DIY Floating Marimo Ball 3 Ways

In this example, I use this small vase to set up a nursery aquarium the way I usually do, with some gravel, dechlorinated water and etc.

 You can use any larger aquarium.
Let's add a seashell.

Here I have a Marimo moss ball - a slow growing type of filamentous algae.
 Let's put it in the aquarium.

The aquarium already looks nice.

I like to add seed shrimp Ostracoda into all my aquariums.

And also, I add pond snails.

 In a couple weeks, I add newborn guppies.

Fry nibble algae and eat seed shrimp that hide in the ball.

November 6th, 2017
 I got a cutting of a Wandering Jew plant.

 Trim off the bottom leaves and put the cutting into the nursery.

Make sure all leaves stay above the water.

It takes about a week for roots to grow on the cutting.
 Position the roots to grow through the Marimo ball.

In the following week, the roots have grown long enough for me to pull the Marimo ball up along the roots growing through the ball.
Here is my floating Marimo ball on November 19th.

I use this nursery to set up a heart shaped aquarium garden shown in a previous video.

 Check links in the description for more details.

In the following example, I use a wine bottle cork to make a float.

Cut about 1/4 of the cork.

Here you can see one of my aquarium gardens where I prepare land moss for growing underwater.

And there is a Marimo ball.
Let's get the ball out.

Aha! The Marimo ball broke apart as soon as I tried to pull it out.
And that is interesting.
I did not clean this ball at all...

 Apparently it caused the inner part of the ball to die, while the outer part kept growing.
 So, that is what I get for not cleaning it.

 Alright, I still can make a floating Marimo ball out of these remains. 

Tie a piece of Marimo ball to a fishing line.
Make a loose knot - a tight knot can cut through the ball.

Actually, we can attach a number of Marimo balls to one fishing line.
 Leave some space between balls to allow some room for them to grow.
Here I have 5 balls on one line and 1 loose ball.
 All 6 balls are from the old broken Marimo ball.

 Pull the fishing line through the hole in the cork.

Tie the fishing line to the cork.
That's it.

Let's put the line of Marimo balls into the aquarium.

 Ta-dah!
We have made a chain of 5 floating Marimo balls. 

 Squeeze dirt from a Marimo ball once every month or two to prevent the insides from getting rotten.

Shape the ball and drop it back into water.

The loose clean ball may float up and down through the day ;)

My guppies love Marimo balls.

 Here you can see the Marimo ball on April 3rd, 2019
Marimo balls grow very slowly.

Here you can see the same balls 4 months later on August 7th.

Yes, those oxygen bubbles would make the ball float if it was not tied to the line.
The balls grow about double their initial size.

 All look nice and fluffy.
All green growth is towards the light.

 The side of the ball exposed to the light grows the most and that is where oxygen bubbles appear.

Here you can see the same Marimo balls on September 25th.

I pull the balls out for cleaning...just squeeze the dirt out.

Also, I cut off two Marimo balls from the bottom of the chain.
I want to use this two Marimo balls in other aquariums.

The chain of remaining 3 Marimo balls goes into the old aquarium.

 Curious Cherry shrimp come to investigate Marimo balls right away.
 Shrimp love Marimo balls.

 In this example, I use a very small piece of cork to make another floating Marimo ball.

The cork should be small enough to fit inside of the Marimo ball.

Make a hole in the cork.

Pull the fishing line through the hole.

Tie a knot at the end of the line to prevent the line from sliding out through the hole.

Pull the other end of the line through the Marimo ball.
Hide the cork inside of the Marimo ball as best as you can.

 Give it time and the Marimo ball will grow over whatever parts of the cork can be seen now.

Let's anchor the other end of the fishing line with a seashell.

I made, in this way, one floating Marimo ball for my succulents aquarium garden.

Looks pretty good.

The other floating Marimo ball goes into my dinosaur head aquarium.

Right here.
There are two other floating Marimo balls in this aquarium in a seesaw setup I showed in a previous video.

The combination of 3 floating Marimo balls with tilted background makes a beautiful Halloween aquarium.

Have fun and happy Marimo balls :)