Thinking of starting a planted bowl...

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sealife

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Joined
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Australia.
With no electrical equipment. Is that possible?

Something like this:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/pHosting/f/10463_bowl_2b.jpg

Can that be done with no fish?

Basically just want to start another hobby to pass time, with another water based tank, but something very simple and cost efficient. And I have too much electricity running at moment from other tanks. So I thought plants would be good. If possible, maybe throw in an invertebrate or 2.

If this is possible, I have a few questions, as I have never had real plants before. I am a real noob to this, so sorry for the basic questions:

1. Exactly what would I need all up?

2. What is the smallest size bowl I should get?

3. Can I just leave bowl permanently outdoors for sunlight?

4. How do I keep water clean?

5. Do I still need water changes?

6. Do plants or invertebrates need to worry about nitrogen cycle?

7. If invertebrates are allowed in a small bowl, which of them would be ok to add?

8. I actually have a spare 4g tank square cube tank lying around somewhere. Would that work better than a smaller 1g or so round bowl?

9. What plants would work, if just kept outdoors.( or maybe indoors with just standard house lights on ceiling, which ever works better)

I think that's all questions I can think of?

Thanks guys.
 
I am going to tag along on this and watch. We spend much time outside on or deck in the summer and would love to do something as a center piece for our table.
 
Try looking up Wabi-Kusi bowls. Ive always liked the look of them

Not to sure how to answer most of your questions as i've not tried this myself. I will say that a 1g is too small for any fish but is ok for shrimp and snails
 
Thanks guys for the input. Much appreciated.
I googled images of wabi kusi bowls, and I was blown away. They look so awesome to do.
I want to try one. Hope its not hard. Might try find that square empty tank I have, cause im on a strict budget.
How do they keep water so clear without a filter....

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Thanks guys for the input. Much appreciated.
I googled images of wabi kusi bowls, and I was blown away. They look so awesome to do.
I want to try one. Hope its not hard. Might try find that square empty tank I have, cause im on a strict budget.
How do they keep water so clear without a filter....

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Im from England and we have a aquascape shop called 'the green machine'. The owner is also a professional aquascaper.
If you want a good video to watch on the creation of a wabi kusi theres like a 20min video on youtube.
Just search james findlay wabi kusi
 
Wow these look AMAZING!
Thank you all so much for the help.

I searched for that tank, and found it, a found a fair bit lying around in the house:
- square cube tank. 4.1gallon
- 7500k led light
- small HOB filter
- 25w heater

I am hoping to just do this with no electrical power though. if possible.

Some of those pictures are gorgeous from you guys are awesome.

Is the 4g cube tank too big?

EDIT:
Here is picture I found online which is the same as my tank:
http://harrogateaquatic.com/img/p/287-507-thickbox.jpg
 
Nope, not too big! And yes it is possible! I wouldn't put it outside though because I'd think mosquitoes would lay eggs in it.
I set up a planted bowl a couple months ago with a 2g glass bowl. Its dirted with organic potting soil and a seachem root tab smashed into pieces with a hammer scattered around to add some extra nutrients. Then I capped it with play sand. In it I planted a baby sword, a baby crypt, a couple dwarf sag stems, a pennywort stem, a stem of water wisteria and some frogbit floating on the surface. It sits in an east facing window with no filter. It actually looks pretty empty despite the long list of plants in it.
It did not look pretty at first. The dirt was really hard to keep contained underneath the sand, and filling it was EXTREMELY tedious because I had to make sure not to disturb the sand and mix up the dirt. I did a 90% WC a few minutes after everything settled, just to clean it up a bit. It had a huge algae bloom a few weeks in due to all the nutrients being released from the dirt, so I have not added any fish or shrimp because I want to make sure everything is balanced first. Now, finally after about 2 months the plants are growing like crazy. The baby sword has sent out a bunch of new leaves, and the dwarf sag has sent out numerous runners. I think they like the nutritious soil. In the morning I can even see the plants pearling. I have only been doing water changes about once every 2-3 weeks, but once I add a beta and perhaps a couple shrimp I will need to do them a little more often.
 
Yes I am aware that is a common opinion. In my opinion though, a planted bowl is a different situation because the plants serve as natural filtration.
 
Yes I am aware that is a common opinion. In my opinion though, a planted bowl is a different situation because the plants serve as natural filtration.


That is not the reason people think a 2g is unsuitable. Its about space. Or in this case, lack of space
 
Ok, so I have a 4.1g cube tank. I am thinking of low light plants with natural sunlight (if possible) or maybe use the electrical LED light if I have to. Can I put any fish or invertebrates in it? With or without electrical equipment? I at least dont want to use the heater. Filter is only 3 watts. So it wont break my budget. Plus it will make water(and overall the whole tank) look crystal clean, more crisp and better.

Thanks.

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As Venymae mentioned there is the planted bowl thread, we are trying to keep active. I am sure your creation will add inspiration. Please add your contribution here...
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/planted-bowls-256693.html

Thanks!!! Oh, and finally a great use for the emersed grown plants that come in the tubes and gel packs!!! Peacock Fern here I come! I am already inspired, :D
 
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My bowl has no heater, no lighting (but is near a window and get indirect light all day), and no filter. It's dirt with fine gravel cap, no ferts. Two swords (no idea what kind) and two quartzite rocks for decor/flora. Fauna are four red ramshorn snails. I did not have problems with the dirt being messy, but I did have a 2 week long diatom bloom that happened a couple weeks after set up, and went away on it's own. I do water changes every 2-3weeks, but mostly just top off. It's a one gallon glass bowl.
 
^^
Do you have any pics of that?
I'm still learning and need as much help as I can get...

On a side note, I searched ebay for substrates, and found this:

Aquarium Substrate Ceramic Pebbles FOR Water Aquarium Fish Tank Plants NEW | eBay

It states its ceramic (so im guessing I can vacuum clean tank), its made for plants and has "microelements for aquatic plan" AND its very cheap. Does this stuff work for a low light/low tech nano tank?

Thanks.
 
^^
Do you have any pics of that?
I'm still learning and need as much help as I can get...

On a side note, I searched ebay for substrates, and found this:

Aquarium Substrate Ceramic Pebbles FOR Water Aquarium Fish Tank Plants NEW | eBay

It states its ceramic (so im guessing I can vacuum clean tank), its made for plants and has "microelements for aquatic plan" AND its very cheap. Does this stuff work for a low light/low tech nano tank?

Thanks.


Watch out for fine print. It's coming from China and says buyer is responsible for import duties.

I've never heard of it. Might be good, but you might do better with substrate that you know more about ?

I don't like gravel or larger substrates. Harder to plant and don't always hold plants down well.

I'd either use organic soil with a sand cap. Or straight sand with root tabs.
If you want to try the Chinese "pebbles" just read all info carefully.


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Thanks for the heads up on import duties.
What gets me thinking with this product, is how can ceramic balls help grow plants? Im hoping someone has used this and has some experience with it.

With organic sand and sand cap, what exactly am I looking for in both?
Im guessing I need to plant the bottom of plants into the organic sand, and the sand cap can be anything on top, to hold everything down. Is that correct?
If so, how do i gravel vac or clean the substrate? Wouldn't the water turn muddy?

Thanks for the help.
 
Thanks for the heads up on import duties.
What gets me thinking with this product, is how can ceramic balls help grow plants? Im hoping someone has used this and has some experience with it.

With organic sand and sand cap, what exactly am I looking for in both?
Im guessing I need to plant the bottom of plants into the organic sand, and the sand cap can be anything on top, to hold everything down. Is that correct?
If so, how do i gravel vac or clean the substrate? Wouldn't the water turn muddy?

Thanks for the help.


My post above describes my planted bowl that I did with organic potting soil and a sand cap. What I did was add the soil, get it a little wet so I could push it down to get any air bubbles out, then I planted the plants, and then I put the sand cap on. Obviously the sand doesn't do a perfect job of keeping the dirt underneath, but it does a pretty good job. And no the water does not get muddy. I did get an algae bloom a couple weeks in from nutrients leaching out of the soil, but with a couple water changes it has cleared up. It was not the kind of algae that grows on surfaces, it was just littke green fuzzies that sunk to the bottom that were easily vacuumed up. To do water changes on the bowl, I just use an airline tube to siphon and hold it a little above the sand to vacuum up any debris. When you add water back in you have to be careful not to disturb the sand too much though. I personally like to add new water with a cup, putting the whole cup under water and then slowly tipping it sideways.
 
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