# Low tech bowl of joy



## aec34 (30 Jan 2021)

Here’s my low tech bowl. Late night purchase of clay spawning dome installed today - I just really like the shape and I’m unbelievably pleased with how it looks. (Lockdown, eh?!)






Garden soil + building sand mix, capped with proper aquarium gravel. Hygrophilia polysperma in the back + hydrocotyle trimming been in for about 3 weeks, plus mini hairgrass added today (thanks @castle!) Bunged some salvinia in too since it’s coming out my ears.
Weekly big water change, half coming from my older tank.
Planning on moving some shrimp in at some point. Well chuffed so far


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## dean (30 Jan 2021)

How big is the bowl ?
Where did you get it from ?
Which light are you using ? 


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## aec34 (31 Jan 2021)

Bowl and light both from eBay - I’ve been trying to buy used stuff where possible. 
Bowl holds about 4 litres, probably a bit under that with thick substrate. The glass is pretty thin but does the job.
Light is a usb flexible neck reading lamp, with a clip (hence the little wooden thing to the right just out of shot). Think the light was about £15.


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## Paul Kettless (31 Jan 2021)

Great little project to store in the back of mind for later on, looks great


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## dean (31 Jan 2021)

It looks great please keep photo update coming 


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## aec34 (31 Jan 2021)

Thanks, will do 👍 Noticed my first shrimp babies in my cube earlier today, so hopeful it’ll have some guests soon


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## Stueylake (1 Feb 2021)

Very cool, looking forward to further updates!


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## aec34 (12 Feb 2021)

Bowl still quietly doing its thing. Little algae on a few of the hygrophila leaves, but nothing too untoward. Slightly brown colour from the tannins from my bogwood-heavy 20l cube water, which I’m using as part of 80% weekly WC.


Hoping to move some shrimp in soon.


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## aec34 (16 Feb 2021)

SHRIMP!



Bit the bullet and moved over two adults shrimp and two babies from my cube. Adults definitely still alive 24 hours later. The adults hang out together quite a bit. It’s cute.


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## aec34 (25 Feb 2021)

Second soil + light only tank experiment, set up for about 10 days. Plastic cube and light both secondhand from eBay, cube is about 20cm and holds about 6 litres.
Treated myself to a beautiful - but turns out quite big! - echinodorus ozelot (thanks Aquarium Gardens!), but otherwise trimmings from my other tanks plus donations from @dcurzon.




Twig came off the apple tree in the garden, boiled and scraped. Going a bit sticky, but getting rid of it with water changes.
Hopefully taking it to work in a fortnight.


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## aec34 (27 Feb 2021)

A couple of weeks in, the twig has Gone Badly. Bit oozy, so I fished it out and my fingers sunk into it way more than they should 🤢
Twig put in compost. Still, glad I tried. Otherwise, plants are taking.


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## aec34 (3 Mar 2021)

Big WC every couple of days for the dinky cube - and echinodorus leaves poking out the top are still looking ok. Cube needs a clean, but is starting to look more settled. Really pleased with the overall effect.



Bowl now has a few more shrimp from my main tank - and first couple of molts spotted last week  



Keep sticking trimmings in both bowls...


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## aec34 (3 Apr 2021)

Dinky cube now closed down - it was too near the window and with no cleaning crew kept going really green. I suspect the remains of the oozy twig, and no filter, didn’t help. Plants rehomed to other tanks - fingers crossed echinodorus makes it in a jar on the windowsill. I’m running out of tank real estate atm.


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## aec34 (3 Apr 2021)

Bowl has had a new light and stand though (and needs a clean)!


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## aec34 (5 May 2021)

Bowl just over 4 months old.
Had a radical sort out and removed a few sad trimmings, and moved in some mossy bogwood bits.
Still doing weekly 50% WC, now with remin-ed rain water.



Original 7 shrimp still alive, though not as active as in my other tank. I tell myself they are happier now they have some moss.
Experimenting with no flow/filter is interesting, and I do love the simplicity of the whole thing, but I do think this bowl would be happier with some kind of movement.


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## aec34 (26 May 2021)

Bowl now at work, and the shrimp have been reunited with another 10 of their friends/cousins from my main cube.



They survived a thrilling car ride in, and are doing a great job of cleaning up the dome and keeping us calm 🙂


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## aec34 (9 Jul 2021)

Emotional day in the bowl.
We lost The Big Shrimp (christened ‘King Prawn’), whom the other shrimp then started eating as they do. But then a few hours later also noticed some babies! Proper circle of life.
Last day of term too, and bowl has now survived the drive home. Looking a bit tatty with its funny emersed growth but must be an adequate habitat for the breeding to take place  Wonder if the warmer temperatures are responsible- there’s no heating in the bowl.


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## dean (9 Jul 2021)

Do you think water movement would be beneficial?


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## aec34 (9 Jul 2021)

dean said:


> Do you think water movement would be beneficial?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I’m pretty sure it would. I’m toying with the idea of finding a v small and quiet USB pump and just running it during the day. At the moment I could get away with it as a bowl of plants if the work health and safety police get wind of it, but adding a permanently-running pump makes it into An Aquarium which I’m less sure would be tolerated...


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## dean (10 Jul 2021)

Wouldn’t An air pump be enough ?


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## aec34 (17 Jul 2021)

dean said:


> Wouldn’t An air pump be enough ?


Probably! Would just need it to be v quiet and discreet since it’s at work.


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## aec34 (17 Jul 2021)

Bowl this evening, 5 and a bit months old. Hasn’t had a clean in ages, and rarely gets a feed. Plants are surviving not thriving - and interesting how little growth there has been from the moss, since this grows like the clappers in my main tank. Looks much better from a distance than close up!



Likely breaking it down soon to re-do my 10 litre cube, which hopefully will then be the work tank. Colleagues have demanded the return of some shrimp in September!


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## aec34 (19 Jul 2021)

Closed this bowl down today. There were lots of shrimp. And EVEN MORE baby shrimp. So many babies! Took hours to get them all out 😬 Now reunited with their relations in the main tank.


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## Karmicnull (20 Jul 2021)

aec34 said:


> There were lots of shrimp. And EVEN MORE baby shrimp. So many babies! Took hours to get them all out


I had a similar experience last night clearing out a plastic storage crate 'holding tank' which had a few plants and a sponge filter in.  And, it turned out a couple of stowaway shrimp who had bred like, well, shrimp.


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