Possibly The Tiniest Artificial Reef???

[H3rm1tCr@b]

Hey guys! It’s Nora. I thought I would share a literally tiny experiment I started about two months ago. Basically, I received a jar a little bigger than a quarter (maybe it holds an ounce, idk) and decided to put some sand, water, and a little algae from my reef into it. I did not think it would work, but turns out that it is doing just fine! Fast foreward a few weeks and I notice a spaghetti worm and some copepods swimming around. All the creatures are still alive. The only thing I have done since its creation was add a pellet or two smaller than the head of a pin a couple weeks after its creation and a tiiiiiiiiny bit of distilled water as top-off. I want to know if anyone else has tried something like this, and if I am correct in my thinking that it is currently the tiniest in the world!

 

[MoshJosh]

If you get it young enough I bet you could keep a yellow tang in there.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

If you get it young enough I bet you could keep a yellow tang in there.

An embryo might fit!

 

[fish farmer]

I won't consider it a reef until I see a coral in there.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

Aww okay then, tiniest SALTWATER tank.

 

[MnFish1]

It would be interesting to see if let's say a single Zoa would live there. Secondly - it would be interesting for you to send an ICP sample (at the end of the experiment) - to see whether the cap - (obviously metal - looks like Aluminum) has caused a change.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

It would be interesting to see if let's say a single Zoa would live there. Secondly - it would be interesting for you to send an ICP sample (at the end of the experiment) - to see whether the cap - (obviously metal - looks like Aluminum) has caused a change.

That is a good idea! I do not think I can afford an ICP atm, I’m a broke college student, but I did not consider the effects of the lid, it was a very good point. For all I know it could be aiding in its survival!

 

[Captain-Barnacle]

Hey guys! It’s Nora. I thought I would share a literally tiny experiment I started about two months ago. Basically, I received a jar a little bigger than a quarter (maybe it holds an ounce, idk) and decided to put some sand, water, and a little algae from my reef into it. I did not think it would work, but turns out that it is doing just fine! Fast foreward a few weeks and I notice a spaghetti worm and some copepods swimming around. All the creatures are still alive. The only thing I have done since its creation was add a pellet or two smaller than the head of a pin a couple weeks after its creation and a tiiiiiiiiny bit of distilled water as top-off. I want to know if anyone else has tried something like this, and if I am correct in my thinking that it is currently the tiniest in the world!

Congratulations Nora, you rediscovered the closed biosphere, and yours may indeed be the smallest known! Is it still running?

 

[brandon429]

there's a youtube video with roughly 3 mil+ views where someone put together a planted system in a jar and kept the lid on it for ten years and it's labeled an ecosystem. it's just a rotting mass of water and organic material lol but I thought it was creative salesmanship for sure.

 

[mizimmer90]

If you need some corals in there, checkout this thread! I think they're willing to ship the zoas to whoever wants them!

3 wks I've left these freebie zoas in a bag in the laundry room. The things are still alive. If you think keeping zoas alive means you can keep sps alive, I'm not sure I agree...!