# Three Worlds-- 4g triple sphere



## jacketherington (Oct 7, 2011)

I love that. Where did you find that bowl?


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks, I got it from a forum member here. It was made by a glass-blower originally.


----------



## aweeby (Oct 1, 2011)

ooh so that's where it went. Nice setup, and good job at hiding the equipment. Are you planning to mod that HOB? It looks like it's barely hanging on, but to be fair, I did miss it the first time over.


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks, I probably won't mod it, no. It's hanging on the back and it's pretty sturdy, though it's running on an angle. You can't see it, but there's a groove in the lip of the glass back there that's a perfect fit for the HOB. There was custom plumbing that came with the bowl(s), but in my opinion, it took away from the look. I'd rather have something on top than pipes running all around the bowl. I'm not too concerned about the water in the smaller spheres. If it gets bad, I might have to use a small canister + the pipes, but it should be fine if I'm careful. And there's nothing a water change can't fix!


----------



## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

Simple is good, sometimes the best.


----------



## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

I bet that it's hard to keep the glass clean in the outer moons...........
Looks great!


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks, cleaning the outer spheres isn't bad at all. I got one of these guys:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18991

It fits perfectly through the tunnels with just the slightest wiggle room, so I got lucky.


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

It's lives again, so far it looks good and simple is the way to approach this tank, I know it has to be too much fun learning to work in this thing, it will be very interesting to see the progression, good luck.

It's definitely a great conversation piece.


----------



## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

It looks great, I really like the overall composition with the light as well! 

I'm glad to see it is still alive as well.

-Andrew


----------



## fairgate (Apr 7, 2012)

Weird, cool but weird.


----------



## idleivey (Feb 12, 2009)

Looks awesome! Go dirt and dump the HOB?


----------



## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Nice setup and shrimp


----------



## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

That's way cool man. How long has it been up and running?


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks, thanks. 

I'm staying away from dirt because in a small space like this, once something goes wrong, I'd have to dump everything out and start over. Going for low maintenance also, so I don't have any plants that need trimming anytime soon and would be unable to use the benefits of dirt.

It's been up for about a week and I've lost 1 shrimp during the first 24 hours because of an ammonia spike. Things are stabling now though so all's good.


----------



## WestHaven (Jun 30, 2012)

Do the smaller globes have any problem with water flow?


----------



## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Nice to see it again! Like what you're doing with it : )


----------



## Sony (Jul 21, 2012)

Simply Awesome


----------



## Vermino (Jun 14, 2012)

tap dancing on the fine line of awesomeness and craziness. It's just something you don't see everyday and I love it (strange because i hate modern/retro).


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Merci.



WestHaven said:


> Do the smaller globes have any problem with water flow?


Nope, not that I can see. Shrimp are occasionally inside and there aren't any problems with the plants that are in there either. The bowl came with a complex system of pipes that attached to a canister filter, but I chose not to use them. Haven't had any problems so far. I do change the water every couple weeks enough to drain and refill the smaller globes.

The moss and pennywort have grown quite a lot over the past couple months. I'll try to get some updated pics sometime this week.


----------



## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

dude, this is nice, although I do have to wonder how you avoid little pockets of air in the two moons
I want this so badly now XD


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Nope, no air gets into the outer spheres. I use airline tubing and siphon everything out, nice and easy. 

The only time I had air was in the right side with the pennywort. The pennywort was photosynthesizing and releasing oxygen and I got a little pocket at the top. roud:


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Quick update after an earlier water change. 3 months in now. The moss has expanded and the colony has grown. Some riccia hitchhiked in and took over the intake of the HOB in the back. All in all, the bowl is stupid-proof, no complaints here.


----------



## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Wonderful shots - the curvature of the glass makes for a cool "snow globe" effect - the sphere is looking great! When you patent stupid-proof, send me some - lol


----------



## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

"Amazballs!" =)

I really like the simplistic plantings, especially the moss ball in the left orb. What a cool conversation piece!


----------



## Sleek1607 (Aug 20, 2012)

How did you get the substrate in the moons :/


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Sleek1607 said:


> How did you get the substrate in the moons :/


I used one of those long ice cream sundae spoons


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

vincenz said:


> I used one of those long ice cream sundae spoons


Funny, I did the same thing.


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

davrx said:


> Funny, I did the same thing.


Oh, great minds. Yeh, it was either that or I was going to tie a chopstick to the end of a spoon.


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

vincenz said:


> Oh, great minds. Yeh, it was either that or I was going to tie a chopstick to the end of a spoon.


Ha, ha agreed.


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

3 month update, very little has changed.


----------



## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

that "bowl" is amazing


----------



## LyzzaRyzz (Nov 6, 2012)

Changed out the penny wort? 
It looks awesome! Your moss is ridiculous. I can only hope..=] 
Ever thing about side lights? For the side worlds?


----------



## tlwolf (Dec 12, 2012)

Beautiful and amazing! I love it! The light fixture compliments it perfectly! Great job 'scaping an odd ball shape!


----------



## ses601 (Dec 28, 2012)

one of the coolest setups i've seen!


----------



## Ebi (Jun 29, 2011)

1 word: 

BOSS 


Mike


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks all.

New setup in the new place. The cherry shrimp now have some bowlmates!


----------



## stanzzzz (Jun 27, 2010)

I was always double minded to get a HOB filter for a bowl, I thought I won't fit it.but looking at your bowl I might get a HOB for my bowl as well, what mod can u do with hob in a bowl

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2


----------



## xiaxia (Mar 11, 2008)

that looks hella sick!  
really like the look and placement of the branches.


----------



## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

Nice work on this setup
Great photography


----------



## Silmarwen (Sep 21, 2012)

I can't remember if I commented on this before, but this is literally the most unique tank I've ever seen, and I love what you've done with it!


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

stanzzzz said:


> I was always double minded to get a HOB filter for a bowl, I thought I won't fit it.but looking at your bowl I might get a HOB for my bowl as well, what mod can u do with hob in a bowl
> 
> Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2


I'm not sure what mod you can do, to be honest! My bowl has a flat lip near the back. The pipes that came with the custom plumbing were supposed to go back there, but I decided not to use them. The lip was the perfect size for the mini HOB I had lying around, so I used that instead of the pipes. An ordinary bowl wouldn't have the little edge, but maybe with a little ingenuity, you could get it to work.


----------



## golfer_d (Oct 3, 2012)

sooooo cool!


----------



## allknighter (Feb 26, 2010)

Inventive work with a challenging geometry!


----------



## jake10 (Aug 8, 2012)

That looks amazing. How many people have owned that bowl?


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Provenance*



jake10 said:


> That looks amazing. How many people have owned that bowl?


I was the third owner according to chaznsc who I bought it from on this forum in early 2011. Here's the PM he sent me concerning its history:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=1292875
Definitely a OOAK, I would have liked to keep it but needed space for my 1882 Victorian tank and stand that I restored. I don't mean to hijack your thread but thought I'd throw this in here since vincenz bought this from me. Luckily chaznsc had the original crate this was shipped in and I in turn used it to send to vincenz as the glass is so thin it could easily be broken during shipment.
I bought the vintage 60's chrome lamp off ebay as I thought it looked good with the spherical theme, this was my contribution to it. Vincenz has done a great job with it. I love the combination of branches and Neons.


----------



## jake10 (Aug 8, 2012)

I just love the originality of it. I wish they were mass produced. Maybe if you @davrx get tired of it ill happily buy it. Hehe. Keep up the nice aquascaping!


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

jake10 said:


> I just love the originality of it. I wish they were mass produced. Maybe if you @davrx get tired of it ill happily buy it. Hehe. Keep up the nice aquascaping!


Sorry, didn't mean to confuse anyone, this USED to be mine, it's vincenz now.


----------



## zzrguy (Jul 11, 2012)

This is such a cool tank.


----------



## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Unfortunately, I'm now looking to sell this guy. I wish I didn't have to, life is getting busier by the day and I just don't have the energy to keep up with it. 

I have all the original equipment that the previous owner, davrx included with it, and I'll also throw in a mag-float designed for a bowl and also a mini under gravel heater that works perfectly.

Look out for the sales thread, or if you want dibs, send me a message, thanks.


----------



## aluka (Feb 2, 2013)

wow, that is an awesome looking bowl! I'm sad that you have to part with it!


----------



## jmhk (May 3, 2013)

That tank is so unique and I love all the simply elegant variations you had with it. I hope the next owner is just as creative and inventive with its possibilities as his/her predecessors have been! Extra TLC for the pack and ship


----------



## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

Noooooooooooo.

If I had the money though I'd take this off your hands........................

Whoever gets this though, I hope they do it justice.


----------



## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

Still a pretty cool tank, wouldve liked to see that extra tubing hooked up


----------



## aparker (Mar 12, 2013)

Any word on what happened to this tank?


----------



## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Does someone new have it now?


----------



## abey (Sep 20, 2013)

Vince, i will like to buy this tank


----------

