Moss Genius.

Most of the tutorials for planting java moss seem to be:
Step 1: Get moss
Step 2: Tie moss to something
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Beautiful underwater moss plains.

But the stuff comes in a clump. How does it ever become lovely waving grass fronds? Well after some trial and error, I may have figured it out.

Would have taken pics but no camera currently. And this is more fun anyway, right?

Not pictured: Having a grid with tiny holes, and needing to jab them with a pair of scissors to make them big enough. But my persistence has been rewarded, and I have a very small and very lovely small grass-like test clump in my tank now.
Now all I need... is another hour or three of spare time to sit and stuff the rest of the moss through a plastic grid.

Unrelated!

I finally caved and bought the new fish tank I had been admiring at the local pet store....
It is a slick little six gallon, a rectangular glass box with the filter/lighting tucked away behind. Best of all? It's aspect ratio is kinda widescreen.


I decided almost immediately that I really wasn't comfortable having it on the desk. Box of water + electronics is a bad idea, and the location made it really awkward to get at. So I picked up a cheap little stand and found it a better home. Look, books!


Been very busy so the tank has been going up in stages.... Got some rocks for it today. Now, it is kind of hard to tell just how awesome these rocks are, but trust me... they are. Theyre black striped with white, I am going for a limited color palette with this.


The sand needs to settle again though. Sand does a LOT more settling than gravel does, let me tell you. And you need to do a lot more RINSING too.

Next step is cycling it, and then fun experiments with anchoring java moss! And by fun I probably mean that it will involve lots of swearing for awhile.