Wy Renegade's 20L Bog Tank

[alLexX]

some kind of frog or toad.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Well, I haven't updated this in awhile, so thought I would bring it back up to the front again. Didn't really do much with the bog over the course of the summer, dropped in once in awhile to feed the fish and add top off water, other than that, it was just kind of left to grow. Came through the summer in fine shape.

School started up again and in September we started getting out on our field trips again, so we picked up and added some new additions to the bog tank.

Damselfly Nymphs; at about 1 1/2" in length, these guys are the biggest I've ever collected.

Dragonfly and Mayfly Nymph; the mayfly and dragonfly nymphs weren't quite as impressive, but made a nice addition non-the-less.

All for now, but I've got a nice update coming in the next day or two, so stay tuned.

 

[alLexX]

Well, I haven't updated this in awhile, so thought I would bring it back up to the front again. Didn't really do much with the bog over the course of the summer, dropped in once in awhile to feed the fish and add top off water, other than that, it was just kind of left to grow. Came through the summer in fine shape.

School started up again and in September we started getting out on our field trips again, so we picked up and added some new additions to the bog tank.

Damselfly Nymphs; at about 1 1/2" in length, these guys are the biggest I've ever collected.

Dragonfly and Mayfly Nymph; the mayfly and dragonfly nymphs weren't quite as impressive, but made a nice addition non-the-less.

All for now, but I've got a nice update coming in the next day or two, so stay tuned.

i love that your using bug larvae for this. its cool

 

[redsea]

This build is so cool! I am following, never seen anything like it!

 

[Wy Renegade]

i love that your using bug larvae for this. its cool

Thanks, the only issue is that eventually they molt into their adult form, and then you have them flying around the room LOL.

This build is so cool! I am following, never seen anything like it!

Thank you for the kind words and glad you are enjoying it.

 

[Wy Renegade]

I'm pretty happy with the way is finally running. Obviously its had its ups and downs over the years, but now the plants and animals for the most part appear to be pretty healthy. It has been a lot of fun and totally relaxing as well. When we find something cool and new it goes into the tank and we watch to see what happens. The aquatic insects are not only interesting to watch, but it is pretty amazing how they can just disappear and you really have to hunt to find them again. They are also a bit of a challenge in that they eventually mature into their adult form, and then I find them flying around in the classroom. The students do enjoy seeing the molts however. There are very few problems that I can see at this point, the main ones being that the native fern appears to be dying back (not sure if the issue is light, nutrient, or water-logged soil related), and the overgrowth of the pool area by the aquatic plants

I have to say that I find the extend of plant growth pretty amazing.

The nice thing about this aquarium is that unlike all my other ones, it is pretty much worry and cost free. Other than the initial cost of the tank itself, and a little for maintenance on lights and filters, it is virtually without cost. I'm always sure to be aware of any regulations or requirements in regards to collecting and maintain a current fishing licease as required by our state Game and Fish. We also collect speciments responsibly - no collecting limited or single specimens. At this point, it is also very rewarding to see the student's interest in the tank as well. Almost every day there are students crowded around the bog to see what new and interesting thing they can see today.

I did have a chance to bring in somebody a little more knowledgable about aquatic plants last spring, and she was able to help me with IDing some of the plant life I've added. The blue flower plants are Forget-Me-Nots, and the pink flowering plants are a native mint.

We weren't able to get to specific scientific names on both unfortunately. Currently both the Forget-Me-Nots and the mint appear to be bent on tank domination. At this point, we've got six species of native plants thriving in the tank, a native fern, duckweed, moss, Forget-Me-Nots, equisetum, and the native mint. I was a little worried about the duckweed initially, but it has stayed in check and adds a lot to the water's surface. This year we added a species of sedge, a different species of moss, and some native hornwort from the last field trip so we'll have to see how those do.

As far as aquatic insects go, we currently have caddisflies, damselflies, dragonflies, mayflies, stoneflies, a water strider, and several beetle larva. For crustaceans, we have several crayfish of assorted sizes and tons of tiny scuds (freshwater amphipods) that we've added. We have lots of snails of course, and this year we added a couple of freshwater mussels as well. We also added planaria and a few round worms this year.

And of course one can't forget the minnows.

Last fall I got brave and added some water from one of the ponds at the sewage treatment plant that was loaded with zooplankton, however after checking several water samples this fall, I was unable to located any significant population of zooplankton.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Just some current random shots to go with my rambling thoughts . . .

FTS (taken Oct 6, 2011);

Something I haven't done before with this tank, a top-down FTS;

My favorite rock (getting harder to get a good picture);

The Orchid, still kicking but not thriving;

Same with the original moss;

Found this guy a couple times again in the tank;

This guy also shows up every once in a while;

 

[Wy Renegade]

Couple other shots of critters I was able to get in the tank, I thought the one of the mussel was pretty cool ~ love how you can see the siphons in action.

 

[Wy Renegade]

And some shots of some new additions from our field trips;

Couple different Caddisfly varieties; a free swimming one and a stick encased one.

A cranefly larva;

A mayfly nymph;

and a water strider;

Couple other things we gathered up which didn't go into the bog tank, but rather into a dedicated tank.

Giant Water bug;

And a water scorpion;

 

[The_Desacrator]

I wish I had the space to do this. It looks like a blast.

 

[Wy Renegade]

I wish I had the space to do this. It looks like a blast.

It is indeed a hoot and it doesn't take too much room, its only a 20L tank. Thanks for looking and for taking the time to comment.

 

[The_Desacrator]

It is indeed a hoot and it doesn't take too much room, its only a 20L tank. Thanks for looking and for taking the time to comment.

The thing is, I already have 3 tanks in my house, and 2 are in my bedroom.

How often do you do water changes?

 

[Wy Renegade]

The thing is, I already have 3 tanks in my house, and 2 are in my bedroom.

LOL, yep sounds like you're kind of maxed out at that. Know any local science or elementary teachers that would be willing to let you set up something similar and be willing to supply the required hardware if you do the maintanence?

 

[starquest]

Just tumbled onto this thread this morning, Wy, and I wanted to add my thoughts. This is my absolute favorite thread on the whole site. Absolutely wonderful what you have done and are doing. Thank you so much for sharing this.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Just tumbled onto this thread this morning, Wy, and I wanted to add my thoughts. This is my absolute favorite thread on the whole site. Absolutely wonderful what you have done and are doing. Thank you so much for sharing this.

Wow ~ thanks so much, both for taking the time to read through it and also for taking the time to comment. I'm always glad to hear that others are enjoying it as well.

 

[AquaRick]

Great looking tank! Skimmed though the first few pages. The kids are lucky to have a tank like that. Awesome job setting it up!

 

[Wy Renegade]

Great looking tank! Skimmed though the first few pages. The kids are lucky to have a tank like that. Awesome job setting it up!

Thanks Rick, appreciate you taking the time to look and comment.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Few more shots from the other day.

First a fish picture, not a very good shot I know, but the fish are really difficult to photograph amongst the roots. I have to shut the autofocus off and between my poor eye sight and my failing reflexes, I don't get very good shots. I included it anyway, cause I didn't want you all to feel that the fish are lost or forgotten.

Several shots of one of the large damselfly nymphs;

A couple shots of one of the caddisfly nymphs building a case on the side of the tank;

And finally one of the waterstrider on the surface (again not very clear, but I loved the colors);

 

[AquaRick]

If i had a tank like this in high school growing up, i definitely would have become addicted to them much much sooner. Love the pic of the waterstrider on the surface.

 

[Wy Renegade]

If i had a tank like this in high school growing up, i definitely would have become addicted to them much much sooner. Love the pic of the waterstrider on the surface.

Thanks Rick, that is definitely my hope ~ raising a whole new generation of aquarium enthusiasts. Tried to get a little better picture of the waterstrider for you, let me know what you think.