Slough Shark Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 I was thinking about a concept where one would create a setting in their aquarium that would allow it to be in a perpetual state of natural balance, self-feeding, self-cleaning, etc. Has anyone ever attempted/achieved this? I am thinking I will try it in the future with a large aquarium, it would be interesting to engineer something such as this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesp Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 http://www.abundantearth.com/store/ecosphere.html This is a link for one kind of them. Google 'ecosphere'. They are so self contained that they are totally sealed off and have no gas exchange outside. My cousin owned one and as long as you gave it the right light and heat, the thing took care of itself. I would love to purchase one, I think they are fascinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 I was thinking about a concept where one would create a setting in their aquarium that would allow it to be in a perpetual state of natural balance, self-feeding, self-cleaning, etc. Has anyone ever attempted/achieved this? I am thinking I will try it in the future with a large aquarium, it would be interesting to engineer something such as this. Interesting concept; sunlight based then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted July 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 jesp- that's very interesting. I'll give it a longer read later tonight or tomorrow. Iceturf- yes it would have to be, in one way or another. Whether it be directly through a window or outside or with solar panels powering the lights. But then the ecosystem would only last as long as the bulbs... I guess the sun is the only way to keep it perpetual and natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 i knew someone in newfoundland which had a 90 gal cube with black piranha and it was totally self sufficient, he said that the bits of meat left from the piranha feeding would breakdown in 3-4 days. really cool. he was also growing venus fly traps on the surface of the water on a log Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted July 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Yeah, that ecosphere is definitely cool, but it isn't the same without fish. I'm sure keeping fishes in such a device was too complicated for them to sort out, so it's worth a challenge for me. loki- that sounds awesome. What did he have to clean the algae/eat said meat scraps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 If you look at nature you'll notice that the amount of fish we keep in our tanks in relation to volume of water and plant life make it impossible to have a nice fish tank with a group of fish and maintain a balance. You can help by adding plants to the tank to take up nitrates but there are many other things that get added when we feed them that must later be removed. I highly doubt that the tank you want is possible without a HUGE Pool of water in the next room full of plants that circulate the water beteen the two tanks. By huge i mean somewhere around 200gal/fish That would even have to be changed every once in a long while but there is a way around that and that is to somehow grow the fishes food within the tank itself so you don't add anything that needs to be removed. Good luck and if you find another way that's great! L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudy Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 The closest thing to this would be a reef tank or maybe a planted tank and they still need water change especially if you keep fish in there. My lifelong goal is to make this hobby as large and as easy as possible. My two cents? Add a drip system. I run probably 1500 gallons in my house and spend maybe 40 minutes a week changing water and it is on the one tank that has no drip. The others all I do is change filter socks. The Piranha in Newfoundland is obviously just tough and can with stand massive amounts of Ammonia spikes....sorry kids but changing water is a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murmade Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 I have to agree with rudy on this one.... Just because waste dissolves and you can't see the solids anymore, does not mean it's not there! Water changes are a must! All natural environments have natural water changes, weather it's rain, river flow, even in stagnant little pools waste dissolves & seeps into the soil, and is moved around by ground water! Unfortunately nothing seeps through your aquarium glass! Sigh... Back to my 110 gallons of waterchanges! :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted July 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 No one likes doomsayers you guys :P Yes, I can definitely see where you are coming from. I don't think it would be a successful experiment, but it's worth trying. My goal has always been to make the aquarium as natural as possible for the fishes that I keep, so this is only the next step. I don't think it would be as hard as you guys say though. If the tank is more of a watery garden than a fish tank, with lots of shrimp, and only small fishes (I never intended to use fat, messy fish like cichlids or goldfish), it might turn out- or be very close to the intended outcome. That said, y'all have much more experience then me! It'll be a nice learning experience for me as I give it a shot, and I'll keep you all informed. Thanks for the input, Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 I love your drive to "step out of the box" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaggle Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 I thonk it can be sort of done, but it needs to be on a large scale and 100% sealed. If it is not sealed it will be an opened system and will need you to add stuff. Mostly water. You would have to have a full food chain to have it be a closed system and the food chain will need to be able to support it self at all levels. Any thing that can reproduce on a large and fast scale will be your best bet for every thing but you top predator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted July 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Thanks Robin! Snaggle- That's what I was thinking about the food chain. There would definitely have to be something in there to curb the populations a bit. Since I'd have to use sunlight for the tank, I could also use rain-water to keep the water level up (but then my tank would be subject to drought!). I want to go as far as I can with this idea with the tank I have now, mainly just to get to a point where I don't have to feed the fish anymore, or at least not as much. Then in about 10 years when I'm settled down I can try the real thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 I've seen self sustaining tanks. My dentists office had a 6x? pretty large tank that was planted to the hilt, had no lights, one canister filter and some small africans in it. It was dirty as hell but the tank itself seemed to be self sustaining, as when I went in there I asked "when are you gonna clean it?" They always said one day lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murmade Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 No one likes doomsayers you guys :P Yes, I can definitely see where you are coming from. I don't think it would be a successful experiment, but it's worth trying. My goal has always been to make the aquarium as natural as possible for the fishes that I keep, so this is only the next step. I don't think it would be as hard as you guys say though. If the tank is more of a watery garden than a fish tank, with lots of shrimp, and only small fishes (I never intended to use fat, messy fish like cichlids or goldfish), it might turn out- or be very close to the intended outcome. That said, y'all have much more experience then me! It'll be a nice learning experience for me as I give it a shot, and I'll keep you all informed. Thanks for the input, Taylor I'm looking forward to hearing updates as you go, I would love some natural solutions, and less water waste. Keep us posted! :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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