I've got bowl fever!!

[Disher]

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I've been browsing around forums for about a month now because I want to set up a low budget planted "tank". I almost went with the 7.9 fluval flora but it's a bit pricey IMO. Long story short I came across a string of very successful planted bowls and knew I could pull something like this off, and at the same time make it a decorative piece for the living room if you will. I have 2 reef tanks and a macro algae tank, so I'm not a complete rookie!

I want to get this thing kick started but need some direction. I've got the bowl(2.75 gal), now what?

I have a bag of potting soil I bought for some house plants, can I use it as a base and cap it with gravel or sand? Is it the right kind of soil to use in a bowl?

As far as plants go, I'm not sure about which plants are root feeders and which are leaf feeders. I know this will help me with nutrient requirements down the road. I was thinking about planting this with nothing but bulb plants, the lillie, onion, and aponogeton. I wanted to keep this filter-less, the all natural way!

Any comments, criticism, you name it are welcome. Thanks for the help!