Balanced Aquariums (by request)

[GhillieSniper115]

From what I've heard of the ecosphere, it's not truly sustainable. I've never had one, so I can't say anything from personal experience, but from what I've heard, the shrimp , Halocaridina rubra, only survive because they are naturally able to withstand harsh conditions. I've heard they eventually waste away and don't reach their full lifespan. Again, I can't say for sure, but we know that though energy cannot be lost, conversion of energy is never 100% efficient. Thus the contained sphere would be losing energy to the surrounding environment, or having it bound in unusable forms(such as waste matter that cannot be broken down or reused). So I personally do not think a truly self sustaining system is ever possible. Even the earth is not self sustaining, as it constantly loses energy to space, and receives energy from the sun.

--Adeeb

Waste matter can't be broken down or reused but it can be converted

 

[eco23]

On the EcoSphere...I asked my girl about it and she said we've had it for at least 5 years.

I'm definitely not advocating throwing any animal whether it's a dog, fish or shrimp into what amounts to a snow globe...but it's pretty wild that after all this time the inhabitants are still "seeming" to be a healthy, reproducing and the environment at least appears self-sustaining.

I'm sure this is impossible to survive long term (though 5+ years is a fairly significant amount of time). I'd have to assume that even though the bio-load is tiny, the sphere will eventually succumb to old tank syndrome as the TDS builds up over the years and everything bottoms out.

It is neat though to watch what truly is a mini ecosystem. During the day condensation gathers and falls, algae grows and is consumed, etc...

They even survived a major natural disaster when a cousin of mine shook it around Christmas time thinking it was a snow globe, lol.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Waste matter can't be broken down or reused but it can be converted

I'm not sure if you read that properly.

 

[Rokuzachi]

Ya I know but common guppies reproduce very quickly and the faster the reproduction rate the faster a species adapst

Is it even possible for a species to biologically adapt to poor conditions in the span of a few short generations? Doesn't sound right to me.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Is it even possible for a species to biologically adapt to poor conditions in the span of a few short generations? Doesn't sound right to me.

+1
Wouldn't it take 100 of thousands or millions of generations to make a difference?

 

[maxwellag]

+1
Wouldn't it take 100 of thousands or millions of generations to make a difference?

Yeah... humans would be solar powered by now.... (joking)

 

[Wy Renegade]

Is it even possible for a species to biologically adapt to poor conditions in the span of a few short generations? Doesn't sound right to me.

+1
Wouldn't it take 100 of thousands or millions of generations to make a difference?

Yes, thought we covered that already, but the OP has a habit of ignoring or trying to answer with illogical answers.

Yet another comment that clearly shows you don't truly understand the processes you are describing. Do fish adapt? Yes they do. However adapting takes hundreds, maybe thousands of years and occurs over multiple generations. It does not happen overnight or even over a couple of weeks in an aquarium. This type of thinking (i.e. the stretching of a giraffes neck in order to reach the leaves in the tall trees) is called Lamarkism, and was disproven many, many years ago.

Ya I know but common guppies reproduce very quickly and the faster the reproduction rate the faster a species adapst

True, but your still talking hundreds or thousands of years within the environment not a few weeks, or months, or even in a year in a aquarium.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Yes, thought we covered that already, but the OP has a habit of ignoring or trying to answer with illogical answers.

True, but your still talking hundreds or thousands of years within the environment not a few weeks, or months, or even in a year in a aquarium.

Ah. Thankyou. Must have missed that bit.

 

[GhillieSniper115]

I'm not sure if you read that properly.

What?
What do you mean

 

[GhillieSniper115]

Is it even possible for a species to biologically adapt to poor conditions in the span of a few short generations? Doesn't sound right to me.

No the fish I got were subject to this over MANY generations

 

[GhillieSniper115]

Yes, thought we covered that already, but the OP has a habit of ignoring or trying to answer with illogical answers.

True, but your still talking hundreds or thousands of years within the environment not a few weeks, or months, or even in a year in a aquarium.

What? The fish I got were in this environment for alot of generations. Prove your point

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Again, I can't say for sure, but we know that though energy cannot be lost, conversion of energy is never 100% efficient. Thus the contained sphere would be losing energy to the surrounding environment, or having it bound in unusable forms(such as waste matter that cannot be broken down or reused). So I personally do not think a truly self sustaining system is ever possible. Even the earth is not self sustaining, as it constantly loses energy to space, and receives energy from the sun.

--Adeeb

Make sense to me.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

What? The fish I got were in this environment for alot of generations. Prove your point

If you had it set up for a year, the fish wouldn't have adapted that quickly. There wouldn't have been enough generations, it takes hundreds, thousands, possibly millions of generations for a complete adaptation.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

What? The fish I got were in this environment for alot of generations. Prove your point

Didn't he just say it takes thousands of years not 'many' generations?

 

[GhillieSniper115]

If you had it set up for a year, the fish wouldn't have adapted that quickly. There wouldn't have been enough generations, it takes hundreds, thousands, possibly millions of generations for a complete adaptation.

I said The fish I got were in similar conditions. I.e they were always in a balanced system. They would have already adapted by the time I got them. I said that already

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I said The fish I got were in similar conditions. I.e they were always in a balanced system. They would have already adapted by the time I got them. I said that already

Yes. And everyone else is trying to tell you that the fish, no matter where they came from, they could not have adapted that fast.

 

[mfdrookie516]

They had been in this so called 'balanced' aquarium for thousands of years?

 

[ashleynicole]

The ecosophere is different because it is completely contained. You never add water becuase the water when it evaporates returns and stays within the system. So there really wouldn't be dissolved toxins building up since nothing is added or taken away. But even the website you posted says the life expectancy is 2 years.
An open tank with water top offs would have a multitude of other potential issues.

 

[ashleynicole]

They had been in this so called 'balanced' aquarium for thousands of years?

Like :.............

 

[GhillieSniper115]

Didn't he just say it takes thousands of years not 'many' generations?

Not neccesaraly. You guys are thinking of adaptation of animals such as a cat or dog for example. Fish such as common guppies can reproduce monthly, and therefore have a faster reproduction rate, enabling them to adapt faster.