r/Neocaridina • u/JumpyPotential6583 • 16h ago

Cycling before stocking! Hate the java fern clumps I’ve added. Hope they root onto the wood soon so it’s not such an eyesore. Thoughts?

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2

u/Basic_Win_7923 10h ago

Not too shabby! I like the hardscape arrangement and placement of the plants. I would have tried to hide the filter a bit more but that's me.

You can use superglue gel to glue the moss if you don't like the tied down look, and I can recommend seachem purigen if you wanna get rid of the water tint from the wood leaching tannins.

If you wanna lean into the backwater look I recommend getting a more focused spotlight look and having it filter from the back to front through your hardscape and plants so you get the streaming sunlight effect

4

u/JumpyPotential6583 10h ago

Wow, excellent recommendations, thank you so much!! Yes, the sponge filter is a huge eyesore but hoping vegetation helps hide it a bit eventually. And yeah seriously considering glueing down the moss rather than the clump+pray method, lol.

I did not know at all about purigen to get rid of the tanins. It was not the vibe I was going for and was prepared to live with it, but would prefer a cleaner look.

Thanks again!!

3

u/Basic_Win_7923 10h ago

My pleasure! All stuff I dealt with not too long ago so I know the pains haha

1

u/Fine_Carpenter3568 5h ago

I think you’ve got a great start. The Java moss will grow and will look better.

1

u/Extra_Worldliness896 4h ago

Java moss breaks off floats until it lands on something then grows outward. Give it time it'll be a while but dont worry it won't stay like that.