Well I'm just an hobby moss grower from American and I respect the presumed authority you business growers have but as it might have been said before as well as emphasized, mentioned, or brought out in this whole discussion, the conditions in which you excavated your moss are the conditions in which they're likely to grow in. Now that doesn't mean I'm encouraging anyone to go out and buy a light meter, pH meter, hydrometer, temperature meter(thermometer), etc. but with all the advice being thrown around I cant help but think the most sound advice would be from Mother Nature(not to sound hokey). In the case that you don't know the origin or species of your attained moss or even after you're given the simple specifics by some smooth-talking salesman or woman I encourage that you still educate yourself on the conditions moss are likely to thrive in such as has been advised in this forum but all with a grain of salt. I've never bought moss but in making my case the gentleman or lady eileenb58 stated that "feather moss and plume moss do not do well in a wet environment," which is a nice statement but my first ever time seeing feather moss was at the Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary Park in Lewiston, ME(zone 5) where heaps of green, growing feather moss on rocks in cold shallow streams could be found on March and April 2012(forgive me if they were planted or by some other means set to deceive me in thinking their slow-growing nature had made them thrive there). Needless to say these feather moss were growing in a very wet environment and character to their nature grew up in top of each other still very wet to the touch in the middle of streams and along side them. I would also like to note that there was also feather moss growing on trees but in less abundance as those I found nearer the bodies of water to possibly support eileenb58's claim of their disdain of wet environments. I don't believe eileenb58 is wrong(b/c there's a little theory called adaption and evolution) but I do believe that for the moss that she/he had access to the case is reasonable. What I really mean to support is that yes the moss people grow or find growing in conditions they have set up grow but they are not as standard as the moss that you've collected's origin is and possibly even a deviation. I took a fragment of this feather moss from ME(zone 5) and brought it with me to NJ(zone 6), thinking it would grow inside atop clay soil(abundant in my NJ region) on a rock(some mountain rock) I had set in a shallow water basin with no particular special treatment besides filling the water basin, and I even using tap water, high in calcium as I learned only to then wait until the fragment turned a deep brown with white tips in my possession, and I'm not too sure on any of your definitions of death of moss but I, after seeing the fragment turn a nice deep brown, transported it outside in its basin to a spot under a tree on the ground in May 2013 where it received a fair amount of moisture, air circulation and had considerably colder night conditions, a different precipitation quality and frequency and soon enough, though needing a bit more precipitation in my opinion, greened-up like a phoenix. Temperatures on the ground this year are probably around 75-70 daytime and drop down as low as the 60's night time. There isn't much precipitation now as there was in May and I know moss are intolerant to dry spells but my fragment has been clinging on for dear green for almost a two years since it's excavation with it now signs of life after being placed outdoors for three months. There's something to be learned here about life and death of moss in addition to viable conditions. Let me again say that I am only a hobby moss grower and my methods are not orthodox but upon researching feather moss(on Wikipedia if you can believe them) I found that feather moss grows naturally in tiaga/boreal forests: cold northern parts like New England(where ME is included) and Canada. As far as whether any of that means wet or dry conditions for where you place them I don't know but I do have a sneaking suspicion that they like it cold for a spell/season. I have this book "Moss Gardening" by George Schenk who states on page 201 about feather moss Hylocomium splendens, "There is no use in even trying this species unless one intends to keep it in a terrarium (where it will stay fresh a while even if it does not grow), or unless one provides a rich bosky place for it in the open, as beneath a grove of tall shady conifers." I have my little basin under a the shave of a 10ft maple, the point is take all the advice you can with a grain of salt regardless of the authority published in forum, encyclopedia, or text. What I have done recently is set up an exo-terra terrarium with a good patch of brown(once green in the cold Thorncrag stream) feather moss on a rock besides the edge of water(collected rain water this time) that I have being pumped out of the terrarium and into a minifridge freezer(call it a DIY water chiller) then returned to the terrarium a little colder(70-65F) than room temp(90-70F) in clear tubing that water condenses atmospheric humidity in and outside the terrarium. There are two fans in the terrarium; one over the water blowing across it's surface and one higher near the terrarium's roof. The tubing with the condensed water on it inside the terrarium apparently, if not the cool water below's fault by convection, upon it's exit helps keep the terrarium cool with help from the fans that blow in their entering and exiting paths. I have miniature orchids above the whole moss set up just in case you thought it was all for the love of moss. I have only recently set this up however and am hoping that my brown moss notices the difference. While I could upload a picture, since I only today completed the project, I'll wait until I see something green from my moss to confirm to my reasoning that nature knows best. Again, I am a hobbyist. I have not done the scientific experiments(if you don't count observation) necessary to create identical conditions for the moss I would like to grow given it's origin. To show you how much I care about the specific conditions I will give my advice: If you want a little tip from me on growing feather moss I say get a plate(dish plate or shallow ceramic plate w/e), a red lava rock(not the small broken up ones of soil additives found in baggies but the ones that are weighed along with all the other large decorative rocks at garden centers, perlite-less garden soil or even clay, silt w/e soil you have around, and some feather moss. Place the plate in a shady spot(maybe under a 10ft maple tree-this is separate from what I discussed previously as the mountain rock I explained is not porous to my knowledge) and sprinkle(hopefully not on a windy day) a little of your soil on the rock which should be perforated if you got the right one. You don't need to create a whole layer of soil on top of the rock and you might not need soil at all(did I mention that I'm not an authority). Also it's okay for the soil that you sprinkle, should you literally be sprinkling it, to fall into the plate's well(the moss will grow here too). Next break up and sprinkle the feather moss, wet or dry, over the lava rocks and add rain water to the water basin if natural precipitation isn't available to do the job often enough to wet the rocks. Red Lava rocks are porous(admit water through their perforated surface) so when they sit in water they absorb it and it can be wet, evaporate and w/e else all around it's surface above water. The fact that it is porous makes it a good surface for moss like feather moss to grow(and I wouldn't be surprised if you buy a lava rock w/ another kind of moss growing on it but don't worry b/c feather moss, as you read and educate yourself, has a unique growth pattern where it grows over even itself to form a new sheet) so there's no need to remove already present moss. What you might want to take note of is that since lava rocks admit water and since such decorative rocks are usually stored outside that it might be best to choose a rock after a few days of no rain just so that possibly all the rock that's being weighed is all the rock you're getting and not added water weight. Nevertheless you can leave this setup outside year-round if you're zone 6 and 5(let me mention again that Wiki says it like taiga/boreal forests i.e. "let it snow, freeze, thaw." The rocks I left out in the winter haven't degreaded to my knowledge despite their perforation and water's expanding property when ice. You might not see anything for a year, hopefully a good part of that time in which it's covered in white but after one winter I have found a few feather sprigs coloring my red rocks with their lively green and for you indoor terrarium growers-I'm working on my own zone 5 to zone 6 solution in a terrarium set up mentioned earlier but again I'm no authority on the matter; I'm just a hobbyist.

The size shouldn't limit you on being able to use the foam, but I would bet it will cost quite a bit. I haven't tried using foam with acrylic before, but I am sure others here have. The only problem with it I can think of would be mold releases. If the acrylic has any mold release chemicals in it, they will leach out over time and cause the foam to release. But being that it was a fish tank, I would assume they didn't use mold releases to make it because they are probably toxic to the fish. Also being acrylic, you can always anchor any heavy branches to the background just by drilling holes in it and using screws. Just make sure you drill them above your desired water level to avoid leaks. If I was building a terrarium out of a tank like that thats exactly how I would do it. Separating the sections wouldn't be any different than a small terrarium, so look at some other threads here to see how people do it. You can always caulk a piece of plexi in as a divider. -DH

Sahoyaref Have no idea ,was just told this by a fellow customer at HD.lol He was using it for its intended purpose to fill spaces in walls. Between plumbing lines in his case. He said that after 3 years he had to buy more as it had shrunk away from the pipes. He also told me it could not be kept constantly wet.So far have not noticed any difference between material underwater,constantly dry and constantly wet nor has there been any loss in adhesion. It will setup and cure underwater though adhesion is very poor. It's also a lot softer and spongier. Even if this proves to be true I don't see any problem. How could a terrarium go 3 years without a major overhaul anyway??lol I'm helping a friend create a rockface for Rift lake cichlids using the super expanding type. All kinds of caves and crevices at the touch of a button and the really great thing is almost no weight. This tank is 96x24x24 deep so you can imagine how much rock that would require.Not to mention the cost!! It is going to be difficult to paint where it adheres to the glass used a layer of black silicone before the foam which will be trimmed around the faces.. You could use various colored silicone to get a more mottled effect but went with black as he thinks it looks fine. Would love to try it to make Coral platforms for marine setups. Imagine having the exact size and depth and stability. So far nobody will allow me to use it in their reeftanks lol. Have found no chemical reactions in FW in 3 months. Personall,i believe if the swings are going to occur they would happen in the first week. Have not had a single fatality of plant or animal. gary

The bulbs I use are 36" long tubes like the one pictured here: http://www.hellolights.com/96wat6734jap.html You can also find them at www.ahsupply.com. Mine are the Coralife brand, but similar or identical to the above. It looks like I mis-spoke. I saw a site indicating that these get nearly 10,000 lumens, but everywhere else states that they produce around 8,100 - 8,600 lumens depending on type and light color. The problem is that you have to have a ballast and endcap before you can use these bulbs. I put my ballast/endcap assembly together for around $30 . . . but they are really tough to come by for that price (like I said, I had to buy a case of ballasts). Anyway, sorry about the apparent exaggeration--but 8,100 lumens is still pretty high performance, IMHO.