How to make Floating Marimo Moss Ball

Among other things, I have been testing slow growing filamentous algae, known as Marimo moss ball, for my sustainable aquarium gardens. 

Here you can see Marimo balls on the bottom of two nurseries exposed to direct sunlight.

 There are no fish - just snails and seed shrimp.

By end of the day, the Marimo balls floated to the surface. 

Bubbles of oxygen produced by the ball make it float.

 Apparently even slow growing Marimo balls exposed to direct sunlight produce enough oxygen bubbles to make it float. 

For comparison, you can see a cutting of fast growing Elodea that went dormant and is dying in this nursery no matter how much sunlight it gets.

 Wilting parts of all plants have to be removed, as I have explained in previous videos, in order to avoid algae bloom and what may follow after it. 

Aquariums with fish should never be left exposed to direct sunlight. 

Plants exposed to less light produce less or no oxygen. 

As a matter of fact, left without light, plants consume oxygen. 

bubbles ;)

But anyway, I have never seen Marimo balls float in my aquariums with fish.

 Perhaps fish swimming around knock off those oxygen bubbles off of the Marimo balls. 

We can make Marimo balls, or any plant for that matter, look like they float even without oxygen 

 Here I pull out a Marimo ball and squeeze it slightly to remove accumulated dirt from inside of the ball.

 I do it once every couple of months to keep Marimo balls growing healthy.

 You can drop the clean ball back in the aquarium. 

This ball is actually large enough for me to split it into four small parts. 

That's how easy it is to grow Marimo balls.

 Though it takes time to grow them.

 Give the balls a roughly rounded shape. 

Now let's tie a Marimo ball with a fishing line. 

The Marimo ball goes inside of the aquarium. 

Pull the fishing line through the planter of an aquarium garden.

 Make the ball hang somewhere in the middle of the tank.

 I use plasticine to secure the fishing line on top of the planter. 

Congratulations! 

We have made a floating Marimo ball :)

 The fishing line is virtually invisible in water, even in a close up view ;)

 We can put a number of Marimo balls on one fishing line. 

Leave a couple centimeters of space between balls. 

This way the Marimo balls would have more light and room to grow. 

Also, the fishing line makes it easy to pull balls for cleaning ;) 

I put the chain of three Marimo balls back in the same 3 liter aquarium garden. 

Secure the end of the fishing line on top of the planter. 

Give it time and you will have many more Marimo balls. 

Here is an interesting thing happening.

A larger Marimo ball anchored with a small shell floats up in a nursery without fish. 

Check my previous video to see how I set this one up ;)

Marimo balls in aquariums with fish and plants usually stay on the bottom with no chances to float. 

Accumulating dirt and eventually falling on parts if you don't clean them in a timely manner, as in this aquarium for example. 

Some parts will die and some will grow, but it looks messy for now. 

Cleaning Marimo balls is a sure way to prevent it from dying. 

Making floating Marimo balls also helps in this regard by providing more light and space for them to grow. 

And we can actually make Marimo balls float simply by placing them on top of other plants.

 Simple like that :)

 Sure, this Marimo ball has no way to float - it’s stuck between branches of other plants. 

Nevertheless, it has the floating appearance and effect. 

Floating or suspended Marimo balls make any aquarium look better and healthier.

 And all tiny aquatic critters love them! 

Have fun and happy Marimo balls :)