Low Tech Tank No-Tech 1 gallon office bowl

[HardeeParty]

Picked up a one gallon bowl for $3 at the thrift store next to work. Simple set-and-forget setup.

Tank:
1-gallon bowl

Light:
Chihiros RGB60

Filter:
None

Substrate:
Fluval Stratum

Flora:
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Erio vietnam
Crypt wendtii ‘bronze’
Subwassertang
Ludwigia glandulosa
Rotala ‘blood red SG’
Bacopa colorata
Red root floaters

Fauna:
Ramshorn and bladder snails

First fill was with distilled water. Zero kH, zero gH . Let’s see what happens

 

[hypnogogia]

Zero Kh and zero gH won’t do your snails any good at all. Plants will also suffer as they need nutrients.

 

[HardeeParty]

Zero Kh and zero gH won’t do your snails any good at all. Plants will also suffer as they need nutrients.

 

[Art]

LOL. Ouch. I think the stratum would add something to the water, as will the decaying leaves. Nature will find a way to survive, is my experience.

 

[HardeeParty]

lol. It’s three days old and will consume the stratum nutrients for a while. I also have a tiny bottle of DIY diluted fertilizer solution and some calcium chloride I’ll start supplementing once the red root floaters start showing me it’s gone lean.

The goal is to have this tank run in slow motion. A million thanks to @sudiorca for the inspiration.

 

[Art]

Please keep us posted with pictures!

 

[HardeeParty]

Alright here’s a week. Nothing dead yet. Red root floaters are working out great sucking up whatever the aquasoil is leeching. Cleaned up and trimmed some loose ends that stuck around planting.

 

[Art]

Oh wow, that looks great!

 

[HardeeParty]

Little trimming/reorganizing, 75% water change. Got a little cloudy which is probably a combination of new aquasoil and bacterial bloom(?). Water had a slight green tint to it and wiped a very thin green dust algae film off the glass. So far so good.

 

[HardeeParty]

Water change before the long holiday weekend.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Lookin sweet! I REALLY may have to try this in my office

 

[HardeeParty]

About a month and a half in. Water change and added 6 cherry reds and a rogue feeder guppy that hitched a ride. All good in the hood. I switched from distilled to purified water that has a few minerals. That’s about it. I dose a few drops of fertilizer a few days before changing the water.

 

[HardeeParty]

Picked up a Week Aqua Mini9 Pro for the bowl. Everyone is doing well. Shrimp are breeding. Plants are growing. Fish is still alive somehow.

 

[Kwyet]

Beautiful!

 

[Art]

Great looking bowl. What's your water change schedule?

 

[HardeeParty]

Great looking bowl. What's your water change schedule?

I change 3/4 of the water once a week. I’m just pretty shocked it’s doing so well.

 

[HardeeParty]

Accidentally sucked up the feeder guppy with a turkey baster during a water change so now it’s just a shrimp bowl. Still going great. Went through a period of green water for some reason but it subsided with water changes and the cycle finally settling in (I guess). Changed out the light for a Fluval Nano Planted from an impulse buy via Marketplace ($20? Yes please). I’m extremely happy with the light so far, despite preparing myself for disappointment. Light duration is 7:30am - 5:30pm, intensity is about 60% power.

I also made a small DIY co2 generator with sugar and yeast just to see if I could do it. I’m using an inline push connect needle valve to adjust the injection rate and an old Neo diffuser I had laying around. I’ve adjusted it enough to see the tiniest diffusion start and just left it there. It’s been running 24/7 for about 3 weeks now without any adverse effects on the shrimp.







I was bit by the terrarium bug too and setup two simple setups inspired by my field expeditions exploring the local wetland preserves.

Tiny jar, enclosed carnivorous bog biotope; all flora is from locally collected ecosystems.



Florida riparian wetland biotope in a 3 gallon rimless cube. Also exclusively Florida native wetland fauna, locally collected.

 

[SkaleyAquatics]

That carnivorous bog biotope it sweet. What are you feeding it?

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Accidentally sucked up the feeder guppy with a turkey baster during a water change so now it’s just a shrimp bowl.

You savage


Awesome setups

 

[HardeeParty]

That carnivorous bog biotope it sweet. What are you feeding it?

The peat moss and soil substrate was loaded with critters so I’m still, weeks later, seeing new bugs emerge and get eaten. I imagine at some point they’ll run out and I’ll supplement the substrate some fresh soil and start anew.