Wrs2’s Planted Bowl Build

Following this thread! Can’t wait to see wait fish you add!

 

That one is probably from Hong Kong and then you would pay a ton of money via a transshipper haha.

Sometimes you can actually pick them up for cheap online if they haven’t been able to sell them. You just have to really watch for them and yes, you don’t want to buy direct from Taiwan as you have to pay a handler. However, once they get to the States, Taiwan has some of the most beautiful bettas you can find. I buy all of my bettas online from certain breeders.

This is a neat little project and love it. Gonna keep watching! I have that same little light that I use for my baby brine shrimp hatchery. It works well.

 

You have tempted me to finally do something with my bowl like yours. Years ago it was a terrarium but since then I have just had it setting around.

How deep did you make the dirt and what kind did you use? Would regular miracle grow potting soil work as long as I capped it with pool filter sand?

I have the perfect rock to put in there and a bit of Bacopa (sp?), hornwort and jungle val that would look good in it. I also have some struggling red root floaters and dwarf water lettuce to top it off.

I have had tanks for many many years but have never tried to grow water plants. So far I've not had very good luck but I am determined to do it. I can stick a twig in the dirt and in a few years have a full grown tree or a tiny cutting from just about any house plant and before long am having to give away pots full of it but water plants are a whole new ball game for me.

 

You have tempted me to finally do something with my bowl like yours. Years ago it was a terrarium but since then I have just had it setting around.

How deep did you make the dirt and what kind did you use? Would regular miracle grow potting soil work as long as I capped it with pool filter sand?

I have the perfect rock to put in there and a bit of Bacopa (sp?), hornwort and jungle val that would look good in it. I also have some struggling red root floaters and dwarf water lettuce to top it off.

I have had tanks for many many years but have never tried to grow water plants. So far I've not had very good luck but I am determined to do it. I can stick a twig in the dirt and in a few years have a full grown tree or a tiny cutting from just about any house plant and before long am having to give away pots full of it but water plants are a whole new ball game for me.

You will not regret it, it's so easy and perfect for a little budget project. No filter, no heater just a bowl with water, substrate and plants. If you have spare $$$ laying around, add some shrimps for movement but you will get water flees regardless. Very interesting to observe with a magnifying glass and they move around a lot too.

 

You will not regret it, it's so easy and perfect for a little budget project. No filter, no heater just a bowl with water, substrate and plants. If you have spare $$$ laying around, add some shrimps for movement but you will get water flees regardless. Very interesting to observe with a magnifying glass and they move around a lot too.

Thank you. I have considered shrimp but haven't decided yet. I do plan on putting a few ramshorn snails in there for the extra nutrients they will provide. I think I can keep the population under control in such a small bowl by removing the extras and feeding them to the assassins living in all of my other tanks.

I have a 2.5 gallon snail jar running right now and use the water from it during water changes specifically for my Pothos. I have to keep cutting it back and put the cuttings in holders in my big tank. I have just about run out of room for them there though.

I use the water from my other tanks for the rest of my house plants and they grow like weeds. I have pothos cuttings in the top of the snail jar and they grow unbelievably fast. That tells me snail poop is a very good fert and should help feed the plants in the bowl.

 

You have tempted me to finally do something with my bowl like yours. Years ago it was a terrarium but since then I have just had it setting around.

How deep did you make the dirt and what kind did you use? Would regular miracle grow potting soil work as long as I capped it with pool filter sand?

I have the perfect rock to put in there and a bit of Bacopa (sp?), hornwort and jungle val that would look good in it. I also have some struggling red root floaters and dwarf water lettuce to top it off.

I have had tanks for many many years but have never tried to grow water plants. So far I've not had very good luck but I am determined to do it. I can stick a twig in the dirt and in a few years have a full grown tree or a tiny cutting from just about any house plant and before long am having to give away pots full of it but water plants are a whole new ball game for me.

It's Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil. It's maybe a 1.2 inch then an inch of a sand / gravel mix as a cap.

I was thinking of getting a snail for this, but wasn't sure if the betta would eat it as the one I wanted was very small! The betta is doing well so I will reveal him soon! BUT I was told that PetCo will be having 3 new types of bettas, so I may want to look at those and see what they are all about and may get one to replace this guy. I would love to set up a new bowl, but I think my landlord would kill me! He says I am already over my limit of tanks, but he's my dad so I think he will let it slide, but a new one? Doubtful haha.

 

Thank you. I just happen to have some of that exact same potting soil on hand.

 

Petsmart sells tissue cultures of Alternantera reickmeckiI 'cardinalis' which I was wondering how something like would do in a planted bowl like the one I have? Anyone have any thoughts on that? I think it would look pretty, but don't want to buy it if it would just end up dying!

 

The requirements for A. reineckiI are listed as medium for light and CO2 demand. It might work in your setup but I think you will have to try to verify this.
Are they so expensive that it would hurt to experiment?

 

Probably not but I am cheap so I hate wasting money haha. I may change one of my 5.5 gallons back to a walstad tank so maybe I will try it in that tank instead of this bowl.

Some YouTuber posted a video how you can't keep fisg, mentioned bettas specifically, in a bowl. The bowl they showed was big, maybe 4 gallons. I posted that they could easily do a Walstad setup in that bowl that would be perfect for a betta. They Respond... Bettas deserve filters & heaters with a sarcastic . Like I've been keeping fish longer than they probably have, and I clearly mentioned a specific method of keeping fish - instead of being ignorant go and Google what it is! So I told them look on YouTube amd they will see what Walstad is and how a bowl is a perfectly acceptable option as long as it is over 2.5 gallons. People!! Anyways! I think my bowl is more fun than my tanks and tbh I would rather have more of these planted bowls than tanks. I am going to be seeing if any of my baby Java Fern will fit into the design of this tank and my Cardamine plants seems to be having some new leaves growing on it! Exciting!! It wasn't a lost cause after all it seems!

 

It’s been a week, time to reveal my betta for this bowl! He’s kinda ugly but his colors are very nice! And he is loving his home. He keeps making bubble everywhere.

 

I just thought the whole thing was dumb as this method is made by a scientists and you can’t compare fish to humans as they are very different.

 

Some people have rock solid opinions and are not open to move an inch away even if presented with scientific evidence. Human nature.

 

So true! Not all bowls are bad. Big ones can be just as good as some tanks. While mine isn’t as big as I would like it, my betta seems super happy in it. If he wasn’t I would rehouse him.

 

3 month update!

It’s getting a bit of algae, which I thought I cleaned but now I see it.... But the plants are doing very well and the betta is loving it! He is the only male betta that hasn’t give me any trouble health wise or with fin rot!

 

I'll be taking the time to read through this thread here in a moment, but I wanted to leave a comment about fish in bowls.

If the fish has sufficient room and is healthy, why not?

I don't even know how big this bowl is. But, it looks like it's got enough room for a male betta to do well, and if he's as healthy as he looks after 3 months, it's supporting him well. Keep him healthy, and I think this is a great little bowl.

That said, bigger IS better, IMO. My female uses every bit of her standard 5.5, and I can't imagine she'd be very happy in a tank with less room to move around. Long-fin males are usually less active, but still.

The hobby is full of opinions - some of them have strong roots in facts, and some of them have literally no evidence to back them up. When it comes down to it, it's your experiences that are going to shape how you keep your fish, and that's great. There's far more than 1 way to keep fish.

 

I love these little jarrariums...I am going to try a 3 gallon bowl in the next month or two. I am currently struggling with do I go big or go nano...I have 4 tanks under 10 gallons with inverts, shrimp and bettas, and 7 that are 29 gallon - 90 gallon with cichlids and tetras...so...now pondering the possibilities of a 300 gallon, or a 3 gallon...LOL...decisions decisions

 

Personally I like Nano Tanks more. But I like nano fish, so stocking a large tank with all fish under 1 - 2 inches would mean a lot of fish and cost a lot of $$$! haha

 

I saw online that the bowl I have, from Michaels, is a bad idea to use for fish as the class is too think and can bust!
Now I have to think of something else to use. I have a kritter keeper from PetSmart that is said to be water safe, which I believe is about 3 gallons. I wonder if that would work to replace this bowl. I would honestly love to get a rimless cube, but they are too much money!

 

I can get a 2.5 gallon tank for less than that though.
I actually have another bowl like this, so I have to get 2...

 

I saw online that the bowl I have, from Michaels, is a bad idea to use for fish as the class is too think and can bust!
Now I have to think of something else to use. I have a kritter keeper from PetSmart that is said to be water safe, which I believe is about 3 gallons. I wonder if that would work to replace this bowl. I would honestly love to get a rimless cube, but they are too much money!

Personally I am not going to let that dissuade me from using mine as a fish bowl although I have no fish in mine. It is just deco, plants and a few snails. I can't see it being any more prone to breaking than any other glass as long as we are careful about not bumping it with something that would break it.

In my humble opinion yours is perfect for what you are doing with it but only you know your situation and know whether or not there is a chance of someone not being as careful as they should be with it. In my situation I am the only one that will ever touch it so am comfortable with going ahead and using it as planned.

 

I can get a 2.5 gallon tank for less than that though.
I actually have another bowl like this, so I have to get 2...

I'm cooking up a similar plan... I got this 6-7 gallon bowl on marketplace and I guess it was from home sense
I'm putting a sponge filter in mine because I don't trust myself to do walstad

your bowl is beautiful by the way

 

No one touches mine but me. Maybe a cat, but I try and persuade them from staying out of the room that the bowls are in.

I'm cooking up a similar plan... I got this 6-7 gallon bowl on marketplace and I guess it was from home sense
I'm putting a sponge filter in mine because I don't trust myself to do walstad

your bowl is beautiful by the way

Thank you!
Now it's all algae filled though. Green algae, so I need to figure out what I can do to fight it.

 

Thank you!
Now it's all algae filled though. Green algae, so I need to figure out what I can do to fight it.

do you have any nerite snails?
I was sort of wondering what kind of algae scraper I would get for mine also

 

I have a ton, but just not in this bowl. Maybe I will buy a new one for this and see how they work here!

 

For my 2nd bowl, I came home and found the betta from it dead! I thought the soil wasn't leaching ammonia, but there must have been a big spike from yesterday to today because yesterday he was fine!
I need to redo the whole thing, once it is redone I will post pictures of that one as well. I think I added way too much soil to this one, which was likely the issue! Plus it didn't have as many plants, just some grass tissue culture that I got from PetSmart. I have to go out tomorrow and get more sand for a different tank to redo (as I dirted that one, but didn't cap an area enough and made it into a HUGE MESS) so I will have to get some more plants for bowl #2 tomorrow.

 

For my 2nd bowl, I came home and found the betta from it dead! I thought the soil wasn't leaching ammonia, but there must have been a big spike from yesterday to today because yesterday he was fine!
I need to redo the whole thing, once it is redone I will post pictures of that one as well. I think I added way too much soil to this one, which was likely the issue! Plus it didn't have as many plants, just some grass tissue culture that I got from PetSmart. I have to go out tomorrow and get more sand for a different tank to redo (as I dirted that one, but didn't cap an area enough and made it into a HUGE MESS) so I will have to get some more plants for bowl #2 tomorrow.

that's too bad
sorry for your loss

 

Thanks!
Actually I may do the 2nd bowl in a 2.5 gallon tank instead. Maybe I’ll make a new thread on that tomorrow!

 

Personally I like Nano Tanks more. But I like nano fish, so stocking a large tank with all fish under 1 - 2 inches would mean a lot of fish and cost a lot of $$$! haha

Not if u breed them

 

So now all the plants seem to be covered with blue-green slime algae!
It is look disgusting and honestly I am over this build! I am going to get a new tank that is in a different shape that is easier to clean and leaves more room for stem plant growth and move over some of the plants that aren't so disgusting and start this over.

 

I ordered a Penn Plax Vertex 2.7 gallon tank to replace the bowl.
I may not be able to move all of the plants over because of what looks like blue green algae on a lot of them.

What I would really like to do is see if I could grow some Alternanthera ReineckiI Rosanervig in the bowl. They would probably die, but I don't think it could hurt to try it. With the awful weather we are having, I probably wouldn't be able to order them for a while though.

 

I ordered a Penn Plax Vertex 2.7 gallon tank to replace the bowl.
I may not be able to move all of the plants over because of what looks like blue green algae on a lot of them.

What I would really like to do is see if I could grow some Alternanthera ReineckiI Rosanervig in the bowl. They would probably die, but I don't think it could hurt to try it. With the awful weather we are having, I probably wouldn't be able to order them for a while though.

could you post a pic of the blue green algae? I've never seen anything like that before I think

 

Maybe it’s not what I think it is but it has that blue green color.

 

Definitely cyanobacteria(blue green) algae. Try a H2O2 bath before you reintroduced them into your tank. Or dose it while they’re still in the tank?

 

Definitely cyanobacteria(blue green) algae. Try a H2O2 bath before you reintroduced them into your tank. Or dose it while they’re still in the tank?

How would you recommend I do that? I've seen some things on it on YouTube, but I still like 1st hand knowledge from others.

 

How would you recommend I do that? I've seen some things on it on YouTube, but I still like 1st hand knowledge from others.

It’s pretty simple actually. I’m in the middle of dosing it to kill of some hair algae. Just get a plastic syringe, fill it up with h2o2, and just squirt it on the algae.

I haven’t quite read through the entire thread, so unsure on if you have any inhabitants. I did it without inhabitants in the tank, so I did about did about 15ml for a 5 gal. Turn off any water movement, and after 30 mins do a water change.

 

Just a betta but he will be moving to a new tank shortly because when I transfer this 'build' to a new tank, I don't want the dirt in the new setup to leach ammonia and kill him. I've dirted plenty of tanks over the past year and it hadn't happened until my most recent tank, and the betta died, so I want to make sure this guy doesn't. So simply put, there won't be any inhabitants haha.

 

I got the new tank it today!!
I was able to get the majority of the blue green algae off by hand. The plants that were too covered go trashed. I set the tank up in the basement so that I can check water and do WCs if there is an ammonia spike. In a few days I should move it back up to its permanent location. I will post pics of it soon!

 

This is the new home for this build.
The crypts really took off in the 5 months that this was set up. I only out 2 in but now I have 4 separate plants. One red and three green.

I wonder how some AR would do in this tank. I’m going to get some to put in the back right corner as well as a amazona Compacta or whatever those small amazon swords are called. I potted some in a super low light top fin tank and they took off amazingly well so I’m curious to see how would would do here. Not so sure about the rock. I may take it out.

Also the betta who lived in the bowl moved to a new tank so I think I may get a CT betta for this. Never had one before.

ETA: I'm sure people will think why did I let the dirt show in the front and not put the sand in the front as a border but I really want to see the root growth when I put plants there. The roots on these when I pulled them out of the bowl were insane and they were all mixed together. It was quite a sight haha.

 

Foam under rimless tanks, yes or no?
Are these kids other too thick or too thin?