Starting A Low Maintenance Shrimp Bowl - Help Needed

[noscrazy]

Basically I want to start a shrimp bowl. My intentions is to have it heavily planted so that no filtration is required, provided I do plenty of water changes. I want it to be similar to this: https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9vkHe84xKk - Although I'm not aiming to get a bowl that is more than 20 or so litres. I have 5 RCS already in a 5 gallon, but I need to shut the tank they're in down. I have googled for more information on this, although pages I've found do not give enough information for someone who is new to planted tanks. The only live plants I have is java moss in the current shrimp tank and java fern in my betta tank.
 
What information I need is:
-What plants could I use? This would be my first planted tank.
-Can I use a desk lamp to provide light for plants - If so, what wattage would be good and is there a certain type of bulb to use?
-What substrate would be best to use?
-Would RCS be OK at around 20 - 21 degrees Celsius (My room temperature)? I've kept them at 21 for a while whilst my heater broke.
 
I really appreciate all your help, and a massive thanks in advance! P.S: Sorry if I didn't put this in the correct section of the forum!

 

[Mamashack]

to TTF, noscrazy!
Am only just starting with shrimp myself, but one or two things spring to mind.
If you are having a heavily planted tank you may have to consider having ferts and CO2 to make sure the plants don't melt and pollute the water column which isn't low maintenance and can cause issues if you go away for any length of time.
The temp you are suggesting is certainly within the acceptable range tho it could swing up and down with the lights even LEDs I've found. I have a heater tho it's not switched on at the moment due to the hot weather we're having in the UK
I don't have heavy planting in my tank so can't advise on the best substrate to suit both plants and shrimp. Hopefully someone with more shrimp-keeping experience can help out there.
Good luck with your project and if you decide to go ahead it would be interesting to put it in a journal for us to follow.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Sand is pretty good for both shrimp and plants...the rest i'm not sure of.