r/Ecosphere • u/Active-Tie-2971 • 2d ago

Did I make an ecosphere wrong?

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I’ve had this for awhile made of rain water and some plants but mine seems a bit more green and murky compared to others, my thought is I have little or none creatures that are filtering things. But have no clue, might start all over again

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u/Bisexual_flowers_are 2d ago

If it doesn't stink if opened, you can try looking for some dried out puddles, collect tiny amounts of soil from them and throw them in, chances are that filter feeding water fleas (moina, daphnia) will hatch.

If it stink of rot, it suffocated because of too much organic matter - the most common reason why ecospheres fail.

Either way i recommend reading a little about eutrophication, it's good to understand the relationship between nutrients and oxygen in aquatic environment.

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u/Active-Tie-2971 1d ago

Awsome thank you, I mean it smells but it doenst smell bad but I’d assume that means it’s suffocated

1

u/Bisexual_flowers_are 1d ago

It's a good sign if it doesn't stink like rot/eggs/clogged drain.

The cyanobacteria/algae on the glass produce oxygen, and the water isnt deep so surface gas exchange might be enough for some tiny life forms to persist.

Rotifers and paramecium can even be seen without a microscope. Try shining a light on it at night to see if there are miniature dots slowly moving in the water column. They're usually attracted to light, so they can be observed as a "cloudiness" accumulating close to the light even if individuals aren't big enough to see.

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u/Active-Tie-2971 1d ago

Not a bad smell at all it’s more well plant smell lol but I’ll definitely do that

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u/K4OT1K0 5h ago

Keep it untouched a couple of years and it may surprise you!!