# BIOSPHERE!



## Tresbling

Tank:
Ellipsoid glass bowl, approx. 50L. Acrylic cover glass with rubber flow diffuser.  If you have seen my other setups you’ll notice that low tech bowls are a recurring theme! This is the biggest and best one so far... I find the continuous flow of the surface and the complete, self-contained look of the unit make bowls well worth the challenges they pose. Unlimited viewing angles are possible and the perspective changes constantly as you move around the tank. There is also a lens effect which magnifies the centre area of the aquascape and gives more of a unique, 3D appearance.

Filter:
DIY external power filter, 50LPH, coarse wool and ceramic media, 50W heater and CO2diffuser integrated (not currently used). This is made from a 2 litre airtight food box with a rubber O-ring and clips around the lid. An internal divider allows about 2/3 of the volume for filter media and the remaining 1/3 for equipment. A powerhead provides the circulation and the heater is mounted through the lid, with the glass portion immersed. There is room for a glass CO2 diffuser but it is not used at this stage. As it is situated almost a metre below the main tank water level, the additional pressure caused the lid to flex and puddles to appear on the floor, so big bulldog clips on each corner keep it sealed.  
The filter outlet is just above the water level so the flow travels briefly through the air before entering the water. This is supposed to help keep O2 levels up by providing an opportunity for gas exchange before it enters the tank, and (more importantly) by providing movement at the water surface. Bowls are notorious for being difficult to oxygenate as they have so little surface area per litre of volume, which is good for keeping CO2 in, but bad for getting O2 in. Photosynthesis helps of course and my fish don’tseem to lack O2, but this is something I keep an eye on.

Light:
Daylight, plus 4.2W LED, 2700K, IKEA ‘Jansjo’. The tank is situated in front of the window, but I close the white cotton curtains on sunny days to keep it cool. The light comes in for 4 hours in the evening, and is only supplementary to the natural daylight and of course illuminates the tank for viewing.

Nutrients:
1ml Flourish Excel daily, plus 5ml Flourish and 5ml Flourish Excel after each water change (1/3 per week).

Hardscape:
Black quartz gravel and bogwood.

Flora:
Anubias nana and Taxiphyllum sp. (Peacock moss) both growing on the wood, Eleocharis acicularis/parvula (not sure which?) in the gravel. All are growing well, but the Anubias has some brown film on some of the older leaves, looks like diatoms but it won’t come off. Not sure what this is, any ideas? The only other algae I get at the moment is a tiny bit on the glass (easily removed with the magnets) and the black stringy one inside the filter tubes.

Fauna:
12 juvenile Harlequin rasboras, 8 adult Cherry shrimps plus offspring. There is alot of open swimming space around the ‘equator’ of the bowl, which you can’t really appreciate by looking at it. The fish seem to enjoy swimming laps around the outside, and they appear to be well in front of the aquascape, almost like they are floating outside the tank, which is quite surreal...  

Future developments:
I’d like to get a species of lower foreground plant in there soon, to replace the hairgrass at the front and give more depth, probably HC. I know it might struggle with the light but I’ve heard of others have success with it in low-tech. A longer term plan would be to get hold of a Kessil A150 freshwater LED pendant (when they are finally available!) and turn it into a high light affair with pressurised CO2 and fussy plants. However I do enjoy the low maintenance of the current setup...

Any comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions would be welcome, particularly about my brown Anubias. Thanks!


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## Tomfish

Wow. Thats great! The textured quality of the grass as it warps around the glass is nice, and the pipes are surprisingly unobtrusive. I'm envious


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## sanj

I really do appreciate these planted bowl scapes. I have seen a few now and I think they add somthing of thier own that regular aquariums do not.

This one is really very nice, well done and keep them coming. 

I would love to set one up, but I think im rather pushing the limits of permissable number of tanks in the house.


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## Matt Warner

I love this tank it gives a really nice view of the plants from all angles. Do you have a photo of your filter setup?


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## foxfish

Lovely, I would like to see your high tech version if you ever get there....


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## Tresbling

Thanks for the comments! 

foxfish - It was only supposed to be a temporary setup while I saved up for CO2 and light, but I think I will keep it like this for the meantime - it's also very hard to find decent plants and equipment in Australia, still waiting for my HC!

sanj - I'd love to 'keep them coming', but sadly aquariums are a 'one at a time' thing for me, and even then they have to undergo a rigourous approval process!

Matty1983 - Here are some pics of the filter- I haven't got any of the internals, but theres just a divider and a powerhead in there pushing into the 'out' tube. Excuse the quality but I had to shove the camera under the table, the filter doesn't come out easily   




















I took this while I was testing it - calibrating my thermometers (discovering how innaccurate they are) and using blue food colouring to see the flow and check for deadspots.

Annoyed about my Anubias though, its the centrepiece of the tank and once it's algified it never looks the same - I will try reducing the photoperiod - anyone recommend a change to my dosing, more or less or different ferts?
Thanks


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## grathod

This is a true testament to you skill mate, keep it up. The browning Anubias problem is not uncommon when the tank gets natural sunlight. I found this when I had a planted biorb many moons ago... As it is a slow grower, any algae attack severely disadvantages the plant. The leaves then struggle to photosyntesize and then turn brown. I would suggest removing the plant & treating it the excel carbon directly onto the affected leaves after removing most of the algae with a toothbrush or such like. Leave it in darkness for a week in an emergent form - emerge the tuber and roots only, see if this works. Ferts I would switch to E I or tropica's tpn+ or the likes and see if this makes a difference. Check out the nutrient shops on UKAPS & see if they would ship to u in Aus. Good luck


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## sanj

I increase the dose of phosphate to combat GSA (Green spot algae) on my Anubias. 

I really like your diy filter set up, very neat. Are the hose connectors into the filter just siliconed in?


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## Tresbling

Thanks for the Anubias advice. I scrubbed the leaves gently with a toothbrush, tedious process but they look much better now. When I dose excel I put it straight onto the leaves with a pipette, hopefully this will help. I will look into E.I. dosing but I'll have to do some research, I know its the way to go but it seems kindof daunting...
The emergent idea is interesting but not very practical at the moment, I might try it if I need to. I'm hoping I can just get the tank more balanced so that no more algae will grow!

With the filter, the hose connectors just have a screw thread and a collar with a rubber washer, they don't need glue. The tough bit was sealing the power lead for the powerhead, it just has a load of epoxy around it. I'll try putting a diffuser in there in the near future to see if I can get the CO2 injection into the filter working. I'll take some pictures when its all taken apart.


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## Tresbling

Anubias has now been algae free for a few weeks, few minutes with the toothbrush and excel applied to the leaves - now we have flowers! HC is also planted and growing very slowly, but growing - New light is in the post...


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## Timms2011

That looks excellent


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## HarryRobinson

Now that is very very cool, I love how the bowl is like a round fluval edge where you cant see the water line. Very innovative


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## sr20det

Agree with most, it looks awesome.


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## Tresbling

Can anyone recommend an improved fertilisation regime for me please? I think it's lacking in macros, but I could do with some guidance. The substrate is inert and I'm not up for replacing it any time soon - are root tabs a good idea? Can you get really small ones for nano tanks?

I dose plenty of excel and standard flourish, but I don't think I'm getting the growth rates I could have, even though its a very low light setup (<0.1W/L!). My stems are taking forever! I'd be keen to try EI salts, but I'm not sure it's suitable for such low light.

I now have 2 patches of stem plants at the back (_Rotala_ and Mystery stem from the local river), _C. wendtii_, minimal hairgrass and a decent HC carpet at the front.


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## Iain Sutherland

EI will work with anything mate, there is a slightly modified low tech version on The Barr Report
http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.ph ... O2-methods
Personally though as its a smaller tank using something like tropicas TPN+ will provide all the goodies you need.


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## Tresbling

Excellent article - Will make for some good lunchtime reading at work!


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## Little-AL

Thats stunning! Love the DIY filter - great work!


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## Tresbling

Thanks, DIY filter works well, good to have the heater out of the tank but a pain in the a$$ to clean! Next time I'll put the tubes through the lid (or just buy a power filter & external heater!)


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## Tresbling

Update - I really need a new light with a wider beam, my stem plants are in the dark! Riccia and HC are going well though. 

I melted all my Anubias leaves using excel to treat green spot algae (warning to others, don't use it neat!) but the roots are still alive and little shoots are coming out all over them so they'll be back in a few weeks I hope


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## jack-rythm

so those white flower buds are from anubias? what sort?

Tank looks awsome  bet its a paint to clean!


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## Tresbling

Yeah the white flowers are from _Anubias nana_, not sure what prompts them to flower but they do from time to time. 

Its actually very easy to clean, I just have a tiny magnet scrubber to get green spot algae off the glass, and I do a 3rd water change every 2 weeks, trim plants and that's about it!

I've got a new light which I'm finally pleased with, a 9W wide beam LED. Photo update to follow.


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## Tresbling

Latest version of the Biosphere - Crypts, Cladophora and Dwarf Hairgrass


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## Delta_Raven

beautifully done. love the anubias nana, it's one of my favorites!


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## tomh

stunning


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## Alexander

how did you manage to cover the wood with cladophora? How long did it take? What is the temperature in the tank?
completely amazed


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## Greenfinger2

Hello Tresbling,Outstanding work Now i have even more ideas to think about Love the Moss ball on wood Fab Regards Roy


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## GHNelson

Would like to do one of these!


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## Tresbling

Thanks for the comments,

Alexander - the wood covered itself in Cladophora, or rather the plant covered the wood! I was not involved. Took a fair few months. Temperature is currently 27 degrees (Australian summer) but the heater keeps it above 22.

I tried to put up a new photo but forgot my flickr password


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Tresbling said:


> Thanks for the comments,
> 
> Alexander - the wood covered itself in Cladophora, or rather the plant covered the wood! I was not involved. Took a fair few months. Temperature is currently 27 degrees (Australian summer) but the heater keeps it above 22.
> 
> I tried to put up a new photo but forgot my flickr password



Would be nice to see some photos when you can get them up mate


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## jac_olek

plants are in very good condition under such light


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## Hugosek78

Looks great. I wish my plants looked as good.


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## Greenfinger2

Hi Tresbling, How this one going any update photos


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