# 1 gallon bowl sugestions



## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

Well, I have a 1 gallon bowl with a flat front. I have hornwort, java fern, Aponogetons (my big one had babies), and moss balls from other tanks I can use I also have a few river rocks and rose _quartz, and cycled gravle I could use for a hard scape. For animals i have ghost shrimp or_ 1 white cloud i could use and some pond snails. I have a desk lamp with a daylight bulb for lighting.
I need suggestions on water flow, scape, and live stock for my new project.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

this would be perfect for a Natural Planted Tank. Check out the walstad bowls in my sig and check out some of the shrimp bowls (newman for example as well as others)


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

I was thinking about using soil for the substrate vs gravel 
should i just use an air pump for water circulation or no circulation?
and is it possible for a nice tank with what i already have handy, maybe a java fern jungle with a moss ball as a center piece and shrimp climbing the ferns???


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

You'd probably need some more plants, but what you have is a good start. with npt setups you dont need circulation although it might keep film on water surface at bay.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

is there a soil that is the best, or is it just anything without chemicals?


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

No water circulation necessary. If you go the route I took with mine, it is so darned overgrown there isn't a bats chance in hell you can build up surface scum because it is completely overgrown!! I need to update my bowl pics come to think of it.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> is there a soil that is the best, or is it just anything without chemicals?


Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix then cap it with pool filter sand or pea gravel.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

would half a dozen ghost shrimp and a wight cloud be over doing it and can i use a rubber band to secure java fern


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## Flyin Hawaiian (Apr 18, 2011)

I have a 1 gallon glass bowl similar to this and I used a Tom's Mini Internal Filter. It works great but the flow is a little to much for the tank. So I planted some bamboo in front of it.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

dont do any fish in this bowl. otherwise plans sound solid. this is a tough shape to work with, but i think it can look real nice with a piece of thin branchy DW and the ferns on both sides of the DW. i guess choose one flat side to be the front and base the scape only on that side.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

i like that idea Newman, but i don't know where to get drift wood unless there's a common tree i could pull it off of
should it be filled all the way or only 3 fourths of the way up the tank


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> i like that idea Newman, but i don't know where to get drift wood unless there's a common tree i could pull it off of
> should it be filled all the way or only 3 fourths of the way up the tank


Oak branches are good.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

great, oaks are very common in florida yay
any other ideas besides the branch and java fern using what I have or is a very common plant that i could get at a big chain store


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

Moss!!!!!!!


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

I wish:icon_sad: , but i have not seen any moss in all of palm beach county except moss balls which are actually algae:icon_sad: 
maybe one of the lfs has it in but most are saltwater i might call around tomorrow


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I dislike java moss I find it to be a algae haven. I prefer pelia (spelling)


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

well i rescaped today just to get ideas for when i get around to buying soil, its a few pieces of java fern, a moss ball, and 2 apengetons with a couple river stones tell me what you think
Should i do weakly water changes


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Once you get the soil, final plant setup, and shrimp water changes should be kept to a minimum. The idea of the NPT is to only do top offs maybe a 50% water change every couple months. 

I would do weekly 50% changes till you get the final setup.

I like the layout, i'd still find a small branch or wood to put in there and tie some java fern or anubias nana petite to it. 

When you get all your materials for the final setup follow the steps in the document by Diana Walstad (you can find a link to it in my walstad bowl thread.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

i just bought 3 small plants of that anubis today now i need to find wood and soil
can i use a rubber band with the java ferns and anubis


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

rubber bands will work. some people use thread, others use super glue, I used the thinnest fishing line I could find.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

i put one unubis on a river rock


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

1 shrimp died


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

did you cycle the tank before adding the shrimp?


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

everything was from a cycled tank with a high bioload and gosties are very low bioload so


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

any other options for soil besides
Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> any other options for soil besides
> Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix


MTS (mineralized top soil) downside it takes time and you got to find all the ingredients. 

Some people have used compost soil, just make sure it doesn't have poo in it. 

According to Walstad chicken poo is ok but cow poo is bad.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

ok i will just keep to the first suggestion


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

i went and got some dirt
first i put a layer of soil then plant then a layer of gravel ?


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

can i plant anubis and java fern or do they have to be on something


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> can i plant anubis and java fern or do they have to be on something


you can plant them but don't bury the rhizome.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> i went and got some dirt
> first i put a layer of soil then plant then a layer of gravel ?



soil, plants, gravel or sand yup

you want about 2 to 3 inches of substrate, 1.5 inches of dirt and 1.5 inches of gravel should work.

don't pack the dirt down hard just lightly.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

is the rhizome the piece the roots are on?


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> is the rhizome the piece the roots are on?


yup, hard green thing between the leaves and the roots.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

i have already seen a lot of growth on the aponogeton
i will be adding soil today or tomorrow


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

i have already seen a lot of growth on the aponogeton
i will be adding soil today or tomorrow


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

its planted what do you guys think of the layout
2 aponogetons in the back, a java fern in the middle, and a fern and anubis in the front


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

its a start! it would be good if you can add more plants.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

maybe one of my big aponogeton and another fern?


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

maybe a larger, and better shaped rock?


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

thats something id like to find, a nice center piece rock or wood
Quartz crystal?


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

nah, just do a regular rock.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

I cant imagine dry rock for my salt water tank will work it changes the ph I think?
Ideas of where to get a rock


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

yes, do NOT use live or even base rock. go by a river and maybe youll find some nice washed up rocks or just rocks lying around.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

What about granite or lava rovk
Maybe I could swing by the lake tomorrow but i probably will not find any thing but lime stone and coral rock


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

o you have one of those lakes? can you find something like this?
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31673&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1307932357
try something vertical for your bowl, like that. the put ferns on the sides and maybe do a vertical, branchy DW piece. put up a nice background for your tank too


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

The rock?
yep one of those lakes it's even full of cichlids instead of bass


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

lol did someone release african cichlids in there or something?


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

Mostly Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) and oscars


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

I need to find some drift wood for sure.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

? did people really release their fish into that lake or something? oscars can't be native o_o?


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

exactly


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

stupid u_u. Now your job is to fish every single one of them out of there. lol jk.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

sounds fun
i found some drift wood in my garage 
Maybe take the hatchet to it
and put the rest in another tank


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

Do you think an oscar would fit in the bowl :confused1:


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## Coursair (Apr 16, 2011)

If you want to switch shrimp later, Cherry Shrimp can be surprisingly hardy as long as the bowl is cycled.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> Do you think an oscar would fit in the bowl :confused1:


I do hope you are joking.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

i would love to have cherry shrimp but there to expensive unless some one could direct me to cheap place to get them
And I'm not that stupid


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

that DW dousnt look right for the bowl. you need a branchy one.


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

got it I will keep looking


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

Got some better pics
and one of my favorite fish in my salt water


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

a blenny of some sort?


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

molly miller i caught him while i was catching bait i let my rig sink to the bottom brought him up whats that on my hook a blenny yay and i had to keep him
I maid a moon light and its a little dim for my other tanks so


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> i would love to have cherry shrimp but there to expensive unless some one could direct me to cheap place to get them
> And I'm not that stupid



I'm not sure if he will ship them or not, especially in the heat we are having but my friend wingsdlc breeds RCS


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

on this web site?


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

yup, 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/members/wingsdlc.html


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

my tank has sort of a greenish tint to it not sure if its on the glass or in the water


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

snook123 said:


> my tank has sort of a greenish tint to it not sure if its on the glass or in the water


my guess would be in the water and its probably "green water"


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## snook123 (Jul 27, 2011)

that's what i thought any way to fix it


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

look in the algae section about threads dealing with it....
water change maybe, I'm not sure.


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