Hi everyone! Nice forum you got here, hope you don't mind if I post on it.
In school for bio we are making something called a biosphere, basically a closed ecosystem (it will be sealed airtight). We have to fill this said biosphere (1 liter bottle) with a self sustaining ecosytem. The ecosystem requires an autotroph (plant, algae, phytoplankton), a secondary consumer (something that eats detritus, the autotroph,etc.) and a tertiary consumer (something that eats the secondary consumer). Think of it like a food chain because it is one LOL..
My group has decided to go aquatic (probably FW but we could switch and go SW) and I thought the best place to ask questions would be a knowledgeable fish forums, like this one.
I know quite a bit about fish, 5 years with freshwater tropical/beta/goldfish and 4 years with a saltwater reef tank but I still think it would be very nice to bounce idea's off you guys/gals.
To get back on track... Since the water bottle can't hold much liquid I quickly decided fish were out of the question because they would produce ammonia much to quickly for any beneficial bacteria to convert to nitrates. So invertebrates it is but which one to choose, has given me a bit of grief. I am thinking a cherry shrimp? My main fear is that the shrimp will eat the algae quicker then it can be produced... Also it has to live at room temperature.
Plant wise I haven't thought about it a ton.. Probably something with not a massive route network? Anything come to mind? Probably a bit of an odd question huh Also something that can grow with a low light source.
Lighting would optimally be from the sun but I don't believe it directly hits the classroom so I may need to supplement with something.. Any cheap lights come to mind?
*preferably no extra light purchase is optimal*
Finally for the substrate I am thinking dirt that will hopefully have microbes living within because I need C02 producers or the plant will suffocate itself.. Is there any live soil sellers like there is with live sand in the SW community?
Man this was a long post... I am open to any suggestions and change. I really could benefit with some outside minds on this one because I believe I may be over thinking it. Any idea, thought, post, suggestion, comment, question, or joke would be greatly appreciated
Evan
In school for bio we are making something called a biosphere, basically a closed ecosystem (it will be sealed airtight). We have to fill this said biosphere (1 liter bottle) with a self sustaining ecosytem. The ecosystem requires an autotroph (plant, algae, phytoplankton), a secondary consumer (something that eats detritus, the autotroph,etc.) and a tertiary consumer (something that eats the secondary consumer). Think of it like a food chain because it is one LOL..
My group has decided to go aquatic (probably FW but we could switch and go SW) and I thought the best place to ask questions would be a knowledgeable fish forums, like this one.
I know quite a bit about fish, 5 years with freshwater tropical/beta/goldfish and 4 years with a saltwater reef tank but I still think it would be very nice to bounce idea's off you guys/gals.
To get back on track... Since the water bottle can't hold much liquid I quickly decided fish were out of the question because they would produce ammonia much to quickly for any beneficial bacteria to convert to nitrates. So invertebrates it is but which one to choose, has given me a bit of grief. I am thinking a cherry shrimp? My main fear is that the shrimp will eat the algae quicker then it can be produced... Also it has to live at room temperature.
Plant wise I haven't thought about it a ton.. Probably something with not a massive route network? Anything come to mind? Probably a bit of an odd question huh
Also something that can grow with a low light source.Lighting would optimally be from the sun but I don't believe it directly hits the classroom so I may need to supplement with something.. Any cheap lights come to mind?
*preferably no extra light purchase is optimal*
Finally for the substrate I am thinking dirt that will hopefully have microbes living within because I need C02 producers or the plant will suffocate itself.. Is there any live soil sellers like there is with live sand in the SW community?
Man this was a long post... I am open to any suggestions and change. I really could benefit with some outside minds on this one because I believe I may be over thinking it. Any idea, thought, post, suggestion, comment, question, or joke would be greatly appreciated
Evan
. The snails and the trimming do great with nothing but some colored glass bits on the bottom!
