Is a Aquarium an Ecosystem?

[donttaptheglass]

Your post was both valid and thought provoking, Viperboy. It is the nature of a large community for opinions to vary so don't let it keep you from good questions such as this was.

 

[Jarred Darque]

Then I must have missed something in here:

you can have an independant aquarium. some plants, alot of algae, 10 gallons of water, and a pair of guppies. only thing you have to do is top off the water, no feeding involved

This doesn't qualify since you didn't show where the waste is eliminated/removed.

The purpose of any useful discussion is to provide insight and thoughtfulness into what this hobby provides and all of it's sciences. If we fail to do that, we can blame ourselves for not advancing the hobby.

ok, the problem with waste build up in a normal tank is that all of our tanks are stocked over what natural water sources are stocked. there fore, alot of waste builds up faster than it can be removed. but, if you where to cut down on the stocking to such a minute point, then the nitrogen in waste would be naturally removed just as fast as it is removed. two guppies i na 10 gallon is at that stocking lvl.

On top of that, guppies are capable of eating a lrage variety of food, not just flake, these foods include natural occuring spores from plants/algae.

it is a simple cycle, yes it will require topping off due to evaporation. (which also removes a very minute amount of nitrogen, evaporated water is not 100% pure, but the traces in it are minimal) As for trace elemtents that are also being removed in evaporation, adding fresh water every few weeks/months (depending on where the tank is) reintroduces those elements.

Now, no, this system is no where near as good as the real thing, or even as effective as a system where we do interfeere, (our tanks) but it is still, essentiually, a self sustaining eco system.

 

[BrianNY]

Well, in the first place Jarrod, only the H2O evaporates. That means that DOCs and minerals will become more concentrated as time goes by. Merely topping off does nothing to remove what will eventually become toxic to the inhabitants.

An aquarium is by all definition a closed ecosytem as opposed to a natural ecosystem. Because it is closed it requires us to feed it, remove toxins, and add any nutrients which become deplenished. If properly maintained, an aquarium will support its inhabitants through their entire normal life span. This is the definition of a closed ecosytem.

Your brother loses the argument Viperboy.

 

[Jchillin]

DOC's = Dissolved Organic Compounds (just in case).

 

[crazyred]

I think someone needs to read this article and think: http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html

 

[newfound77951]

My 2 cents....technically an aquarium is an ecosystem. All ecosystems are both "closed" and "open", depending on your point of view as to where you draw the boundaries of an ecosystem (remember that the concept of an ecosystem is relevant only to us, who define it, not to the organisms within the system). A more appropriate scientific term to describe an aquarium would be a microcosm. This implies that an aquarium functions like an ecosystem, but is really just an artificial representation of one.

I work in a marine ecosystems lab, and we have 14, 13,000 liter (about 3400 gal) tanks that are used for "whole ecosystem" experiments. At that size they are called mesocosms. Typically the tanks are set up with natural sediments and a 15 foot deep water column both of which contain all the critters found in the natural habitat they were sampled from. The tanks are mixed to represent tidal mixing, and water is removed and raw seawater added to replenish nutrients and planktonic organisms. Experiments are run for a year or more. They have been shown to accuratly reproduce many, but not all patterns seen the the larger ecosystem that they represent.

 

[Jchillin]

Actually, that term was used in my first post:

Pretty good discussion, allow another thought. Think in terms of "micro" eco-system.

I'm sure this is what everyone was alluding to when the question was first asked and then answered in various forms.

 

[Viperboy]

Well thank you everyone for your input ... i know i learned a few things .... and i will def tell my bro all this next time i see him and make sure he knows that he is wrong