Fissidens adhere to the drift wood and lava rock when being applied with this method?

Other questions: Should I use a fert solution to spray on the moss or should water do?

Should I inject Co2?

Should I leave a gap in the plastic cover for air?

How moist should I keep it?

Is there anything else I am doing wrong in the pictures?

 

[Shremph]

I went ahead and hooked up a spare co2 reg and started injecting co2. My plastic wrap started ballooning. Anyway, I figure every other day I will run co2(a minute or so) till slightly ballooned and spray EI tank water daily to keep the moss damp. I will probably add some glosso too.

I probably should install a drop checker. Will try and find where I put them tomorrow.

 

[Monster Fish]

It will stick to the wood eventually but if you don't want to wait, you can use super glue gel to glue it to the wood.

 

[Shremph]

It will stick to the wood eventually but if you don't want to wait, you can use super glue gel to glue it to the wood.

I'm willing to give it the time it needs to stick naturally. I'm just happy to know that it will eventually stick to the wood.

Thank you

 

[Shremph]

I ended up grinding them since I've seen quite a few recommendations for doing so.

This way I was able to spread them over the drift wood and 8 lava rocks with some leftover.

 

[creekbottom]

The fissidens will attach to the wood ground up or whole and it usually doesn't take very long, around 2 weeks. It will probably take a little longer for the lava rocks.

 

[Shremph]

The fissidens will attach to the wood ground up or whole and it usually doesn't take very long, around 2 weeks. It will probably take a little longer for the lava rocks.

Good to know. 2 weeks is what I was told by a few people and this reaffirms it.

I never really asked about the lava rocks since I assumed it would be the same. In retrospect I can see why this wouldn't be the case. With that said, why does it take longer for the Fissidens to attach to the lava rocks? I tried to chip away at each surface to expose the more porous parts of the rock as opposed to the smooth smoked ash surface that was prevalent before the chipping.

Maybe 3 weeks? or are we talking about months maybe?

 

[Shremph]

I decided to submerge the ground up Fissidens after days of being smeared of the wood. Here is the progress after a few weeks being submerged. I didn't account for the acclimation of the driftwood (white fuzzy bacteria excretion) which muddied the process a little. Anyway, a lot of the Fissidens have attached and are growing out fairly quick in a high fert/co2/light environment. Pre-conditioned driftwood would have helped me. It seems the few lava rocks I put the Fissidens on are doing equally well. After the my doubting I am happy with the progress.

The white stuff is 75% gone and should be gone my next siphon.

 

[Shremph]

New update. growth has been good. Drift wood has cleaned up by itself.