Marmaaa's 4g Walstad Bowl

A while back I found a really good sized fish bowl that had to come home with me. So I bought it I've had it sitting at home for a while and I finally got all the materials for it. It's going to a no tech bowl, so walstad.

Here were the materials and the costs:

• Fish bowl (about 4g, with sand and dirt its 3g) : $12
• Miracle Care Organic Potting Mix : $3 on sale!
• CaribSea Super Naturals Aquarium Sand : $5
• Rocks were all leftover from previous tanks, they were purchased from Petco.
• Plants were all clippings from my 20g planted tank.
• Cheap $1 thermometer
• Nicrew Planted Clip On Light $15 Light Link

Total Cost: $36

I think thats the cheapest total I have ever spent on this hobby! I have used the same potting mix before in my 20g and it is doing amazing in terms of growth! Its also very cheap too. It will usually say not available in store online but if you go in store you may find it in the organic fertilizer section. It is where I found mines. As for the sand I had it already so I decided to use it.

I was going to document this process through pics but then thought of recording it. So I made a video of the whole process. Here it is I will continue to update this thread as new changes are made. Snails have already made this their new home. Make sure to watch with subtitles on!!

As requested I have tagged you to see this thread betta06

 

Thats a good video and good looking bowl there! I love the cat trying to get your plants...lol

 

This was mesmerizing to watch! Watching this thread

 

Just wondering, why did you scrape the miracle grow around in the white tub with the aquascaping tool?

 

Thats a good video and good looking bowl there! I love the cat trying to get your plants...lol

Thank you! He always trys to go for the plants lol

This was mesmerizing to watch! Watching this thread

Just wondering, why did you scrape the miracle grow around in the white tub with the aquascaping tool?

I mixed it with water in the tub before I applied it into the bowl, I usually mix with my hands but I didnt want my fingers getting dirty so I used what I had laying around. I prefer mixing it with water beforehand because when I dirted my 20g I put the dirt dry then added the water and the tank sides were quite messy.

 

Watching! Can’t wait to see how your bowl progresses!

 

Very nice! I also loved kitty helping out.

 

Very nice! I also loved kitty helping out.

Thank you! and thank you for fixing the name as well

 

Nice! If you are interested, join the jar/bowl thread!
The jar/bowl thread | Freshwater Aquarium Builds Forum | 498901

 

Update 8/8/2021:

Bowl is doing great, plants are doing good (I am constantly seeing small bubbles/pearling coming from the plants which is good!) and temp is at a stable 75ish. The snails have been extremely busy because so far I see 7 egg sacs, but I do not mind. The floating plants have grown quite a bit since setting it up. Heres a pic and a video of me organizing my duckweed lol

 

Haha! I tend to organize my duckweed right into the trash lol!
Bowl looks great!!

 

Love it! Following!!!

 

It looks great! Can’t wait to see how it progresses. Following!

 

Well the plants have grown quite a bit since the last time I uploaded, especially the frogbit! It has sent so many roots down and under the light the frogbit has started to turn red! Snails seems to be loving the bowl. The temp now stays at a constant 73ish, which I dont mind. Hydrocotyle tripartita is doing great as well as my pearlweed. Rotala already got a trimming and replanted the cuttings and dwarf sag is sending runners already!

 

Bowl has changed a little bit since last update. The plants have grown in very well! The pearlweed has done amazing, as have the rest of the plants as well. I removed the floating plants and I think it looks better that way imo. Heres a quick vid update and pics.

 

It’s so beautiful!
I laughed a your kitty, I have one that acts the same way. Anything I do he’s my helper with his little nose right in the middle!

 

It’s so beautiful!
I laughed a your kitty, I have one that acts the same way. Anything I do he’s my helper with his little nose right in the middle!

Thank you!! I love a helping cat lol, he always comes to watch me whenever I do water changes or when its time to add new fish into the tank. Hes always sniffing everything I do too lol

 

Thank you!! I love a helping cat lol, he always comes to watch me whenever I do water changes or when its time to add new fish into the tank. Hes always sniffing everything I do too lol

They don’t realize they’re usually more in the way than help, or they don’t care hahah but they sure are cute!

 

Sorry if you've already said this, but what is the plant inbetween the rocks, but behind the val.

 

Sorry if you've already said this, but what is the plant inbetween the rocks, but behind the val.

I dont think I specifically ever listed which plant but heres a pic with a label. Not sure which one you were talking about so I circled the 3 all next to the dwarf sag (it looks like baby vals lol). Let me know if I circled the right one

 

Wow, looks beautiful..

 

Well, its been a while since the last post. College does not give me much free time unfortunately. Quite a bit has changed. I added a new lava rock and covered it with some moss, the plants still are doing great.

Only issue is I found a leech, ew! It was an asian leech, which I have no clue how it got there. Never saw anything for weeks! I took it out and killed it, hopefully there is no more. Anyways here is a pic

 

The tank's looking good but honestly though I kinda want to see the leech now.

 

The tank's looking good but honestly though I kinda want to see the leech now.

After removing the first leech, quite a bit of leeches have started to pop out. As per requested heres a leech video

 

After removing the first leech, quite a bit of leeches have started to pop out. As per requested heres a leech video

Wow that things pretty wacky. It kinda looks like a worm IMO.

Right now you might have a whole infestation in your hands. I did some quick research so here is a summary just in case you need it.


The leeches seem pretty small so you should be able to kill them with "No Planaria" or "potassium permanganate", both of which are aquarium safe.

You can get No Planaria and Potassium Permanganate on amazon but you may find the latter as well in retail stores such as Lowe's, Home Depot or Walmart.

Dosing No Planaria is pretty simple for both once you calculate it.
No Planaria dosing for your 4gal bowl should be a little bit less than 1/3 the measuring spoon dose on the 1st day, 1/6 the dose on the 2nd day, and 1/12 the dose on the 3rd day.

For Potassium Permanganate it's a bit more complicated. I recommend watching Keeping Fish Simple's video on quarantining fish with potassium permanganate.

Hope I helped a little (if you needed help in the first place).

 

Wow that things pretty wacky. It kinda looks like a worm IMO.

Right now you might have a whole infestation in your hands. I did some quick research so here is a summary just in case you need it.


The leeches seem pretty small so you should be able to kill them with "No Planaria" or "potassium permanganate", both of which are aquarium safe.

You can get No Planaria and Potassium Permanganate on amazon but you may find the latter as well in retail stores such as Lowe's, Home Depot or Walmart.

Dosing No Planaria is pretty simple for both once you calculate it.
No Planaria dosing for your 4gal bowl should be a little bit less than 1/3 the measuring spoon dose on the 1st day, 1/6 the dose on the 2nd day, and 1/12 the dose on the 3rd day.

For Potassium Permanganate it's a bit more complicated. I recommend watching Keeping Fish Simple's video on quarantining fish with potassium permanganate.

Hope I helped a little (if you needed help in the first place).

Thank you so much for all of that!! It indeed does look like a worm but the way it scruches when it moves is way more like a leech. Anyways, ill have to look into no planaria and the potassium p. Because i saw 6 today. They dont do much but having them makes me feel icky. Ill keep this post updated on what I do with them!

 

Its been a while since I last updated about the bowl, but Ive come to be okay with the leeches. They own the bowl now and I am okay with that. Plant growth has been amazing, there is some algae growth but I do not mind. I may do a heavy snipping soon on some of the plants and give them a heavy Potassium Permanganate dip to kill any leeches and leech babies. Heres a pic of the bowl right now. I dont have the light on everyday but the bowl seems to be fine with the light being inconsistent. The pearlweed has really taken off