Jrpark22000 jarquarium experiment

[jrpark22000]

This started out in another thread, but it looks like the others have all moved on or stopped the challenge. Mine is going to hang in there, so this thread.

http://www.chicagoreefs.com/forums/showthread.php?16790-Reef-in-a-jar-challenge

Originally posted 8-29-2013:
I received the round boiling flask, ground stopper and mag fox all in the mail today. So here is my try. A little bit of cheato, little peice of dragon's breath, about 250ml tank water, 10ml of copepod breeder water with about 25 adult copepods, 3 pinhead sized snails, and about 3 drops of phyto. It'll be in my plant stand under 6500k lights. I'll make a proper stand in
time.

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Originally posted 9-4-2013:
While I'm here, no real update on my DIY jarquarium. Copepods are swimming around, a little detritus on the bottom, but otherwise looks exactly as I made it.

Originally posted 9-12-2013:
The copepods look like they have all died in mine. The Dragon's breath is fading in color and the cheato is translucent in spots. Water is clear except for the small amount of detritus.

Originally posted 9-12-2013:
Update on mine; Dragon's breath turned completely clear and cheato has quite a bit too. There some red fuzzy algea is starting to grow on the cheato and on glass. Pretty cool to watch it mature.

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Originally posted 2-8-2014:
Easiest "aquarium" ever! It only grows red algae but it hasn't changed in months.

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[jrpark22000]

To date all that is left is clear cheato clump, long since dead. the red algae has changed a few times. First fine cotton candy looking, and lastly a very fine film covering all the dead cheato. There is some detritus at the bottom, but very little considering all the dead dragon's breath. The jar has not been opened to date. I've only had to wipe down the glass a few times to make sure light it making it in to the algae. It still sits in the same place in the plant stand getting 12hrs of good light.

Time will tell how it does and what I do different when it is rebuilt.

 

[SMACKERS4]

im going to try this

 

[jrpark22000]

There's nothing too it. Take a look at the linked thread for some more inspiration.

 

[jrpark22000]

Been a while, cleaned the glass today and snapped a few shots. Interesting how there's green algae growin in there now. There's also an interesting bacteria growing on the water's surface as seen in the middle two pics. (No idea what the line in the glass in the photos is but it's not a crack, some kind of camera illusion)

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[jrpark22000]

After updating this thread, I went to ebay... stupid idea. I found 4 more boiling flasks, brand new in box for under $25 shipped. Under 30 minutes in the wood shop to build stands for them all and here we go, a much larger experiment. The empty terrarium will be the new home for the tree frogs.

From right to left.
1. Original jarquarium from 2013.
2. Control, of sorts. Nothing but tank water taken from the nem tank.
3. Copepods and algae. Using a scraper I cleaned the nem tank glass putting both the copepods and brown glass algae into the flask.
4. Algae. A few red bubble algae, a few green bubble algae and an old dead coral branch which has coraline growing on it.
5. Future. TBD.

What’s the end goal? Eh, who knows.
2. The control is to see what algae and other stuff will grow from just tank water.
3. I’ve very curious to see how long the couple copepods last. There are fewer than 6 in there and with the algae, they should have food.
4. I really wanted to see how hardy the algae really is. It’ll grow like weeds in almost any tank conditions, why not in a closed flask? I doubt the coralline will last due to the limited light, but time will tell.
5. As time goes on, this one gives me the chance to bring in a new experiment if something interesting comes along. I was thinking of making it a sponge flask, using the several species in my tank.

All of the new flasks were started last night or this morning.

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[anarchy]

Cyano for the 5th lol ill give you some. Following

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[jrpark22000]

Cyano for the 5th lol ill give you some. Following
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I'm nervous to even have cyno in the house. hahahahaha

 

[anarchy]

I'm nervous to even have cyno in the house. hahahahaha

But bubble algae is okay? Haha

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[jrpark22000]

But bubble algae is okay? Haha
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

You made my point. Nothing short of bleaching the entire tank would kill the bubble algae in the DT, last thing I want to have is cyno too

 

[tinman]

You made my point. Nothing short of bleaching the entire tank would kill the bubble algae in the DT, last thing I want to have is cyno too

lo9l cyano is relatively easy compared to bubble algae .. one or two shots of chemiclean and its out of the door

 

[anarchy]

You made my point. Nothing short of bleaching the entire tank would kill the bubble algae in the DT, last thing I want to have is cyno too

Lol ive got a little of both. Not sure where the cyano came from

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[Rallos]

I wonder how aiptasia would do in one of those things....

 

[Smith11]

you should try mysid shrimp in one

 

[jrpark22000]

I wonder how aiptasia would do in one of those things....

nice idea! I was thinking ball anemones but I know they won't last long without a regular food source. I'd consider tossing in an aiptasia just to see it die

 

[jrpark22000]

you should try mysid shrimp in one

When i set the one up in 2013, even 20-25 copepods all died in 30 days or less. I'd try a amipod first being smaller than a mysis, but have little hopes it'll have enough food for more than a few weeks. Maybe just a single tiny ampipod once I can find a way to grow food for it.

 

[Rcunning8]

This started out in another thread, but it looks like the others have all moved on or stopped the challenge. Mine is going to hang in there, so this thread.

http://www.chicagoreefs.com/forums/showthread.php?16790-Reef-in-a-jar-challenge

Originally posted 8-29-2013:
I received the round boiling flask, ground stopper and mag fox all in the mail today. So here is my try. A little bit of cheato, little peice of dragon's breath, about 250ml tank water, 10ml of copepod breeder water with about 25 adult copepods, 3 pinhead sized snails, and about 3 drops of phyto. It'll be in my plant stand under 6500k lights. I'll make a proper stand in
time.

Originally posted 9-4-2013:
While I'm here, no real update on my DIY jarquarium. Copepods are swimming around, a little detritus on the bottom, but otherwise looks exactly as I made it.

Originally posted 9-12-2013:
The copepods look like they have all died in mine. The Dragon's breath is fading in color and the cheato is translucent in spots. Water is clear except for the small amount of detritus.

Originally posted 9-12-2013:
Update on mine; Dragon's breath turned completely clear and cheato has quite a bit too. There some red fuzzy algea is starting to grow on the cheato and on glass. Pretty cool to watch it mature.

Originally posted 2-8-2014:
Easiest "aquarium" ever! It only grows red algae but it hasn't changed in months.

View attachment 575

Hey Josh i just saw this and in order to have the cheato grow in this flask you need to remove the stopper cap in order for gas exchange and photosynthesis to happen. If the stopper remains on there won't be enough co2 to complete photosynthesis and carbohydrate creation, the gas in the tank will become almost pure o2 once the co2 is all used up

 

[jrpark22000]

wow!!! Just looked at the bubble algae flask, it's already covered in cyno! The pictures in the above post were taken this morning, these I just shot. It's only been 6 hours.

My best guess is the aquarium lighting inhibited growth as compared to the 6500K spectrum in the plant stand had given it exactly what it wants.

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as compared to the photo from this morning...


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[jrpark22000]

Hey Josh i just saw this and in order to have the cheato grow in this flask you need to remove the stopper cap in order for gas exchange and photosynthesis to happen. If the stopper remains on there won't be enough co2 to complete photosynthesis and carbohydrate creation, the gas in the tank will become almost pure o2 once the co2 is all used up

I agree. The intent of the first one was to try and replicate the "ecosphere" and maintain a closed ecosystem. While the cheato and dragon's breath didn't make it, other algaes have been quite successful without gas exchange. One of the future experiments is to vary the amount of gas in the flasks. Allowing for more or less gas in each may affect the gas composition and thus the life.

 

[Rcunning8]

if you can find a creature (maybe a hermit crab) that is small enough to fit inside there and also large enough to create co2 from aerobic respiration you may be able to accomplish the "closed ecosphere" idea, i just don't think that copepods would create enough co2 to support a colony of cheato or dragons breath that is 1000x their size. Cool idea though!