In 2024 I got some cash as a Christmas gift and decided to spend it making an aquatic vase. I had been long developing an intense special interest in shrimp keeping. But, I had never had an aquarium before and read snails were more hardy, and easier to start with.

I spent hours watching videos, reading forums, and looking at setups of Walstad method tanks. I had a 1 gallon vase and decided to try it.

I started with plain potting soil and capped it with aquarium gravel. I went to the pet store and got some java moss and bought a small clip on USB light. I tried tying the moss with clear thread to a rock.

The vase is bigger then it looks because distortion.

I tested the water over the next month with test strips. They showed the tank had cycled, and my tap water parameters were great for keeping snails. After some research, I got some more plants and a Mystery Snail; a choice I later regretted. (That sounds way too ominous, no mystery snails were harmed in the making of this vase!)

“Steve The Poop Monster”, at only 2cm the little lad took over his new realm nicely. He hid for several days before exploring.

The vase stayed nice for the next few months, and I tried adding 3 shrimp. Unfortunately, within 2 weeks they had died. I also was reading a blog for aquatic snails, which I then found out they recommended a tank of at least 2-3 gallons per mystery snail. I immediately ordered a 3 gallon online to start over and fix several issues that were forming.

The Problems:

1. The plants started rotting at the base. Steve dug them up to eat the rot. The java fern developed galls and the growth stunted.
2. The proteins from the rotting plants and lack of water movement made scum build up on the surface.
3. The light I was using wasn’t powerful enough.
4. Plants kept floating away and they had a potassium deficiency.
5. My tap water had 0.40 ppm ammonia in it. I didn’t detect it when doing tests because the bacteria had cycled it. But these spikes probably caused the shrimp deaths.
6. Steve was growing quickly and I was worried the tank couldn’t handle his bioload, plus I think he was bored.

The Solutions:

1. I put a layer of sand before the gravel to help anchor the plants betters. I replaced the struggling plants and replaced them with different ones.
2. I used root tabs and liquid fertilizer to fix the potassium problem.
3. I got a stronger light.
4. I used a sponge filter to create surface flow and filter the scum.
5. I got a new water conditioner to bind the ammonia into a less harmful form until the bacteria could process it.