self-sufficient tank

[Jack]

What are you planning to keep in your 5.5 gal? If you don't have some sort of biological filtration, you would have to have an extremely light bioload. Notice, these biospheres typically have a small invertebrate. Inverts. create much less bioload than fish.

 

[shawmutt]

So far the ideas are going towards copying the ones I have seen--shrimp and algae. I had no idea this thing was so complex--probably the main reason they cost so much. Every time I try to involve something more complex than shrimp, something is missing that would make the whole thing fall apart. I'm going to research this for a while before I start it.

 

[tsonnenl]

Holy $#!&, 500 bucks?? That's insane. I wasn't happy about spending the 150 bucks that the website you listed wanted. I work right next to that mall by the way, and that's the reason I don't ever go in Brookstone anymore.

I'll be very interested to hear what you come up with on making your own though...