GIANT FISH BOWL!!! 🐟🪸🐠 (ultra low tech!)

2572 Views 68 Replies 9 Participants Last post by FernKing, 21 h ago

FernKing

Discussion Starter · 8 mo ago (Edited)

3

This is a project for a future date, as I am still learning- but this just came in the mail: MY GIANT FISH BOWL!
I have never seen a glass bowl this size. I’m very excited to make this into a new planted, dirted aquarium, Walstad style! The bowl is 16” high and 19“ in diameter!! 🤯
I used the internet measurement standard, a cat, to show you how truly big this bowl is. My cat also weighs 17 pounds, fyi- He’s a big boy! I am getting mixed messages on how big it is from reviews online. People are reporting between 10 and 12 gallons! Maybe they are measuring 10 gallons when adding substrate and other objects like driftwood. I’ll try my best to measure the gallons some way at a later time.

Cat Carnivore Textile Wood Felidae

The company warned that the bowl would likely arrive “dirty” as they get it directly from the factory. It was, but I gave it a bath. This bowl wouldn’t fit safely in any sink in my house so I had to wash it outside on a beach towel. I used biodegradable dishsoap and wiped it down with pure rubbing alcohol after I hand dried it.

Road surface Asphalt Wood Art Flooring

I have a custom light fixture being made to support the bowl and I am going to keep this project low tech! No pumps, no filters, no CO2! I will also be constructing this aquarium “in the round” as the bowl will be placed on a lazy susan so it can be appreciated on all sides. I’m not going to be “aquascaping” as much as I am going to be planting the bowl like a bouquet. I will create color, texture, depth and interest with plants only! No rocks or driftwood (except maybe a few sticks). Stay tuned as I update in the coming months!

Cat Pet supply Felidae Carnivore Small to medium-sized cats

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FernKing

Discussion Starter · #41 · 9 d ago (Edited)

2

I need to learn the art of “doing nothing” 😅😭 I need to trust the process!!!
Since I’ve planted everything, I’ve done three water changes.

Plant Water Light Botany Terrestrial plant

On day two, the ammonia levels were zero but nitrates and nitrites were higher. I changed the water again and added floating plants. I need to accept this as normal for a brand new tank.

Liquid Bottle Solution Purple Glass bottle

I tried using my ”poking tool” to see if any soil was going anareobic. I ended up instead knocking three plants out of the soil where they floated to the top 😭. My new strategy is to leave everything alone, if possible, for a week. I need to avoid water changes too! Water changes are disturbing the plants and their short roots too much! Since there is no ammonia, the plants should absorb the nitrites instead (If I’m not mistaken).
Tha snails and ostrocods I introduced seem happy. I need to trust them. I have the light on full blast, 14 hour photoperiod, no siestas! I need growth growth growth!!! Let’s see what happens!

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FernKing

Discussion Starter · #42 · 9 d ago

Check this out! The “Marble Queen” sword is an oxygen producing machine! This leaf isn’t just “pearling” it‘s been pumping out bubbles like this all day! When I put this plant in its pot in my patio pond for a few days, the roots had already started growing into the substrate! I just hope this plant won‘t become an unmanageable monster 😅 This is good news for the future animals I’ll be adding. Plenty of oxygen and rapid growth is perfect for our natural tanks!

Plant Terrestrial plant Grass Aquatic plant Water

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FernKing

Discussion Starter · #43 · 8 d ago

Progress! I got the custom light installed! Now I get to fill the bowl all the way up. I still want to scream a little. . . 😭

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Raaf

· #44 · 7 d ago

Looks nice - although that door next to the bowl/stand scares me a little.

How many gallons?

One consideration, I myself have a 2 gallon jar + light setup and was surprised at how much the light increased water temperature. Make sure the temperature ends up where you want it to be.

FernKing

Discussion Starter · #45 · 7 d ago

Raaf said:
Looks nice - although that door next to the bowl/stand scares me a little.

How many gallons?

One consideration, I myself have a 2 gallon jar + light setup and was surprised at how much the light increased water temperature. Make sure the temperature ends up where you want it to be.

The bowl sat empty for 6 months by the door on the stand. No problems! Now that the bowl is full, the bowl weighs about 100 pounds and isn’t going anywhere.

This bowl is just under 15 gallons. With soil and a gap at the top I have about 13 gallons of water when full. The lights I buy are cool to the touch when operating. I’m using Cree Lighting wireless color change bulbs. My light is 1200 Lumen. I think the company is discontinuing these bulbs 😭😭😭

FernKing

Discussion Starter · #46 · 6 d ago

I finally took a good picture of the finished set up! I’m very happy with the whole look and the plants are happy at the moment too. I’m leaving the light on full blast for 14 hours a day, encouraging plant growth. I’m getting pearling and streams of tiny bubbles from the leaves all afternoon and evening! I can’t wait to add shrimp and fish when the water stabilizes and the plants grow some more.

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Raaf

· #47 · 6 d ago

That bowl really is giant! Keep us posted.

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FernKing

Discussion Starter · #48 · 6 d ago

Raaf said:
That bowl really is giant! Keep us posted.

It’s so BIG! I am going to be doing status updates and comparing and contrasting my first tanks as this develops.
I will to talk about what I‘ve learned in this process and I’ll point out some changes I’ve made along the way. Hopefully I will help others learn from my mistakes and successes if they want a similar set up.
My goals for this tank are:
1. Ultra low tech! No filters, no pumps! Keep equipment to a minimum! I don’t reject using a UV filter or my mini pump to mitigate problems temporarily, but for normal operation no filters and pumps!
2. Style! I want aesthetics and design to be a prominent feature to this aquarium set up. I have succeeded in the design I was interested in, but I want to make sure the aquarium itself is a success. Healthy plants and animals thriving, not just surviving!
I want the bowl to seem unlikely and dream-like, as if there’s some trick to how it works as it appears to be against the wisdom of conventional “high tech” tanks. That’s what originally attracted me to the “Walstad method”. It’s the idea that an aquarium can be biologically sustainable, not merely technologically. I credit lighting technology evolving in the past decade allowing me to do this kind of set up easily and affordably.

I’ll post more updates soon!

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FernKing

Discussion Starter · #49 · 4 d ago

Water quality & plant update:
Water now has a tiny bit of ammonia, nitrites are lower and nitrates are about the same. There is absolutely no odor. I’m inclined to do nothing at this point because: I’m seeing new plant growth everywhere!! Compared to my last attempt at a low tech tank I think the combination of pre-mineralized soil and STS is proving to be much easier to handle. Also, compared to the shrimp jars I have a MUCH higher ratio of soil to water with this bowl set up. My shrimp jars were cylinders in shape and only held about 1 1/2 gallons when full. This bowl has almost double the amount of soil compared to the jars but also has about 13 gallons of water. I think the extra water is allowing the plants to “breathe” more.
From what I can see, almost all of my plants have new leaves. The water isn’t perfect but the plants are growing so I don’t want to disturb them with water changes. I’ll change the water about 40% next week. All of the new “Fancy Twist“ leaves are growing in red ❤ and I believe the Vesuvius put out a runner! I’ll Continue to watch it as it develops. I’m even having success with the crypts this time! No major melting and I’m even seeing streams of bubbles come from their leaves while the new leaves slowly grow.

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FernKing

Discussion Starter · #50 · 4 d ago

Just out of curiosity I tested the PH: it’s 7! 🤷‍♀️ I was expecting something different but that’s okay.

Question: I’m losing about 1/8” a day of water so that’s almost an inch a week. Is it okay to “top off” with treated tap water (like I use for water changes) or do I need something like RO water? What’s best? I haven’t had to deal with this before because my other tanks had lids.

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PlentyCoup

· #51 · 3 d ago

Good to see you back again, but i cant really talk i was neglecting posting for quite awhile their as well.

I love the bowl i want to set up one like that eventually.

FernKing

Discussion Starter · #52 · 3 d ago

PlentyCoup said:
Good to see you back again, but i cant really talk i was neglecting posting for quite awhile their as well.

I love the bowl i want to set up one like that eventually.

Thank you! So far everything is going great! I’ll post all of the successes and problems here. I’m having success after success at the moment with healthy growing plants and improving water quality. I hope to inspire similar, ultra low tech set ups with style 😎
The only piece of technology I’m using is a fairly sophisticated light, but it’s affordable! I’m using lots of “cheats” like mineralizing the soil and mixing it with 40% STS. I’m trying to use any advantage I can to make it as easy as possible.

FernKing

Discussion Starter · #53 · 3 d ago

3

The snails are doing their job cleaning up the bowl as it becomes more “bio active” but the leaves started to get covered in snail mulm 🐌🚫💩.
I don’t want the mulm to fester or promote algae growth so I need to get it off the leaves. Dirty leaves will also inhibit photosynthesis and plant growth. I have a lot of paint brushes so I’m dedicating a new one to “dust” the leaves.
It worked great! A few seconds of “dusting” and all the leaves were clean and bright. I didn’t even have to directly touch the leaves either. Swiping the paint brush near the leaves was enough to wash the mulm off of the surface.
If you have dirty leaves, use a new dedicated paint brush to clean up! 👍

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PlentyCoup

· #54 · 3 d ago

FernKing said:
Thank you! So far everything is going great! I’ll post all of the successes and problems here. I’m having success after success at the moment with healthy growing plants and improving water quality. I hope to inspire similar, ultra low tech set ups with style 😎
The only piece of technology I’m using is a fairly sophisticated light, but it’s affordable! I’m using lots of “cheats” like mineralizing the soil and mixing it with 40% STS. I’m trying to use any advantage I can to make it as easy as possible.

Please do my success have been fewer and far between.
I have been debating on mixing STS.in my 36 gal redo, but have been advised not to. I also tries a mix of soil and STS in my betta bowl and have found that the growth of my crypts is just abysmal. The rotala caterpillar had taken over but the crypts refuse to grow and the STS is the only difference. I have been debating on redoing that tank as well.

FernKing

Discussion Starter · #55 · 3 d ago

PlentyCoup said:
Please do my success have been fewer and far between.
I have been debating on mixing STS.in my 36 gal redo, but have been advised not to. I also tries a mix of soil and STS in my betta bowl and have found that the growth of my crypts is just abysmal. The rotala caterpillar had taken over but the crypts refuse to grow and the STS is the only difference. I have been debating on redoing that tank as well.

Diana herself told me to mix in the STS or sand up to 50% to help tame hot soils. I’m wagering the STS also added some surface area and thus aeration. I wonder if your crypts are slow growing because of PH? STS changed the PH of my patio pond with quartz gravel, but this bowl only has STS and soil and my PH is 7!
My most successful plants have been swords. Crypts have always been a slower grower for me. Somehow they seem more perky in my bowl but still slow. Maybe it’s lighting? My “daylight“ LED light is 1200 Lumens.

PlentyCoup

· #56 · 3 d ago

FernKing said:
Diana herself told me to mix in the STS or sand up to 50% to help tame hot soils. I’m wagering the STS also added some surface area and thus aeration. I wonder if your crypts are slow growing because of PH? STS changed the PH of my patio pond with quartz gravel, but this bowl only has STS and soil and my PH is 7!
My most successful plants have been swords. Crypts have always been a slower grower for me. Somehow they seem more perky in my bowl but still slow. Maybe it’s lighting? My “daylight“ LED light is 1200 Lumens.

I did not think of that. I will have to check the ph of that bowl. I might add maybe 20% STS but crypts are my babies and i dont want to do anything to disrupt that. I have... 4 varatirs and a total of almost 9 plants i think?

I have not been able to grow swords at all which has been a real head scratcher. Of the... 5 i have tried Ozelot is the only one still around.

Fake_Buce777

· #57 · 3 d ago

FernKing said:
This is a project for a future date, as I am still learning- but this just came in the mail: MY GIANT FISH BOWL!
I have never seen a glass bowl this size. I’m very excited to make this into a new planted, dirted aquarium, Walstad style! The bowl is 16” high and 19“ in diameter!! 🤯
I used the internet measurement standard, a cat, to show you how truly big this bowl is. My cat also weighs 17 pounds, fyi- He’s a big boy! I am getting mixed messages on how big it is from reviews online. People are reporting between 10 and 12 gallons! Maybe they are measuring 10 gallons when adding substrate and other objects like driftwood. I’ll try my best to measure the gallons some way at a later time.
View attachment 75565
The company warned that the bowl would likely arrive “dirty” as they get it directly from the factory. It was, but I gave it a bath. This bowl wouldn’t fit safely in any sink in my house so I had to wash it outside on a beach towel. I used biodegradable dishsoap and wiped it down with pure rubbing alcohol after I hand dried it.
View attachment 75566
I have a custom light fixture being made to support the bowl and I am going to keep this project low tech! No pumps, no filters, no CO2! I will also be constructing this aquarium “in the round” as the bowl will be placed on a lazy susan so it can be appreciated on all sides. I’m not going to be “aquascaping” as much as I am going to be planting the bowl like a bouquet. I will create color, texture, depth and interest with plants only! No rocks or driftwood (except maybe a few sticks). Stay tuned as I update in the coming months!
View attachment 75567

Awesome bowl. About the alcohol, I hate to sound paranoid, but some of the prodicers add minor trace of hydrocarbons into their rubbing alcohol. Dish soap and lots and lots of water should be fine. Advantabe of glass: You can see any residue that might linger. Good luck.
A friend in another town had a gigantic bowl that he had found sitting outside. Back then I declined, but now regret it. Plants look awesome in those

FernKing

Discussion Starter · #58 · 3 d ago

PlentyCoup said:
I did not think of that. I will have to check the ph of that bowl. I might add maybe 20% STS but crypts are my babies and i dont want to do anything to disrupt that. I have... 4 varatirs and a total of almost 9 plants i think?

I have not been able to grow swords at all which has been a real head scratcher. Of the... 5 i have tried Ozelot is the only one still around.

I have no idea. Swords are my go-to do-nothing easy plant. It goes to show how much of a difference people’s tap water, set up and soil can make 😂

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FernKing

Discussion Starter · #59 · 3 d ago

Fake_Buce777 said:
Awesome bowl. About the alcohol, I hate to sound paranoid, but some of the prodicers add minor trace of hydrocarbons into their rubbing alcohol. Dish soap and lots and lots of water should be fine. Advantabe of glass: You can see any residue that might linger. Good luck.
A friend in another town had a gigantic bowl that he had found sitting outside. Back then I declined, but now regret it. Plants look awesome in those

I used alcohol for the initial out of the warehouse clean. I’ve since cleaned the bowl with soap and water.

I have found a link to the same product I bought. It was cheaper on Amazon but they’ve been sold out on Amazon since at least April.

www.eventswholesale.com

19" x 16" Clear Round Bubble Bowl Vase

Shop our huge selection of vases, centerpieces, candles, table accessories and more. Open to the public. Lowest prices, guaranteed!

www.eventswholesale.com

Fake_Buce777

· #60 · 2 d ago

FernKing said:
I used alcohol for the initial out of the warehouse clean. I’ve since cleaned the bowl with soap and water.

I have found a link to the same product I bought. It was cheaper on Amazon but they’ve been sold out on Amazon since at least April.

19" x 16" Clear Round Bubble Bowl Vase

Shop our huge selection of vases, centerpieces, candles, table accessories and more. Open to the public. Lowest prices, guaranteed!

www.eventswholesale.com

The one I turned down would have been free and about 2 ft across. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Reactions: 1

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