Marimo Ball Vase...Thing...

PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
So, I've been wanting to make one of these things for the longest time. At first, I wanted to have a tank that only consisted of marimo balls, and possibly some shrimp, AND NOTHING ELSE... I envisioned little shrimp grazing on marimo balls, that were drifting and rolling in the water... pretending that each shrimp had their own marimo ball to graze on, like little floating grassy planets :D

Well, that "tank" turned into a cylindrical vase, and I think I really like how it looks! It's simple, and it's exactly how I wanted it to look, just marimo balls floating around :DI'm still contemplating if I want to add shrimp. I probably WON'T because I think that the combination of bubbles and such a small space would stress them out, especially if the marimo balls collided with one another. hahaha... Anyway, here's a video of how it looks.

NOTE*
These are all FAKE marimo balls, in that they are artificial. They're just those fuzzy craft balls that you can buy at a craft store. They TOTALLY look like the real thing, and at a fraction of the cost. The best thing, is that they won't ever die, AND . . . they aren't harvested from their home lakes, so it's helping mother nature out, in a way. :D

[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/m9E0AHpTNJc" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]
 
lloyd378

lloyd378

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
hey, didn't you tell me that fake marimo balls were called moss balls? Name change? Just kidding:lol!: :lol!:  super cool idea and nice accessory to a cool little tank
 
PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
lloyd378: LOL!! Well, yes. Fake Moss Balls are just styrofoam balls covered in moss. These things are "artificial marimo balls" ...at least, that's what I would call them lol!! =D
 
lloyd378

lloyd378

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
I know.... I was just giving you a hard time. No matter what you call them, it's a cool idea!

Now thinking way outside the box; you have ever considered making a larger vase/ tank with those fake balls and also a couple of those fake jelly fish? You'd have a crazy contradiction and also a great conversation starter in your hands
 
PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
lloyd378: This is as large as it gets, for the vase. lol, the vase is like 3 feet tall I think. I haven't seen any other vases larger than that... but yeah, I would definitely try that out if I could.

As for the jellyfish, I dunno...the fake ones look a little "too" fake, in my opinion. Hehehe
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Way cool PokeSethiroth! Seems you have a knack for water/aquatic art. I would enjoy having something like this in my home. I wonder how it would look under different colored lighting or if it would look dumb? You know something that rotates between blue, red, green, white lights??
 
PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
fishNAbowl: I want to experiment with different colored lighting, but the only concern I have is that the marimo moss balls won't really show much color, since they're already green, so...let's say if you have a light that's shining red, then the green would just look like a darker green. If the light turned yellow, the green would look lighter, etc.

But I'm guessing that the bubbles would reflect some of the light, (I'm imagining those huge bubbler tube things that have those plastic fish in them) . . . I used to have one as a kid, and it had a color changing LED at the bottom, which made the bubbles look colorful, so that MIGHT actually work. :D
 
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Anonymous

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PokeSephiroth said:
fishNAbowl:

But I'm guessing that the bubbles would reflect some of the light, (I'm imagining those huge bubbler tube things that have those plastic fish in them) . . . I used to have one as a kid, and it had a color changing LED at the bottom, which made the bubbles look colorful, so that MIGHT actually work. :D
Click to expand...
This is what I was thinking when mentioning the colored light. Not so much changing the color of the balls but an entirely different illumination in whole.

Just a thought :)
 
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Anonymous

Guest
PokeSephiroth said:
It just might work :DI just gotta find one to try it out. lol!
Click to expand...
Don't they make some sort of LED bubble wand? Think they have them @ Denny's pet world. I don't know how that would look though stuffed at the bottom of your vase.
 
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Pneumostome

New Member
Wow! That is so pretty. I often see those tall cylindrical vases at craft stores and wondered what people made with them. The motion of the artificial marimos is very hypnotic! :D

Also, the tank to the right is really wonderful.

Good job on both! :D
 
PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
fishNAbowl: Oh yeah, the do make those, unfortunately because it's a "wand" it would lay vertically, and then the lights would shine out through the sides. Hehehehe... what I think I would want, is some sort of submersible fluorescent-like tube, that changes colors. Then it would be like a water changing column of water! Bwaaaaaaahahahahahaha!!!

Pneumostome: Thanks! I have several videos of the tank that's beside the marimo ball vase. It used to be a fireplace, but since we never use it, we converted it into a fish tank :D

Here they are in order from latest to when it first got set up :D

[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/Dtk374HSbO0[/flash]

[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/G97ILvVmq1U[/flash]

[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/eF6qruPIDGY" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]
 
PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
Gryphon: The bubbles create a current of water that rises up to the top, and then eventually goes down once it reaches the top, because of that, the marimo balls follow the current, which allows them to float to the top and sink to the bottom. Eventually some of the Marimo Balls will just stay at the bottom, but I kinda like that effect of having ones that are just at the bottom, kinda just "chillin" while there are "active" ones that are moving around in the vase :)
 
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