Journal Rocco's No-Tech Bowl Scaping Thread - with APT Feast!

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Skip to the actual journal here.

I'm known here for high tech, high nutrient, inert substrate scapes -- but I also love NO tech, rich substrate scapes, too!

This thread is three-sided:

1. To act as a journal for my new No-Tech bowl scape, and
2. To act as a discussion board for no/low tech bowl scapes, and
3. To collect and share accounts and examples of bowl scapes from around the world!

Fishbowls were the OG aquarium, until the hobby helped eliminate them from modern aquarium keeping -- for good reason! Traditional fish bowls were used to house medium-large tropical fish like Bettas in a cramped, unfiltered space, with clown-puke gravel and little to no proper cycling/care/husbandry. We're glad THOSE bowls are gone.

But there is a new modern kind of fish bowl, one where plants, substrate, bacteria, water changes, and proper inhabitant selection all work together to create healthy, mini ecosystem-worlds in our homes:

My first bowl attempt in 2020



My second bowl, a true "no tech" in 2021



My third bowl scape (no tech) in 2023, and by far my favorite and most successful!
​

What does No Tech mean?​

In general, it means that these scapes have:

• No Filter
• No Heater
• No Air Pump
• No Skimmer
• No CO2
• No Circulation

They do have:

• A Light (usually low to medium-powered)
• A Substrate (inert, aquasoil, or sand-capped soil like Walstad method)
• Plants (usually quite low-tech plants, though a surprising number will thrive in this method!)
• Inhabitants (Since these bowls are usually between 2-12 gallons on average, this limits selection to nano fish, shrimp, and snails).

Don't get caught up in the specific label of "no tech" (or worse, gatekeep this method). If you want to use a small filter, or a heater, do it! The concept is still generally the same.

The point is, these are smaller, affordable, beautiful little worlds of light to enliven our living spaces and create art, nature, and beauty -- often with very little maintenance and upkeep besides a partial water change and feeding the fish.

Gallery and Links to bowl scapers:​

quano_aqua on Insta



waterplantslover on insta



hanahiyori1112 on insta





Sono aqua pfm on Insta and on Youtube is one of the pioneers of this method, and
deserves a TON of credit for popularizing this technique across many Japanese communities!



kazuaki387 on insta



qball_aquatics on insta has many small bowl scapes.



Nanoscape on insta



syo_aqua_plants on insta follows the "Sono" method.




Aquadream in Vietnam on insta and on Youtube has TONS of no-tech bowl scapes.
Almost 20 bowls in his store/gallery. Lots of info on his youtube channel!



pokomama_medaka on insta




tinyecosystems_ on insta, also sells "kits" to make your own tiny ecosystem jars.



the_bettabowl_project on insta



MJ Aquascaping bowl on youtube, beautiful setup.



MJ Aquascaping vase on Youtube



MD Fishtanks on Youtube has done a few planted no tech bowls



aquashopuha on insta




jp72363 on insta




y0shi_n9 on Insta




kermitDE on Reddit




buiscape on insta has a tiny Fluval bowl scape with crabs!



nakayamachiyomi on insta




ichistarium on insta




chandan0616 on instagram




Few-Focus8050 on Reddit




KrishTheBaker on Reddit and on Youtube




@HardeeParty here on Scape Crunch



@bradquade here on Scape Crunch



10-gal bowl featured on Tank Tested on Youtube


And that's just the ones I have found over the last few years! I have no doubt there are many, many more out there.
I'll add to this thread as I find them, and would love it if you would, too!​

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Start of my journal:​

When you set up a tank, especially smaller tanks,. I highly recommend doing two things:
1) Fill it up empty and measure every gallon you add exactly
2) Drain it completely, add your substrate and hardscape, then measure the actual water volume that it takes to fill it.
3) Perform your desired water change %, and mark that line with a sharpie so you can consistently reach that volume removed with every water change.

It makes your life so much easier!


The bowl came from Amazon. I liked this one more than the others that I had, because it had less of an open top which is nice for holding CO2 in the system and makes dealing with surface scum buildup easier:



During the initial filling and leak test (lol) the bowl holds about 8 gallons while totally empty.

I added about 7.5L of APT Feast and some driftwood to add vertical structure. Primarily this is to have something solid to guide the eye, but also to provide a sense of safety to future fish while the plants grow in. An empty bowl is a scary place for nano fish!

The Dark Start + Water Change Period before planting​

I measured every gallon of RO water I poured into the bowl, and it was just about 6.7 Gallons of actual water volume. I added enough CaSO4*2H2O and MgCl2*6H2O to reach 30ppm Ca, 8ppm Mg.


Note that the light is only on for the photo; the tank had the light off during this time 100% of the time.

I then squeezed a ton of bio media gunk from my other tank's filter into the water column, every other day.

After 24 hours, I did a ~50% water change:

To do this, I removed exactly 3 known gallons from the bowl and marked the line with a sharpie.

I then started the routine for water changing: I remove 3 gallons of bowl water, then add 3 gallons of fresh RO water.

I added 3 things to the incoming fresh 3 gallons of water:

• CaSO4*2H2O (Gypsum) to reach 30ppm Ca in 3 gallons
• MgCl2*6H2O to reach 5.2ppm Mg
• 3mL of APT 3 (APT Complete). This 1mL per 1Gal dosing adds:
  • ~8ppm NO3
  • ~4ppm PO4
  • ~18ppm K
  • ~3ppm Mg (total 8.2ppm Mg)
  • ~0.25ppm Fe

For a low tech bowl with rich aquasoil, this should be more than enough nutrients (nonlimiting dosing, aka EI dosing).
If each week I refresh 3 Gal incoming with these ratios, plants should always have what they need to grow, and algae shouldn't be able to compete.

I do this from the start, even when there are no plants, for a few reasons:

1. The bacteria and microbiome should be immediately used to the dosing. Bacteria, especially nitrifying bacteria, need P to build their cell walls, so the extra dosing won't hurt, it will actually help!
   
   
2. "Charge" the soil in whatever remaining way I can with the addition of extra dosing before it's even planted. We all know aquasoil likes to heavily absorb PO4 until saturated, so here I'm saturating it a bit before it's even planted.
   
   
3. To get used to the habit of dosing after water change!

During the next 10 days, I performed a the same ~50% (3 gal) water change every two days. I always dosed 30ppm Ca, ~8ppm total Mg, and 3mL APT 3 after adding the fresh water in. This dark start with combined water changes help cycle the bowl quickly, helps establish bacteria, and promotes oxygen and flow in a bowl that is otherwise stagnant without fish swimming around.

After almost 2 weeks of dark start and 50% water changes, it was ready for planting!

Planting the bowl​

I'd love to discuss plants that are bowl-capable later, but for now I'll just share what I planted:



Background:

• Crypt spiralis (regular/green)
• Limnophila heterophylla (since Limnophila sessiliflora is illegal in the US)
• Pearlweed, Hemianthus micranthemoides
• Ludwigia Super Red 'mini'
• Limnophila aromatica 'mini'

Midground:

• Blyxa japonica
• Penthorum sedoides
• AR 'Mini'
• Echinodorus 'Tropica'
• Schismatoglottis prietoi
• Lobelia cardinalis 'mini'

Foreground:

• Clump of small Bucephalandra sp
• Crypt undulatus 'red'
• Dwarf Chain Sword, Helanthium Tenellum

All of these plants are easy to grow and require no CO2 to thrive, so they're perfect for a bowl. I've personally used them in similar setups before!

The perspective of bowl scapes is wildly skewed when filled. See how well planted the bowl looks in these photos?:



Looks dense, right? Now, look at the bowl when viewed from above:


HA! Looks hardly planted.

I added a few ramshorn snails to keep the cycle going. I'm now performing twice-weekly 50% water changes, and probably will continue for the next 2 weeks or so. The tank will surely be cycled to some extent by then, and I'll add fish and shrimp at that time, too.

Things are going well so far. The Limnophila heterophylla is an amazingly fast growing plant and has already filled out quite a bit. I'll share updated photos soon!

 

[Koan]

 

[techman81]

Working on mine now so this is great timing.

 

[Pepere]

This was a 17 gallon sphere I had. I put an Under Gravel Filter pla te in the base. Cut out a circle from a Penn Plax ugf to fit. And a Lees medium triple flow box with gravel in the box to weigh it down and then filled with floss to mechanically filter. On top of the Lees and on the UGF riser I had fitted Aquarium Co Op Easy Flow kits for curculation…

Bdbs on top of mesh bags of Safe T Sorb…. That was the limit of the tech..

I liked it until a nicked the lip putting a rock back in the bowl and it cracked…

The stupid sphere was $125.00 for the glass bowl. Rather than replace it I opted to get a 75 gallon tank for $150.00…. But of course stand, lights, filtration co2 etc for that 75 was a whole lot more than the filtration for the sphere….

I kept Green Neon Tetras, and pygmy cories…

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

What's the pink crypt @Pepere? Looks awesome.

 

[Pepere]

What's the pink crypt @Pepere?

Pink Flamingo. It grows a more olive red without supplemental co2 then the more vibrant pink in a co2 enriched tank.

 

[techman81]

What's the pink crypt @Pepere? Looks awesome.

It's what I was saying would look good in contrast with Blyxa.

 

[techman81]

Sono aqua pfm on Insta and on Youtube is one of the pioneers of this method, and
deserves a TON of credit for popularizing this technique across many Japanese communities!

I love the large jar with lamp shade.

 

[CincyScaper]

Looks amazing, and definitely would want to make one of these at some point.

I would be interested to know some of the parameters such as ammonia and nitrate. Could you also share more info on the light and PAR.

Looking forward to more posts on this!