Walstad Method planted 1g bowl

[Chrisinator]

Very cool! Man, I wish I an had more tanks to play around with.

 

[fishycat]

Very cool! Man, I wish I an had more tanks to play around with.

Thanks - and it's just a "goldfish" bowl! $7 at Walmart ($14 at Petco :headshake2... DO EET! :grinyes:

Your mom got any empty glass bowls/vases lying around? :evil_lol:

 

[fishycat]

Those look very nice. I especially like the five gallon; the 1 gallon will probably look a lot better once the stuff is outta there.

I have setup a sort of walstad something-or-other tank in my sunroom, not sure yet where I'm going with it or if I'm going anywhere. I should probably post about that in my own thread. But anyway, to clean some of the debris from the top I use a cup. Just kind of dunk it into the surface of the water so the flow lets the stuff go into to the cup, along with some water.

It doesn't actually work that great so it's probably not a big help. Nice tanks!

Thanks, yes the 5g looks a lot better.

Feel free to share pics here, if you like! I'd love to see more Walstad-style tanks... I'll try a ladle tonight, that should work fairly well, actually.

 

[Chrisinator]

Thanks - and it's just a "goldfish" bowl! $7 at Walmart ($14 at Petco :headshake2... DO EET! :grinyes:

Your mom got any empty glass bowls/vases lying around? :evil_lol:

I do! But, I want a try it in a bigger tank. Hmmm. I'll see what I can do.

 

[fishycat]

I have to say, it's pretty awesome to see crypts pearling... :headbang2:








And the lone occupant... I may add a few more, later.

 

[betta splendens]

What type of snail is that? Those are overruning my tanks!

 

[Kristinann]

looks like a common pond/bladdder snail to me. I've got em too :/

What do you guys think about keeping shrimp in these setups? Mine would probably be more like 2 gallons.

edit: wait, maybe I should read the linked article about keeping shrimp in them before asking :duh:
Edit 2: Ok, so now that I have read it, do you guys think the shrimps would need filtration or an airstone, or do you think the plants pretty much take care of it on such a small bioload?

 

[fishycat]

What type of snail is that? Those are overruning my tanks!

That would be a ramshorn snail... If you cut back on your feeding they'll stop reproducing. Also, throw in some blanched zucchini or weighted lettuce overnight - in the morning pull out the veg and toss (or move the snails to another tank). I think they're pretty

looks like a common pond/bladdder snail to me. I've got em too :/

What do you guys think about keeping shrimp in these setups? Mine would probably be more like 2 gallons.

edit: wait, maybe I should read the linked article about keeping shrimp in them before asking :duh:
Edit 2: Ok, so now that I have read it, do you guys think the shrimps would need filtration or an airstone, or do you think the plants pretty much take care of it on such a small bioload?

The idea is heavily planting your bowl/tank. The plants (when given enough light) will produce enough oxygen for small critters just fine. Perhaps in a 2g I would feel comfortable adding shrimp... or if I'd tried to cram more plants in to the 1g bowl... Anyway, adding filtration will create a reservoir of beneficial bacteria which will compete with the plants for ammonia. Catch 22 of sorts... I do have filtration on my 5g, but not much in the way of filter material yet. Ideally you want some water movement, but in such a tiny container it's not needed. Adding an airstone will out gas co2 that the plants need (not to mention create a whirlpool in your small container unless clamped down low).



So far Ramshorn Retreat is doing good... still a little dirty, but I think the snails like it that way. :lipssealedsmilie:

 

[Kristinann]

My main concern is films building up on he surface from lack of movement. Have you experienced this?

 

[fishycat]

There's a little bit of stuff on the surface, but to be honest there's still some dirt floating around the edges, too. If a film does develop, I'll skim it off manually with a spoon or something. If it really becomes an issue I'll post about it.