ajmckay Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Thanks everyone.No tang yet, gotta find one the right size lol jk obviously The lightsource is just ambient light in what ever room I have it in at the time lol. Been chilling next to my picotope this whole time. So just using some of the outside glow from the outside of the tank. I will keep the updates coming I would consider putting it on a window sill or something. having enough light for the macro algae is going to be very important to the long term stability. It has to produce food and oxygen for the inhabitants. Obviously you need a balance, if the growth starts to exceed the needs of the jar then you'll have to adjust. Trogdor: make a thread! Link to comment
new-b-reefer Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 quick update, all still going strong everything is alive and active new pics coming soon Link to comment
Ezsharkman Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 this is cool! cant wait Link to comment
new-b-reefer Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 another quick update. some pics i wanted to share. this i say is a testament to how well the bottle is doing so far (knock on wood) i have never witnessed this before and was so excited to get some pics of it. one of my mini starts is actually splitting and was doing it right on the glass, here are the pics. enjoy. i thought this was pretty damn cool Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 wow awesome shots. great catch! it could be splitting due to stress though lol Link to comment
sublunary Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Cool! I've never actually watched one split before. Reminds me of watching mitosis under a microscope in HS biology. Link to comment
chris19h Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 another quick update. some pics i wanted to share. this i say is a testament to how well the bottle is doing so far (knock on wood) i have never witnessed this before and was so excited to get some pics of it. one of my mini starts is actually splitting and was doing it right on the glass, here are the pics. enjoy. i thought this was pretty damn cool That is really cool! Seems to be working well so far. The star splitting is neat, I have seen it before in a tank I had about 10years ago. Are you going to keep both stars in there? Link to comment
new-b-reefer Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 Cool! I've never actually watched one split before. Reminds me of watching mitosis under a microscope in HS biology. lol, yeah thats what i was thinking. really exciting to see. and mmcguffi, i could be totally wrong in this but if it were stressed out then wouldnt it not be able to put itself through the strain of dividing itself? like i said i could be way wrong but if something was that stressed out then wouldnt it lack the energy to perform such a physically demanding task? That is really cool! Seems to be working well so far. The star splitting is neat, I have seen it before in a tank I had about 10years ago. Are you going to keep both stars in there? yeah i think i will keep it in there. i have 2 now and this will make 3. i remember reading somewhere that these stars will usually reproduce in proportion to the size of there environment. i cant remember where i read that though lol. if they start splitting more and more then i may take some out. lucky for me, its easy to notice a population boom in such a small space Link to comment
gulfsurfer101 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Good to see that everything is still going strong. Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 and mmcguffi, i could be totally wrong in this but if it were stressed out then wouldnt it not be able to put itself through the strain of dividing itself? like i said i could be way wrong but if something was that stressed out then wouldnt it lack the energy to perform such a physically demanding task? animals can do weird things when stressed out. I know for one that anemones can split if they arent liking something. starfish arent exactly anemones though so who really knows anyway either way it's looking good right now and I dont think you have anything to worry about Link to comment
Spencer7 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I forget to mention that it either has to be a Gem Tang (ur LFS should have them pretty cheap) or a Full grown Hippo Tang... ^^^ good luck with that ^^^ u can do it! Link to comment
ajmckay Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Time for another update... Also, try to post some of your observations other than just a picture... Whats happening? What are the conditions where you're keeping it? Have you had to change anything? Any new ideas on what could have been done better? Link to comment
new-b-reefer Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Time for another update... Also, try to post some of your observations other than just a picture... Whats happening? What are the conditions where you're keeping it? Have you had to change anything? Any new ideas on what could have been done better? yes quick update. still going strong and doing very well. seem to notice a bit of chaeto growth. the pod is out and about in view more often. mini stars are doing well, all 3 now. the one that split.. both halves are doing well. nothing has changed, no maintenance done. letting the microecosystem do its thing it is still in the same spot, next to the picotope feeding off only the minimal amount of bleed over from the picotopes tank lights. so far im very pleased with the progress Link to comment
kevlow Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Following along. I like the challenge of creating a balanced system. Perfect balance would require no maintenance. If this has a happy ending then you may have a product to market-" Reefing for the lazy reefer" Good luck. Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Damn. I wish you would have started this two months earlier! I would have saved alot of $$$ setting up my new tank, LOL. Keep going, this is so cool! Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=154489 Link to comment
ajmckay Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 There is a version of this that you can buy. Called Biosphere. I think it's sold at those little boutique chains like sharper image and brookstone. There's another one called "blue light" that you actually set up and customize a little. They're both pretty expensive. I'm considering building one for my desk at work. I will probably make an acrylic disc with a bead of silicone around it and use that instead of the standard metal one. This is so that I can create a small LED light on top to provide consistent light. I'm thinking 2 NW CREE XP-E's... Haha just joking I'll probably just use a small cluster of warm white 5mm LEDs. My other thought was to just build the enclosure out of acrylic to not have to deal with the distortion of a normal glass jar. The only glass jars I can find that are large enough and not a horrible shape are the mason jars with logos on them. Link to comment
new-b-reefer Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 thanks for all the replies and followers everyone. dont worry, this thread and the updates will continue this is by far my easiest aquarium to care for lol so far the eco balance is great knock on wood better not jinx it lol Link to comment
new-b-reefer Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 quick observation the pod moulted today and is doing quite well along with the starfish. chaeto and macro seem to be healthy. growing very slowly, which is good im noticing more lines in the sand from small worms actually lots of life in this tiny 1 maybe 2 ounces of marine ecosystem Link to comment
ajmckay Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Awesome update. Have you taken a look at it at night? It might be interesting what you find. From what I understand maintaining the balance between the amount of algae growing and the amount of algae being consumed is important, have you noticed any imbalance up to this point? Link to comment
new-b-reefer Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 Awesome update. Have you taken a look at it at night? It might be interesting what you find. From what I understand maintaining the balance between the amount of algae growing and the amount of algae being consumed is important, have you noticed any imbalance up to this point? yes i have observed at night. most of the little worms and critters are out scurrying around. i cant say that i have observed an imbalance. i may have very slightly noticed chaeto growth and is seems that the stars are multiplying to keep up with things. another one split i noticed yesterday. i saw a whole star, came back later and in the same spot but moving oppsite directions was 2 half stars Link to comment
JamieSheffield Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I came across this thread, and am fascinated! I have an enclosed ecosystem that is made up of some tropical plants in a 1 gallon jar on its side...I made it 6 years ago, and it's been sealed ever since...very slow growing, but neat...the maintenance includes dusting once a month... I want to try setting up a saltwater version similar to the OP's, but maybe using a 1g jar similar to my plant in a jar. Thanks for the cool reading and pics! Jamie Link to comment
Deckoz2302 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I would be cool to do something like this in one of those boat jars, but make the boat look sunk and seal it with epoxy...... Link to comment
new-b-reefer Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Hello and thanks for checking out my thread and the kind words I think one in a sideways boat jar would be way cool. Since this one has been doing so well very soon I would like to do another in a slightly larger jar If you do the boat jar idea, I hope to see a thread soon Happy reefing and I will keep updates coming on the progress of this one Link to comment
Deckoz2302 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Yea man any time, tis what we do....share ideas Link to comment
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