# Wabi-kusa pimp club! - WE HAVE A WINNER (RAOK)



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Bottoms up


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Awesome! How did you make it? I want to grow some hc like that like Amano for my next tank. Is really just rocks and peat moss? Have you seen his videos? He just sticks them on top of aqua soil and it's like instant carpet!


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Yep! Thats wabi-kusa! Technically, wabi-kusa is an ADA brand name, but oh well. Doesn't really matter. Its like calling tissue paper kleenex. 

For the second one, I took some normal potting soil, packed it underneath the ball of plants I had already rooted, and then wrapped a net underneath to hold the soil and shape.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Cool.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

We need more wabi-kusa pimps in da house!


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Looks great! Hope to see more setups like this.



Da Plant Man said:


> Hello there!
> 
> I just got my first wabi-kusa set-up. I would like to do more, and its a really cool way to grow emersed plants as a decorative house plant.
> 
> ...


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## SimonC (Jul 22, 2011)

I want in...


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

somewhatshocked said:


> Looks great! Hope to see more setups like this.


Thanks! You should try wabi-kusa



SimonC said:


> I want in...


Wabi-kusa pimp club #2 - SimonC 

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?


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## SimonC (Jul 22, 2011)

Da Plant Man said:


> Thanks! You should try wabi-kusa
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Indeed it does, thanks, lets grow now:biggrin:.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

SimonC said:


> Indeed it does, thanks, lets grow now:biggrin:.


Lets start recruiting! 

I'm willing RAOK a plant package of plants that do wonderfully in a wabi-kusa dish! 

This includes - 
Acmella repens
Bacopa monneri, caroliniana, salzmannii
Persicaria hydropiperoides, kawagoanum
Ludwigia sp. 'red' 


To enter you must be a wabi-kusa pimp, and have your number displayed in your signature or above your avatar. 

Now go! Find a dish, get some moss, and get ready for some serious wabi-kusa'ing


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## SimonC (Jul 22, 2011)

done...


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Also forgot to add. The winner will need to pay the $5 shipping unless somebody wants to sponsor them.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm in! I am pretty sure I have everything needed for a good ol' Wabi-Kusa. Just need some plants and maybe a little clay!


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

RipariumGuy is #3!


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

#1 - Da Plant Man
#2 - SimonC
#3 - RipariumGuy


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Get more people to join!


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Question for Wabi-Kusa savvy people: Any cheap, shallow, nano rimless tanks or vases out there? I have a bowl on hand that I can use, but I'd like to possibly add small fish or shrimp to the mix.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Look at walmart in the glasswares section, thrift stores, or craft stores. Should run about $10 or cheaper. 

I have a 2g cookie jar that eventually I would like to have plants growing out of. Right now it just has some shrimp in it.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Nice job!


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Forgot to mention! RAOK will end on the 28th!


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## SimonC (Jul 22, 2011)

Huh?


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

People need to spread the word about wabi-kusa!


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Sign me up for the club. I'll have a neat little ball of plants sooner than later!

-Andrew


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## SimonC (Jul 22, 2011)

Lol


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Oh, and I want to be #0. That'd be fun.

-Andrew


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

I'll sponsor the shipping for the winner!


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

mordalphus said:


> I'll sponsor the shipping for the winner!


Yay!

But first, shouldn't you become a wabi-kusa pimp? 

Mordalphus is #4! (Andrew, you might not be able to be #0, but #-1)


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## GitMoe (Aug 30, 2010)

Throw me in this club...










My cat ended up cracking this bowl and I haven't had a chance to fix it yet. But once it's resealed I'll be firing up another Wabi-Kusa.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Dude, that wabi-kusa is BOSS. 

Gitmoe is #5!

And thank you very much, Liam! You are very generous!


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## GitMoe (Aug 30, 2010)

Da Plant Man said:


> Dude, that wabi-kusa is BOSS.
> 
> Gitmoe is #5!
> 
> And thank you very much, Liam! You are very generous!


Thanks man. That Nausea Red didn't end up working out so well. But the Kompact and the Glosso exploded. My cat pulled on the top rim several times and caused a huge crack in the bottom. Need to silicone the crack. Won't be visible when filled again. I already have several plants in an emersed setup waiting to be used for Wabi-Kusa.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Up we go!

We need more people in this club! Even if you don't have wabi-kusa, you can join! You just have to promise to get one.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

I don't have a wabi kusa yet but I have several emersed/soil thingies going on. My next one will be a true "wabi kusa" meaning that it will be more of a display type thing instead of a container to grow plants easy.  so sign me up!!


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## greenman857 (Feb 25, 2012)

OK I'm in! Except not sure for what.
The whole Wabi-thing is pretty confusing at this point. 
It is copyrighted: but that only means for marketing ? (selling the complete product?) not discussion, construction etc?
Maybe what we need is guidelines or parameters.
for me the interest (not definition) is in the kind of ball/groups of plants:
moss, hairgrass, ferns, bacopa, or whatever works, emersed or submersed.
The question is what works, where and what are the various techniques.
Here's one of mine.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

I have a question about the setup for a "wabi-kusa" ball. If its peat moss and rocks, then wouldn't that be bad to add to a tank even if , say you had aqua soil already. bad meaning too acidic or messy? What I mean is, kind of like what Amano does now when he makes a layout. He adds pre-made wabi-kusa to all of his tanks, either with stems, hc,dhg, etc... Then the plants grow out into there submersed form from that. I'm just curious. It would be awesome if they explained how they did it and why in the videos. Here is the one I'm talking about in particular. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEHMfLNLp1Y


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## FreedPenguin (Aug 2, 2011)

I'm planning on starting one when I have time. I bought some emersed growth specimens which are growing nicely in my aquasoil emersed setup. I would also be interested in a sort of guideline in setting these up.


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## greenman857 (Feb 25, 2012)

I've been playing around with these for a while, so have some ideas.
But first shouldn't this discussion be moved or re-introduced somewhere else? Maybe plants or journal, Swap/Shop seems like a odd place for a discussion.
Just be sure to just title it Wabi not Wabi-kusa as that seems to create some controversy. 
Just asking? whadda ya'll think?


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Gitmoe - #5 
frrok - #6
greenman857 - #7
FreedPenguin - #8


Up up up we go!


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Oh, and BTW, those are some AWESOME wabi-kusa set-ups!


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Da Plant Man said:


> Gitmoe - #5
> frrok - #6
> greenman857 - #7
> FreedPenguin - #8
> ...


Nice. I'll add to my when I'm on my lap top.


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## Chlorophile (Aug 2, 2011)

Do you guys keep yours indoors?
I don't think its humid enough inside, all of mine seem to wilt...


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## greenman857 (Feb 25, 2012)

OK here we go:


Wabi: First I think is in need of some parameters/definition, for me (in my mind feeble as it is!), refers to the little ball or grouping of plants growing together. As in the Amano video it can all be one plant, but I think the most interesting are the plant assemblages. 

From *Wiki*
_Wabi connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object._

So how do you make a Wabi ? Well that's like saying how do you do an aquarium, there is no right way, there are better ways and ways according to "taste" and interest.

Each assemblage of plants has a range of conditions it can tolerate from low humidity emersed, to low light submersed. The trick is knowing what you want and select accordingly.

There has been discussion about what goes into a Wabi. I usually use compost (think bagged composted cow manure), clay and a binder on the outside like sheet moss or long strand sphagnum. I then tie it with thread (fishing line or cotton thread).

Generally to get good growth particularly with mosses I grow them on in a high humidity tank, over time reducing the humidity, I have found these adapt quite well to a lower humidity environment but also (given the right plants) to submerged.

Chrlorophyll: you say yours dry out, are they in direct sun?, do you have standing water or water and gravel to help increase humidity? Of course a lid would help too....


Wabi growing submerged


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## greenman857 (Feb 25, 2012)

OK I guess It's a one man Wabi pimp club.
Main plant _Mazus reptans_: a hardy perennial that tolerates wet conditions, but not being submerged for long periods.
Several moss species possibly including possibly some _Taxiphyllum species_.
BTW dont click view large image view it seems to take too long to open but I couldn't figure out how to remove


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## Lee04 (Feb 11, 2012)

Nice thread! I started one yesterday with a bit of HC. I may switch the plant for something else. 
To make the base, I followed a similar method to the one described here.


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

Caton, make me number 9. You should talk to Frank. I have the perfect container for one...

Maybe we should put together a list of links on Wabi kusa, or write our own intro to "What is Wabi Kusa" and a quick step by step set up guide. I would be happy to put the articles on my blog.


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## greenman857 (Feb 25, 2012)

I'd be happy/interested in helping put something together, guide-wise.

I think I mentioned this before and I'm not sure if this is true or people are in agreement but for the US the Wabi-K concept is pretty much undefined and as such we can create or develop our own interpretation.

I have a bunch of photos of stuff I'm playing with and will have more to come when/if I get the time.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Oliver knott doing something with balls of plants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEisEscDL64&feature=g-all-u


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Robert H said:


> Caton, make me number 9. You should talk to Frank. I have the perfect container for one...
> 
> Maybe we should put together a list of links on Wabi kusa, or write our own intro to "What is Wabi Kusa" and a quick step by step set up guide. I would be happy to put the articles on my blog.


We should most definitely do that! I will start working on that soon!



Lee04 said:


> Nice thread! I started one yesterday with a bit of HC. I may switch the plant for something else.
> To make the base, I followed a similar method to the one described here[/URL].
> 
> View attachment 48264


Very nice! I shall add you to the list!



greenman857 said:


> I'd be happy/interested in helping put something together, guide-wise.
> 
> I think I mentioned this before and I'm not sure if this is true or people are in agreement but for the US the Wabi-K concept is pretty much undefined and as such we can create or develop our own interpretation.
> 
> I have a bunch of photos of stuff I'm playing with and will have more to come when/if I get the time.


Alright! Its going to be a group effort then!



mistergreen said:


> Oliver knott doing something with balls of plants.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEisEscDL64&feature=g-all-u


That is way too cool


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Alright, once we hit 15 members, I will draw for the winning lottery!


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## SimonC (Jul 22, 2011)

Just snagged some nice Wabi glass at The Goodwill paid $11 USD for all four of them.


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## SimonC (Jul 22, 2011)

Just picked these up today. Pretty little guys :mrgreen: ... 









Asparagus Fern:









Mini Palm:


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Figure I better pick a RAOK member just to get things moving. We need more members!

Gitmoe is the winner! Yaayayayay!

Going to send you a PM, gitmo. Thanks for our sponsor, Aquarliam AKA mordalphus who is paying for shipping! 

Congrats!

(BTW, those are pretty awesome, Simon.)


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