"Ecosphere"

[sinibotia]

http://www.amazon.com/EcoSphere-Clos...dcaff5da7d9efa

This things a load of hogwash, right? I can't possibly see how this tiny system would work without water changes.

[ImACoolguy]

From the reviews it look like shrimp is successful but I think the big setback of tanks(if you can call it that) like this is the maintenance.

IMO id rather just get a standard 10g for cheaper.


Caleb

[sinibotia]

That's just it, there IS no maintenance. It's completely sealed. No way a healthy environment can work like that.

[ImACoolguy]

Completely sealed?

Things should die in a day from lack of oxygen??


Caleb

[sinibotia]

Nah, there's algae in there producing oxygen. But even still, old tank syndrome is a thing. From what I'm reading, the shrimp are a hardy intertidal species that is used to awful conditions- but they can live 20 years under normal conditions compared to the 2-3 typical for that setup. I'd like to crack open a really old one just to see how bad the water quality is....

[ImACoolguy]

Be neat to see if they really wanted a "eco friendly" setup you could plumb it small scale like a Walstad setup or aquaponics. Size of course makes that a bit difficult.


Caleb

[Mebbid]

With it being a truly closed system I honestly don't believe the water quality would suffer that much. The bacteria would consume the trace elements, then die, then be broken down into those trace elements they started with.

Shrimp would eat the algae, break it down into basic plant fertilizer, which would then be grown back into algae.

Shrimp would absorb the calcium from the water, then molt, then the shells would break down releasing the calcium etc. back into the water.

I don't believe it's going to be a full life span for the shrimp, but let's be honest with ourselves here... How many of the fish in the aquarium industry truly live their full life span? I would bet it's somewhere in the realm of 0.005%

[unstopaBULLFish]

It works..I've seen 10 year old successful setups before..I was kinda skeptical myself..


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[Nils]

I actually have one, it's soooooo small, got it for my 5th or 6th birthday. 7-8 years later they're still going strong, only had 1 shrimp die in the whole time. It's a very cool self sustaining ecosystem. Even though, I wouldn't get it now from my own money because I would just feel bad for the shrimp inside.

[sinibotia]

I'd like to crack a really old one open. See what the water quality is. Until then I'm still highly skeptical.

[coralbandit]

Originally Posted by Nils

I actually have one, it's soooooo small, got it for my 5th or 6th birthday. 7-8 years later they're still going strong, only had 1 shrimp die in the whole time. It's a very cool self sustaining ecosystem. Even though, I wouldn't get it now from my own money because I would just feel bad for the shrimp inside.

8 years old!!
Only my clown loaches have lived longer!!!!

[Delapool]

Accidentally clicked on the x-large and the cost, I think I could have a nice running tank.

I wonder if it self-buffers somehow on kh and ph.