Reef in a jar challenge

Herbie

Herbie

Banned
6 days ago I made this:
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I literally just did it to show my kids some tiny brittles without risking close examination by tiny leaning and pulling bodies (I've had an inexplicable explosion in my franken-fuge).
Then I saw the clam jar on reefbuilders and thought I would see how long this would go. There are definitely amphipods, colonista snails, and brittles in there. Also chaeto and that cotton candy stuff that makes me nervous about it taking over. When I did it I left a big bubble to keep everything happy, but now I think that was a happy accident as I'll have plenty of room for gas exchange. In any case, the critters are still kicking and I'll keep an eye on things.
You should do this too and we can all compare notes to create a viable, long lasting chunk-o-coolness.
I have this sitting on my desk at work in a sunny spot. Two people had never seen a saltwater animal in real life before. It's sad how easy it can be to completely change someone's life. . .

Let's see your tries!
 
a whole new approach to the Super Bassomatic 76:
(Dan Akroyd is a stud, in the taping of this he actually drank liquified bass)
[video=youtube_share;0BQFv83QJ2Y]http://youtu.be/0BQFv83QJ2Y[/video]
Dang copyright, i can't find the whole thing
 
preetty kool nate ..now do you get water flow and temp though ?? do you swirl it every once in a while?
 
Aquaman said:
preetty kool nate ..now do you get water flow and temp though ?? do you swirl it every once in a while?
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Covection and creature movement are the only flow source and temp will be dependent on ambient. there are no corals in there obviously (reef in a jar is misleading I guess) so I'm thinking of it more like a small trapped tidepool.
 
Pretty cool. Glass or arcylic jar? Why is it upside down?

I had an ecosphere (freshwater) for 15 years, until it was knocked over and broken recently.
 
still awesome .... i get you could keep some super hardy coral pice in there if you could figure out the flow thing lol :)

if anyone can do it you can Herbie :)
 
They are pretty cool. The shrimp will only last a few years, but the algea will thrive for far longer. After a few years of aging the algea change from green to blue green. Really sucked to see it broken after so long.
 
capysolo said:
That jar looks familiar, wonder where you got it... :D
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Those things are like duct tape Mark. I seem to have a limitless supply and they work for everything.

jrpark22000 said:
Pretty cool. Glass or arcylic jar? Why is it upside down?

I had an ecosphere (freshwater) for 15 years, until it was knocked over and broken recently.
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It's polycarb plastic (Thanks to Marks cuz at Uline). It's upside down to make sure it is airtight, to allow sunlight in, and so I can see it.
I believe the ecospheres are actually marine. I was surprised when I read that myself. They have a gorg and shrimp in them (the ones you can buy now anyway).
 
I was thinking aiptasia, rock rubble (no sand), calurpa, stomatellas, brittle stars and sun. But, without a food source other than the algae, would the inverts die off?
 
Cool stuff Herbie! I'll look around for a suitable container.

The ecosphere I had was brackish. Tasted the water after the incident, but who knows with the newer ones. I was surprised when I tried to figure out how old it was, a xmas gift when I was in high school and how long that's been for me.
 
Aquaman said:
you can drill a tiny hole in the top to add food
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I think that would accomplish the coolest little tank, but fully enclosed would be cool too. I think my office shuts the AC down on summer weekends and drops the heat on winter weekends. Wonder what's hearty enough to withstand that? I think algae would be fine...
 
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