#planted vase

[cyprinodont]

Planted vase for a family friend's 7th grade classroom.

[hella-free-space]

Vase I setup yesterday cleared up after a water change (probably didn't rinse the substrate well enough lol) And I picked up a mini filter for it^^ it's the azoo mignon 60 and everyone in the planted vase group I'm in *raves* about it. It's insanely quiet tho and the flow is adjustable!! :D it also came with a tiny intake sponge, but there's just plants rn, so I don't need it :) Yall think I could house 1-3 ghost shrimp (or cherry shrimp) in here if I cycled it properly? .-. Or as a holding tank for the live shrimp I sometimes feed my fish? (I feel weird just buying a single shrimp, since each of my betas get half a shrimp when I feed them live food .-. And it'd be nice to buy a few at a time...) (The jar is around a gallon, temp is 74 (winters over so there's only a fluctuation of about a degree between night and day at this point...))

[craybies]

What is the care regimen for a planted vase with no critters? I'm new to aquatic plants and would like to start there as it seems similar to a terrarium, which I have a few of.

A planted vase is a great place to start! It depends on if you go dirted or not (look up the wastad method for dirted vases). In general I do a 50% water change every week or two, and add fertilizers with the new water. If your water is very soft, you’ll want to stick closer to the weekly changes, because the plants will use up ions in the water and cause things like pH swings. Depending on the humidity/shape of container/if you have a lid on it, you might have to top off the water more frequently than that. Once in a while I give the inside of the glass a wipe (a toothbrush works good for smaller containers), just when it gets gunky looking. 

On a related note, it’s much easier to start with something pretty densely planted, there will be less of a struggle with algae. A lot of aquarium plants grow pretty fast and are easy to propagate, so you can start with a smaller container and upgrade in a few weeks/months 

Make sure to use dechlorinator! Despite not having a filter, there are important bacteria in an established vase (particularly those that break down dead plant matter into CO2), and chlorinated water will kill them 

[craybies]

A device for small water changes It's a pain to do water changes on small containers, and I have a bunch of planted vases, and a snail culture in a bucket. Big siphon hoses are hard to get started in them (I have drank more snail water than any human being should), and pouring out the top uproots things. So I came up with this. There's a hole drilled in the cap, that the airline hose fits snugly through. The hole in the bottle was started with a knife, and widened with a pencil (to keep it smooth). The weight on the end is a ceramic ring that stem plants often come in. To start the siphon, just squeeze the bottle and then cover the hole in the bottle with your thumb. Once water starts flowing, uncover the hole and leave it be. If you don't have the hole, pressure builds in the bottle and the siphon stops. It is not a very fast water change, but it doesn't need too close of attention, especially if the to of the bottle is above where the water line will be when enough water has been removed (because that will stop the siphon). I tend to just set mine up and walk away to do other tank maintenance. Hopefully someone else find this helpful, because I feel pretty clever :)

[craybies]

The making of a planted vase that subantarticzone and I made for a friend! No critters, just plants