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Walstad bowl with Ottlite 18w desk lamp?

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  MSG 
#1 ·
Hi! After finally stabilizing and fully "getting the hang of" my 10g tank, I need another one! :D Unfortunately I am young, busy, and have more important things to spend money on than fishies.

I was thinking about doing a Walstad-type-ish 1g bowl on my studio worktable, where I have an Ottlite work lamp - 18w bulb of some kind that is supposed to mimic natural sunlight. My house is completely shaded and has no sunny windows. I have lots of left over eco-complete and plenty of low-light plants I could transplant. I would only want one or two little fish. I've been reading through this forum for awhile, but I'm still a little concerned about a few things

1. No water changes? Really? I would feel so guilty...
2. Can it really cycle in a day or two? Why so much less time than my regular planted tank?
3. Isn't water movement necessary?
4. What could I stock other than betas? Shrimp, maybe?
5. Could anything breed in it?
6. Anyone have experience with this kind of lighting?

Thanks for putting up with me!
 
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#2 ·
I'm using a 26W OTT-Lite for a 5G spawn tank. Looks just like this one..........






Been using this 26W OTT 6500k light to grow 50-75 stems of hornwort, java fern babies and several unidentified mosses since late September 2012. The plants are doing great, but since I'm not around as much, I don't keep track of the activities in the tank any more. When I did try to monitor the green life form's growth, I know some of them grew about 1/2" every 6 hours.

Recently, the hornwort had these little pink little berry/flower type things for a good 1-2 weeks, but the pinkish colors have faded now.

  • If there's no fish living in the 1 gallon other than plants and a few snails to create some ammonia you should be fine with little to no water changes.

  • You will have to top off the water from evaporation though....
  • I'm not sure if the light may be too strong for a 1G bowl & how long you would leave it on, but this really depends on what TYPE of plants you keep in there.

Sorry I can't answer the rest of the questions because I'm leaving for a dinner party now.

Enjoy the rest of this snow-free weekend.....
 
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