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HELP Ecosystem Jars For School

8K views 43 replies 19 participants last post by  puppyrjjkm 
#1 ·
So in my environmental science class we will be setting up the "self sufficient" jars with live plants/ "critters." I assume this means a few snails and endless livebearers, but we will have more info. on monday. We did this in biology 2 years ago and none of the jars were successful. So all the fish died. :cry: I hate this project, but since it's required can you guys help me on making this the most tolerable possible to keep the animals alive? It's going to be set up all semester :| I hope this doesn't come off as "do my project for me", I don't mean it that way, I just want to save the fish if possible.... Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Lots of plants. Lots and lots and lots of plants is the best way to go. Stuff the tank! (not literally of course, but almost) It's better to have too many plants vs too many fish, because too many fish = too much ammonia. I'm sorry you have to do this, but it could be fun. My dad actually has a buisness that sells systems with the idea of the project you've gotta do ( http://www.earthsolutions.co/Aquaponics-Planter-Boxes_c_303.html ) and when the fish don't die and the plants do well, it's really very fun.
 
#3 ·
Oh wow! I never had to do stuff like that in school. Tho I went to a french catholique school so the way of teaching might be different, but when I took biologie once we had to disect the pig fetus..half the class was outside retching and being sick, it smelled so bad, our teacher was awesome she didn't make us do the dissection anymore.

Biologie is a good subject, but I don't understand y we have to disect animals to learn about things.

Sorry I can't help u, but I hope ur project will do good this time.
 
#17 ·
Oh wow! I never had to do stuff like that in school. Tho I went to a french catholique school so the way of teaching might be different, but when I took biologie once we had to disect the pig fetus..half the class was outside retching and being sick, it smelled so bad, our teacher was awesome she didn't make us do the dissection anymore.

Biologie is a good subject, but I don't understand y we have to disect animals to learn about things.

Sorry I can't help u, but I hope ur project will do good this time.
Catholic school is way different, I know...I go to one. We had to disect starfish and frogs btu when we got to genectics I rocked it because of my knowledge of bettas :)
 
#5 ·
I agree, plants would be very important. How big is this "jar"?
 
#6 ·
I would assume a pickle jar, so like 1 gallon sealed :0 I may ask if I could use the glass 2.5 gallon tank you can get at petsmart with the glass lid. I doubt it would be allowed though... Anyone know where to find a bigger "pickle or relish jar"?
 
#8 ·
Oh, I dunno about your target, but my target is selling these 2 gallon plastic containers of cheese puffs. They're clear , 7" length, 7" width, 11" height, and they hold water and are light weight. They're actually pretty nice (I have one that's going to be a fish tank...), and if you want, I could make a post with pictures showing how after it was empty I cleaned it and removed the sticker's sticky residue and stuff...
 
#9 ·
I hated having to do that project in my middle school. We had to put guppies in there and by the time we were done most of them had died and I had a tank at home full of guppies. :roll: But to second what people have said, put as many plants in the tank as your teacher will let you, get the biggest container your teacher will let you have, then try and sneak in a bigger one ;-). Also try and pick the smallest fish available. For tank ideas, critter keepers will work, and they have various sizes of acrylic boxes available at craft stores, so try looking there. I have found some gallon; gallon and a half sized ones. Also ask your teacher specific what the size of the container should be. You may be able to get away with an extremely tall container, as long as it does take up too much room horizontally.
Hope any of this ramble was helpful, and be sure to post up what your teacher says,
Williamg
 
#12 ·
I've bought some awesome jars at our market. How about going their and looking for an awesome, large, cheap glass jar? I have a whole shelf filled with jars, including a 3 gallon jar.
 
#13 ·
Okay, thanks for the advice on plants.

Drift: What kind of market did you go to? And did they come with lids? I have a Michaels and Hobby Lobby, those are the only places I could imagine having something like that...
 
#14 ·
I guess it would be considered a flea market? We just call them Markets around here. XD Yes some of them do have lids.
 
#18 ·
Or you can put the fish in a tank and then put them in a jar the day you take them to school (if you have to).
 
#24 ·
I had to do this I just remembered.. even dug out the paper.

Found out I packed the jar FULLLLL of plants, added some cheap fish and for the most part the goldfish ate organisms on the plants. Not gonna lie I sneaked them some food if I remember correctly. It was a lot of fun but it was hard!
 
#25 · (Edited)
Yeah, it might work for a while with snails or shrimp but I dont see it working with fish :( How long do you have too keep the fish in there? I actually had a friend a few years back who's mom had an Ecospehere. Dont know if he still has it but when I saw it he told me he had it for a few months. and there were little shrimp inside it. it was pretty neat.

http://www.eco-sphere.com/index.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/11/ecospheres.php

According to their website most have a lifespan of about 2 years but some have been known to last up to 7 years!
 
#26 ·
He said it has to last all semester, which means until January! AH! Okay definetly will do tons of plants, and add probably 2 snails I'm thinking (they are baby size). I really appreciate all the help, if you keep thinking of stuff I would love to hear it! Thanks for the links too, I'll be doing all the research I can!
 
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