13 gallon minimalist Iwagumi bowl

Hi folks I've start my new little project and I figured I would share. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm going for a super minimalist look.

First, here's the big glass bowl I found on Amazon sitting on its leveling mat. I filled it up with water and it hold just about 13 gallons.




Then I added a bag of small lava rock. (washed really well) I read online that this can help with beneficial bacteria)



Then I added some nice black sand.(about 1 1/2" bags at first)




Next came this big honking piece of black seiryu stone and the remaining sand.



That's all I have so far. Need to wait in the filter and plants I ordered to show up before I move on.

How many times to you think I will twist and turn this one stone to find "the good side"?

 

Nooooooooooooooooo..........
Problem with fish bowl is that it is really difficult to get proper filtration and temprature control...
It breaks easily sometime with a gentle tap, sometimes when your fishes move small pebbles around....
So all in all I would not suggest to keep fish in that...
I dont want to sound rude...
But I call them death trap for fishes.....

 

Nooooooooooooooooo..........
Problem with fish bowl is that it is really difficult to get proper filtration and temprature control...
It breaks easily sometime with a gentle tap, sometimes when your fishes move small pebbles around....
So all in all I would not suggest to keep fish in that...
I dont want to sound rude...
But I call them death trap for fishes.....

I appreciate your feedback, but I am a bit confused. After reading your reply I got nervous and tried to do some research online. While I found many beautiful spherical aquariums online I could not find a single account of these tanks shattering or breaking easily. Is your opinion from personal experience from having a tank like this. If it was a problem I would think I would find at least one story online about it.

 

I could not find a single account of these tanks shattering or breaking easily.

I will say, I once had a 4 gallon bowl that broke very easily. It cost $30 and broke with a relatively gentle tap. So I suppose it's possible, just not probable

 

Well I've seen tones of YouTube vids of well known good fish keepers doing these bowls with very few inhabitants and I don't see an issue, if I think has filteration and can be heated with heater or in heated room then yes I don't see an issue, is the glass thin or would you say it's a normal thickness you would expect from a ten gal tank?

 

I appreciate your feedback, but I am a bit confused. After reading your reply I got nervous and tried to do some research online. While I found many beautiful spherical aquariums online I could not find a single account of these tanks shattering or breaking easily. Is your opinion from personal experience from having a tank like this. If it was a problem I would think I would find at least one story online about it.

Yes it is from personall experience....
It has happened 2 twice when i returned home and found water leaking...
The reason... fishes moved some gravel which made a crack....

Well I've seen tones of YouTube vids of well known good fish keepers doing these bowls with very few inhabitants and I don't see an issue, if I think has filteration and can be heated with heater or in heated room then yes I don't see an issue, is the glass thin or would you say it's a normal thickness you would expect from a ten gal tank?

The glass of the bowl is relatively thinner than that of a aquarium of same size....
Seeing things online and experiencing is a different thing....
Overall it is my suggetion from personal experience...
Rest you can do....
Hope it works for you.

 

Well i have done these glass bowls with 3 sizes, 5 gal, 3 gal and 15gal and ive had no cracking or issues...

 

Well i have done these glass bowls with 3 sizes, 5 gal, 3 gal and 15gal and ive had no cracking or issues...

Then you are a lucky guy...

 

perhaps it's the manufacturer of the bowls??

 

A lot of bowls are vases, hence glass thickness is very modest.

Bowls are a bit of a pain to trim "carpet plants" (typical Iwagumi).

Personally, I don't like the way bowls or "bowfronts" deform the view.

I would prefer a cube tank.

PS: The small bag of lava rock....no different from sand.

 

I apricate all the feedback, I think I'm going to give it a shot, and hope for the best.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

 

I apricate all the feedback, I think I'm going to give it a shot, and hope for the best.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Ok sure

 

Well my filter final came in.




With a round bowl I had to get a little creative with the heater.




Fits pretty good.





Next up is lighting, then I can fill this bad boy up and get planting/cycling.

 

That’s a new model filter from ziss?i I have not seen a zbs-150 before. If you have other aquariums you could be running it in one now to start the cycle building?

Does it have a tiny ring of black sponge at the bottom like the previous model?

I like what you have done with the heater bracket.

 

That’s a new model filter from Ziss? I have not seen a zbs-150 before. If you have other aquariums you could be running it in one now to start the cycle building?

Does it have a tiny ring of black sponge at the bottom like the previous model?

I like what you have done with the heater bracket.

I'm not sure if it's a new model, but I couldn't find it available here in the states. I had to order it from a company in Canada.

AngleFIns

It did take about two weeks to get through customs, but I needed something freestanding, and I have good luck with the Ziss filter sold by Aquarium Co-op.

It does have a small sponge filter in the bottom and is weighted to keep it in place.

I was going to put the filter in my other tank, but I am currently battling some black beard algae in the other tank, I don't want to risk bringing it over.

Thanks for the complement on the heater, I was scratching my head for a bit trying to figure out how to hold the heater on round glass.

 

Looks cool!
Have you found the rock’s good side yet

 

Interesting project. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress. Thanks for posting.

 

Looks cool!
Have you found the rock’s good side yet

Still tweaking the rock
We've got light and water. Plants coming soon.

 

Tweak the rock, or put the whole thing on a constantly rotating turntable…

 

Now that the plants are on the way I'm starting to second guess my stocking idea.

My original idea was a nice school of ember tetras.

Now I'm thinking maybe chili rasboras, or maybe something else???

The tank only holds 12 gallons so I'm thinking a school of nano fish. Green plants and black stone, means I'd like a nice pop of red or orange for contrast.

What's everybody think? Stick with my original thought of ember tetras? Or something else?

 

Either that light costs a tiny fraction of what it costs in the Netherlands, or you've spend an absolute fortune on the light, which given the purpose, I wasn't expecting.

OK, so I'm jealous.

 

Either that light costs a tiny fraction of what it costs in the Netherlands, or you've spend an absolute fortune on the light, which given the purpose, I wasn't expecting.

OK, so I'm jealous.

I'll admit ruud the light is definitely not cheap. I had the heater and the light from another aquarium that I wasn't using. So, it is very much overkill, but it's better than it sitting in a closet, right?

 

Stick with my original thought of ember tetras? Or something else?

I would go with the Chilis myself. They are more colorful than Embers. That light may be too bright for them too. Unless some plants are floaters that are coming.

 

I would go with the Chilis myself. They are more colorful than Embers. That light may be too bright for them too. Unless some plants are floaters that are coming.

Or purchase the Kessil light controller to dim the light. Only costs around 150 bucks, which is nothing compared to the light itself .

OK, enough of the jokes. Good luck with the project.

 

I would go with the Chilis myself. They are more colorful than Embers. That light may be too bright for them too. Unless some plants are floaters that are coming.

I like Chilis also StarGirl, I guess maybe I was looking for something different that I hadn't had in the past. There may or may not be some water lettuce coming in the future.

Or purchase the Kessil light controller to dim the light. Only costs around 150 bucks, which is nothing compared to the light itself .

OK, enough of the jokes. Good luck with the project.

I could spend the 150 bucks, or just twist the little nob on the top of the light.

I'll think about it.

 

Or if diming light with knob isn't enough and your not gonna spend 150 bucks, get some black duck tape and cover some part of the light which will block the light and therefore even dim the tank, I didn't this for a light that had no dimmer and it works well

 

WE HAVE PLANTS!!!!!!




1 Anubias Hastifolia
2 Anubias Nangi
10 Anubias Nana Petite
Water Lettuce
Subwassertang

I'm happy with it so far. Still open to stocking suggestions.....

 

Single shrimp or snail named Biggy lol

Dunno, looking good though.

 

Then you are a lucky guy...

he doesn't have gravel, so no worries of scratching the glass. I would avoid moving the bowl without removing 75% of the water!
You could stock it with shrimp. It looks like that rock is taking up a lot of room, and I don't know how much swimming room is left. but maybe some type of micro rasbora, like the tiger, the emerald, or the chili rasbora.

 

Now that the plants are on the way I'm starting to second guess my stocking idea.

My original idea was a nice school of ember tetras.

Now I'm thinking maybe chili rasboras, or maybe something else???

The tank only holds 12 gallons so I'm thinking a school of nano fish. Green plants and black stone, means I'd like a nice pop of red or orange for contrast.

What's everybody think? Stick with my original thought of ember tetras? Or something else?

I think you should consider adding shrimp to whatever you decide, or only adding shrimp even ! they’re awesome

 

I know they aren’t super colorful, but I love exclamation point rasboras in my planted bowls!

 

Has anybody ever had sunadanio rubellus(neon red rasbora)?

I found the on the "Wet Spot" website.

Neon Red Rasbora

I had trouble finding much info online, just one video that seemed out of focus.

Anyone?

Thanks

​

 

I really don't think even tiny schoolers would do well in there. It's not just about the fish's size and bioload, It's also about making sure they have conditions where they can behave in accordance with their nature. Just like a greyhound who likes to run needs a big yard accordingly, schooling fish need enough room to swim from side to side and school normally. Could you measure the tank from side to side and see how much room you actually have? And how much swimming room do they have around that rock?

Just looking at the picture of the setup, if it were me I would do some type of shrimp colony with some ornamental snails as well. Both shrimp and snails tend to hang out on surfaces, so that giant rock and plants would be much more useable habitat for them than it would be for fish. The shrimp will also help to keep detritus and such off of the plants. I believe Seiryu seki stone can raise pH a bit, so you might want to test the pH in the tank before deciding what kind of shrimp to get.

Another thing with the shape of the container is that there's so little surface area up top, where the air and water meet. You may have better luck putting an air stone in there to make sure there's plenty of dissolved oxygen. Shrimp in particular really do best with plenty of dissolved oxygen in the water.

 

I really don't think even tiny schoolers would do well in there. It's not just about the fish's size and bioload, It's also about making sure they have conditions where they can behave in accordance with their nature. Just like a greyhound who likes to run needs a big yard accordingly, schooling fish need enough room to swim from side to side and school normally. Could you measure the tank from side to side and see how much room you actually have? And how much swimming room do they have around that rock?

Just looking at the picture of the setup, if it were me I would do some type of shrimp colony with some ornamental snails as well. Both shrimp and snails tend to hang out on surfaces, so that giant rock and plants would be much more useable habitat for them than it would be for fish. The shrimp will also help to keep detritus and such off of the plants. I believe Seiryu seki stone can raise pH a bit, so you might want to test the pH in the tank before deciding what kind of shrimp to get.

Another thing with the shape of the container is that there's so little surface area up top, where the air and water meet. You may have better luck putting an air stone in there to make sure there's plenty of dissolved oxygen. Shrimp in particular really do best with plenty of dissolved oxygen in the water.

The tank is 19 inches in diameter and with the rock in still holds a little over 12 gallons of water. I think the pictures may be a bit misleading, with it being round there is a bit of a magnification effect. There is quite bit of room around the rock. I made sure there was plenty of room to get in there for maintenance.

The biological filter is air driven so that will act as my air stone as well. Plenty of agitation on the surface of the water. Don't get me wrong I love shrimp, but I have a huge colony of cherry's in another tank.

I will definitely check the PH again before anybody goes in the pool, I just want to let everything settle in for a bit and let the cycle get going.

 

Wow, 12 gallons! I’m a newbie so not used to looking at pics of tanks but there must be some distortion as I would never have guessed that many gallons would fit!

 

I just can't decide. Now I'm thinking of going with a classic, dwarf red platies?

 

If you go with live bearers I'd stick to one sex 12 gallons would fill with fry quickly

 

If you go with live bearers I'd stY to one sex 12 gallons would fill with fry quickly

But Sewerrat the babies are so dam cute.

 

I've gotta say I really love the look of the bowl. That being said maintenance is a nightmare. Such a pain to clean, water change, and don't get me started on trying to catch a fish in a round tank. Seriously considering switching over to a square tank. Live and learn, I guess.

 

I had a lovely 10 gallon bowl it was an Aquael Bowl 45 Aquarium with stand - 45 l/10 gallon.

I managed to provide lighting and heating easily.

I used it to raise fry for several years.

I used it as a planted aquarium.

The bowl exploded when it was 7 years old.

The glass was measured and was 1.25mm.

The glass in my other aquarium is 8mm.

When choosing my bowl I rejected the first two I was offered as they were less than perfect.

Draw your own conclusions or ask questions.