Limnophile wrote:

I plan to use an old gallon jar ( 3.8 liters) with a tight-fitting
lid, a cup of pond mud, a cup of used aquarium gravel, about a dozen
leaves of duckweed ( Lemna minor) , a small Hygrophila plant, a small
Anacharis plant , some small bits of algae, some copepods, 3 small
snails, and 3 ghost shrimp. I plan to leave about 1/2 a liter of air
in the top when I seal the jar. The room temperature is a constant 72
to 77 F , and the jar will be placed next to a west-facing window.

In the commercial eco-sphere products, the only plant included is
algae. I wonder if your hygro or anacharis might grow out of control in
your experiment, with nothing there to keep them in check.

Using pond mud should yield some interesting tiny critters - I doubt
you'll need to specifically add copepods, as you'll almost certainly
get some with the mud. The shrimp should find plenty to feed on from
the mud.

Sounds like an interesting experiment. You make me tempted to go give
it a whirl, too, though I fear the look I would get from my wife if I
suggested adding yet another little tank to my collection.



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