# Planted Tanks > Beginners' Corner >  Brown moss ball - help?!

## tiintinn

Hi all,

am new to the forum and found this to be a great resource center.

have recently (1 week) got 2 mossball but they are starting to have brown patches.

the balls are place in a small tank and have also place a submersible fillter with them ( so that they get to turn ") )..am using normal tap water.. 

i am probably doing something wrong here as from previous thread and other forum (that i managed to find), moss balls shouldnt be turning brown by the day.

really looking forward to all the advise tat i can get from this.

many thanks in advance!

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## gene

what lighting are you using?

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## fotoudavid

Maybe temperature and lights not enough

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## gemo82

Moss balls are quite hardy and can survive with minimum requirements. I had a few of them in a some container with no filter etc, just indirect sunlight and water changes with my aquarium tank's water, and they survived for a year till I gave them away. 

Even though the requirements are low, it doesn't mean they are not needed. From the information you provided, I can only pinpoint at two problems.

Make sure there is a light source. No high wattage lights needed. 

Tap water contains chloramine and chlorine, which I think is the main issue that causes them to die off. Make sure you treat the water with anti-chloramine.

Lack of nutrients could be another cause. Having some fauna in the small tank and feeding them should be enough.

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## tiintinn

Hi all, many thanks for replying to this tread.

currently, there is no main lighting in use. just indirect sunlight from the windows. 
am having a desktop light from ikea over the small tank (in orange light)

noted on the water, will change the water (treated with anti-chloramine) tonite...
for the fauna, am thinking of 2 little guppies...will this be a good addition?... or should i get water plant fertilizer, as am worried that i will not be able to take good care of the guppies (given i am already killing the moss ball)..

again thanks for your reply...
will keep you posted on the progress...
david

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## gemo82

You do not have to change the water totally. Just add the required amount of anti-chloramine to the water directly.

Perhaps it'll be better if you can provide more information for brothers here to help you. Like the size or volume of the tank you are using, the wattage of the desktop light, or temperature of water if you have a thermometer. A picture speaks a thousand words, so it'll be good if you can provide a picture of your set-up too.  :Smile: 

2 guppies sounds fine to me, depends on how big your tank is. Do not add them in right away. Give your tank at least a week more to cycle before you add in your fauna. A little bit of fish food in the water to decompose now could help your tank to cycle and provide some nutrients for the moss ball. Not too much though. 

Fertilisers wise, I think it is not very necessary for just 2 moss balls, but you can go ahead and add them in very diluted amount. Just beware that with more light and fertiliser now, the next problem that could surface will be algae. 

Lastly, I just re-read your initial thread and realise the moss balls turned brown in just a week after you bought them. Very likely, they were already not doing well before you bought them, so do not blame yourself too harshly. Buy from another source, check them and clean them up thoroughly before putting them into your tank next time. 

Good luck!!

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## tiintinn

Hi Gemo82,

thanks for the advise. Have actually went ahead with the changing of water after adding anti-chloramine(oops)

the tank is 17.5cm(L) x 13.5 cm(B) x 15(H)
the lamp is a desktop kind from ikea and its using 11W bulb (orangy light)
below is 2 shots of the tank. there is a piece of wood (soak for 4 days in water and sun dry before putting into the tank)
setup is really noob  :Laughing: 

_The balls are floating as i clean (squeeze abit) them when changing water 

_Will wait for the tank to cycle then get the fauna.

Hope they recover soon 

many thanks for the advise and hope to hear more soon!  :Grin:

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## reagan022

you remind me of myself when i started. well i too throw everything into the tank when i first got it. 

lolx everything died. heres my 50cents worth which i learn from others and myself. others might not agree... :Grin: 


tank - clean it with your hands and water before you use them. don't use soap to clean.

fishes - don't buy them till your tank is cycle. unless you plan to use fishes (cheap ones) to cycle your tank.

plants - not really good with them so can't say much. lolx

water - tap water is fine, you need to add anti chlorine. chlorine kills every living thing including you (in large amount). cycle the tank awhile (at least a few days, faster if you have something to help the growth of the bacteria) to get the good bacteria. use cheap fish to test the water if they are still alive maybe the water is fine... it does not always work lolx. some guys in the forum would use test kit to test the water condition as they keep exotic stuff. 

good bacteria - you get them when you cycle the tank. they help to break down waste in your tank and you need them to keep your tank eco system going. if i'm not wrong most LFS sell some formula to kick start the good bacteria.

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## Fuzzy

Its also possible that your marimo balls are getting used to your water.

If you're not planning to put any fauna in there, you could maybe consider adding some sea salt (not iodised salt) and raising the salinity a little bit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marimo

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## tiintinn

Hi Reagan022 and Fuzzy, 

thanks for the tips, prob will invest in the bacteria formula...wondering if you might have any to recommend? will keep fishes out for the moment (dont wanna harm more than i have done  :Grin: . 

just wondering, will the light source be critical for now? just read from some thread abt using Coralife 50/50 Mini Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (10watt??) for growth. 

will prob keep cycling the water and prob get back marimo balls. will also check out the salt...

thanks again will post images if things turns for the beta (or worst) :Razz:

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## reagan022

well its always good to share what we learn.

its good to do some research first before you buy your stuff. otherwise will be like me (ever killed a tank of 20 over fishes cos i didn't test the water first)...... :Knockout:  :Knockout:  :Knockout: 

arhh one more thing. soil like gex would help with your water conditions. i use gex, at first the water will be acidic but after a month or two the level drops and stables. buy a small pack (buy the soil which is not so fine, easier to clean) to try.

look forward to see more pictures in a month or two when you tank flourish.

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## gemo82

In my humble opinion, your set-up looks fine. Bacteria formula is not really necessary, just let nature do its work here. I bought a bottle when I just started out, but realised that I do not have to pay for something that will come free.

For the light source, the power should be more than sufficient, since moss balls can tolerate low to high light levels. If you must do something to the light, perhaps just change the bulb to white light closer to natural sunlight's spectrum, instead of the orange light, so stimulate photosynthesis. No need for branded light bulbs. 

For substrate, I don't think it is necessary to get soil, unless you plan to plant other flora with roots. If you don't like it bare bottomed, perhaps getting some inert lapis sand will be neater than soil, since there are not rooted plants. 

Adding salt to increase the salinity is fine if you know what you are doing. How much to add, what you are trying to achieve, what fishes do you plan to keep and their tolerance of salinity etc. If not, better leave the water as it is. 

Just be patient and see how it progress. If nothing went wrong, don't fix it. By changing and adding too many things too often, it will be difficult for you to pinpoint on your action when things go wrong.

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## tiintinn

Hi all,

posting my update on the status of the moss ball  :Smile: 
since the last post, have went ahead and purchase an aqua zonic clip on lamp (11W) but moss balls are still turning brown by the day. water have been replace every 5 days (but notice that water turns a mild green)

have purchase a bottle of Seachem Fourish Excel from C328 and a packet of gex soil. :Smile:  hopefully Flourish Excel will be able to help the moss balls recover... have just introduce it to the tank... :Confused: 

as for the soil, am very interested in setting up a low tech tank with moss balls and US Fissiden. Wondering if anyone could advise on the approach given my situation.(have read a few threads in this forum on setting up of low tech tanks) As the soil will likely need cycling and settling down time. wondering will it be okay to keep the moss ball in a small container? or should i place the balls in the fridge? :Opps: 

wonderin if anyone knows how much is the price for US Fissiden...and the best place to get it from  :Razz: 

thanks again for all your response and advice..
much appreciated!
david :Grin:

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## Fuzzy

Doh you actually don't need soil if you just intend to keep Fissidens and Marimo balls.

In fact you might experience algae problems from the soil nutrients without rooted plants using them up...

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## herns

> Hi all,
> 
> am new to the forum and found this to be a great resource center.
> 
> have recently (1 week) got 2 mossball but they are starting to have brown patches.
> 
> the balls are place in a small tank and have also place a submersible fillter with them ( so that they get to turn ") )..am using normal tap water.. 
> 
> i am probably doing something wrong here as from previous thread and other forum (that i managed to find), moss balls shouldnt be turning brown by the day.
> ...



They need to be rotate regularly so the other sides are also expose to the light.

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## seanang168

Hi 

regarding the moss ball turning brown, does temperature play a part? I think I heard someone ever mention that moss needs cooler temperature. My tank used to have 29 to as high as 32 degree celcius and my moss ball turns brown too. I have since brought temperature down to 27 to 28 and trimmed my moss to remove the brown portion. I got high light and CO2 injection. My high light not directly above the moss though.

I will need to monitor further would this drop in temperature helps.

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## vhdl288

I think the water is too hard also, :Shocked: 
try to check the GH/KH

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## tiintinn

Hi all,

many thanks for all the advice.
am turning the balls more often to allow better light exposure.

with regards to the temp, will invest in a thermometer to monitor the water temp... :Smile: 

the water is taken from tap (anti-chlorine applied) and left exposed for a day before refilling...

have not added the gex soil... am thinking of doing a low tech non COs tank...but will start another thread on advisory for this :Razz: 

thanks again
david :Grin:

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