Palu's not 100% waterproof! HELP! :(

[DazzleDiscus]

Thanks momerath!
Quick update (and I appologize for my lack of pictures... *sigh* will get them loaded when I have the time to mess with it):

Yesterday morning I re-smothered the right side of the cave where I found the leak that led to the log. Also filled the leak from the top waterfall, did some major moss attachment to the background (want more though! lol), and filled in the leak from the bottom creek/waterfall area.

Just finished a water test about 15minutes ago. No water under the log *YIPPEEE!!!!*
The other two leaks from the creeks are not leaking anymore. The mosses are able to stay moist from the two creeks, and even have a nice dripping effect going on.

A couple more things to fix though... the main waterfall can't hold all the water that is flowing into it, and is steadily dripping water into the planting area again. So, I'll attend to that once everything is dry again. The top creek is slowly dripping water into one of the planting cups, but a bit on silicone will fix that.

There are two patches of moss that I think will have a hard time soaking up enough water for them to do well, so I am going to install cotton wicks underneath the moss. That way I don't have to worry about the sheets drying out.

The water is rather murky, and I'm going to dump water over everything when it's all done so as to get rid of extra dust/dirt.

[Grimm]

Sounds awesome man....Looking forward to the picture update.
I'm liking how you are taking the time for testing...Especially to figure out where and if the moss will grow...I'm definately stealing your planning strategies for my next tank because I want my moss to grow wild

[beckdg]

a few things:

1. of course i'm going to ask... rearranged the room so missed a couple days but you're very welcome.
2. yes... definitely add the dye to the tips and tricks thread... Tips and Tricks
3. man... is not so appropriate for a "chick"... check out the dude or chick thread... lol

[DazzleDiscus]

Grimm: WHAT? You mean to say that the info I post here can be stolen by ANYONE?!? ... gorsh what a world we live in! lol. by all means, if you think you can use the ideas, have at it! I wish you well with the experimenting!

haha thanks beck lol
Here are some pics for your eyes to feast upon:
===> before moss add/leak fix:


--->first moss add


--->waterfall leak before fix


--->close up of waterfall ends


--->Top view of right side of the tank during first moss add


--->cotton addition before second moss add


--->favorite moss (it takes a dry with no problem, and the dried "stems" open fast enough to host a show after a misting)


--->"pillow moss" on right side of tank


---> second favorite moss. Bright lime-may green with nice featherage. holds alot of water and does ok with a drying out. Takes a couple of minutes to spring back up though.


---> Some sort of feathery, fern-like moss that grows in huge strong strong sheets behind the swingset area. Used this on top of the cotton wicks and over the cave.


--->close up of the first waterfall's ridge.


--->mystery moss that isn't extremely common around my house, which is fine with me as it's not particularly my favorite... It grows the tallest off the mosses that I've seen around these parts and is often spaced apart and doesn't cover much. (the moss is stary-shaped and is in the direct middle of the pic)


I will also post this on the build thread so as to keep everything together.

Any questions?

[beckdg]

looking good dazzle.

[phoenixflames44]

What a coincidence! I got the same types of mosses on eBay. I got your favorite moss. Which is quite miraculous in its "misting revivals", and I also got the fern type moss called "delicate fern moss" which requires a lot of moisture.

[Epiphile]

That looks really great, Dazzle. You've probably upped the survival chances of that collected moss by using native soil, as well. And I really like the look that your soil provides- so much interesting texture. Your cotton wicks, too, were a clever bit of thinking.

Good job.

[DazzleDiscus]

Thanks everyone! I'm looking into getting a fogger - I don't want it in the tank in case of electrical shock, but more research will help on that. :P There are plenty of threads around here that deal with that lol

Phoenix: ah I didn't even think that ebay might have it! I may order some next time I setup another vive. I only find it on certain tree bases (only on oak, but in certain microclimates) which makes me wince as I really like the moss around the trees. I didn't strip the moss completely from the trees, so I'm hoping that it will fill back in nicely in a year or so.

[froggsong]

Check walgreens for a fogger. They have one for the cold and flu season that is just perfect for our uses. I have a picture of it posted around here somewhere...

[eddyplaner]

Hi dazzle and folks

The dye leaking method is extremely awesome idea.. I thought of that method before, i had tried milk to detect leak , too! LOL