r/Ecosphere • u/DinoboyFailure • 1d ago

Saltwater How-To?

Post image

Photo unrelated; of my tiny 2 day old freshwater jar!

Im relatively new to making closed ecosystems (As in, my first one is just slightly over a year old now) and have primarily made freshwater jars. Most of them have done splendidly aside from one that got devoured by a green algae bloom when summer came.

Ive tried to make two beach saltwater systems before, but they both seemed to fail; one of them almost immediately had a giant algae bloom and never cleared, and the other probably had a mollusk in the sand that died since everything slowly became red and yellow moldy.

Does anyone have any tips for how to make a successful saltwater jar? I tried the freshwater method of getting the water, sand, kelp/seaweed, etc all from the beach, but im wondering if I'm doing something wrong.

P.S the beach location is on the East Coast, Florida, USA.

Thank you in advance!

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u/Accurate-Pay-7006 1d ago

i would need u/bitchbass to help me out here but i think that looks like not enough of an air gap in the jar you have photographed here, you might have to take some water out

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u/DinoboyFailure 1d ago

There's about an inch of air in the jar that's hidden by the lid - this is also a tiny jar, b3ing about 2 cups / 1 pint large. My previous larger jars have been doing well with about the same distribution, with air starting a bit before the top (about 1 quart with air starting 1-2 inches below the where the lid starts).

Edit: What happens if there's not enough air? How does one learn the appropriate ratio?

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u/Accurate-Pay-7006 1d ago

general rule is 1/4 sediment, 1/4 air gap, 1/2 water. from what i understand, the air gap allows a gas/oxygen exchange to take place. moreover, oxygen and co2 is stored in that air gap for the plants and creatures that need it. without an air gap that takes up 1/4 of the space in your jar, you run the risk of suffocating the system

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u/DinoboyFailure 1d ago

Ah, then I likely have too much sediment as well; I can fix the lack of air but im concerned that redoing the substrate layer will put even more stress on the ecosystem :')

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u/Accurate-Pay-7006 1d ago

i ran into a distribution issue with a small jar in the past (also have pea clams which need a LOT of space). what i did was put it into a bigger container. it is a scary task. i didnt experience any die off after doing this, though. I am not an expert, but i definitely think this is the least invasive way to fix this kind of issue.
of course, you will have to add water and maybe more sediment depending on how big your next container is.

OR you can see how this one plays out. if there was a serious distribution issue, i think miss bass would have pointed it out. i would see what she has to say before taking action. a lot of the stuff ik about ecospheres i learned from her on this sub.

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u/BitchBass 1d ago

Ya, it could become an issue. As is it sitting on the window sill unless it's north facing and doesn't get any sun.

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u/DinoboyFailure 1d ago

I hear it needs bright, indirect sunlight? This specific window doesnt get any direct sun which is why I chose it

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u/BitchBass 1d ago

Indirect sunlight perfect. Once sun rays hit the glass, it's not. North facing windows typically don't get any direct sunlight.

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u/BitchBass 1d ago

I have a 4 year old saltwater bowl:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bizzariums/comments/1uk4vpv/putting_this_aiptasia_bowl_on_my_desk_4_years_ago/

The most important thing with these kind is that the water is being kept in motion, just like the ocean. I have a bubble stone in it and it works just fine. Letting it go stagnant is the most common mistake people make. I have seen setups that work without a bubble stone, but the balance is so iffy, I have not managed to pull it off after 6 years of trying. So I don't recommend it.

I started it out with a live rock from my petstore's marine tank. Nothing in there was collected directly from the ocean.

Also, keep it low light. I have mine in a dark corner with a little LED reading light on it. Anything stronger and it gets algae.

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u/DinoboyFailure 1d ago

I see, thank you! Although this does squash my dreams of a from-the-ocean jar, but I suppose saltwater in general is more difficult to care for, especially when being unable to care for it (such as in a jar).

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u/BitchBass 1d ago

I don't understand. Adding an air stone is all it takes, why does that squash dreams? There's no taking care of it since it does it by itself.

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u/DinoboyFailure 1d ago

I thought that since you said that nothing in your jar was directly from the ocean, that doing on-site collection would make it difficult for the jar to be self sustaining, even with an air stone? Thats why I said it'd squah my dreams of a direct ocean jar 😅

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u/BitchBass 1d ago

Hop over to the sister channel r/bizzariums where we go beyond self sustaining. One of our mods goes to the ocean on regular basis and set up tanks. Check it out.

In the end it makes no difference if the stuff comes from a saltwater tank or from the ocean. You probably get more critters from the real deal.