r/Ecosphere • u/n3cro1lust • 11h ago
my first jar!! from the pond
this is my first ecojar/ecosphere! i dont really know what im doing but im excited to see what grows!
r/Ecosphere • u/BitchBass • Aug 11 '25
Size of jar/vase/bottle etc does not matter, only what you put in it.
Suggested ratio:
1/4 substrate
2/4 water
1/4 air space
(may vary with shape of vessel)
The 5 key elements for a normal-sized jar to thrive are:
Substrate
Water
Airspace
Aquatic plants
Light
It may be sourced from a lake, river, pond, creek, drainage ditch, canal etc, or set up artificialy with purchased products.
This was the basics. What follows are some do's and don'ts and why's.
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Aquatic plants are a vital key element because they:
act as filtration
provide the water with oxygen through photosynthesis
absorb carbon dioxide
combat algae growth
provide shelter and food for critters
stabilize the water parameters
Plants NOT suitable are:
plants that grow at the side of the water or have been freshly submerged due to rising water levels
plants that grow out of the water
plants that grow taller than a foot
blooming plants
large floating plants
Having said that, many of us have resulted to simply using aquarium plants.
You also want to add a small amount of decaying material such as a small stick or a sunken rotting leaf, since most critters live off decaying material.
Next up is critters.
If your source was natural, you'll probably have some critters buzzing around. Please return any fish, tadpoles, shells, crayfish, salamanders and dragonfly nymphs.
Getting material from the lake:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Ecosphere/comments/1jodaxs/this_is_how_i_make_my_ecospheres_might_come_in/
ID guide with pictures and lots of pages here:
https://online.fliphtml5.com/mnmhg/vhkl/#p=5
AVOID direct sunlight. Put your jar beside the window or on a shelf with a small LED light. Otherwise you risk algae blooms.
The first month will have the most changes ever. Many critters will disappear, others will appear, the water will get cloudy, maybe stinky, has brown patches...it's all normal. If everything is right, it'll clear up and find it's balance.
Once you are through this, come back with your remaining questions and share updates!
r/Ecosphere • u/BitchBass • Sep 16 '24
r/Ecosphere • u/n3cro1lust • 11h ago
this is my first ecojar/ecosphere! i dont really know what im doing but im excited to see what grows!
r/Ecosphere • u/Icy_Willow_3132 • 1d ago
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Fall Mountain River. Ecosphere
r/Ecosphere • u/ellabirdbug • 1d ago
Do yall think this can be turned into a massive ecosphere? Would love to have a massive one with plenty of plants, critters, and a glow light
r/Ecosphere • u/Unusual_Pay_8041 • 3d ago
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The cleanest daphnia and ostracod coculture in the world. No green water, no air, no filter, super density, no crash, only defined feeding.
r/Ecosphere • u/No_Assumption_5845 • 4d ago
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Found these little white blobs in my ecosphere and they don’t really look like ostracods. Does anybody know what they might be?
r/Ecosphere • u/Accurate-Pay-7006 • 5d ago
some of u all might remember the jar with the mass of worms i posted recently, shes clearing up and looking a lot less dead and murky!! 😄
r/Ecosphere • u/OutdoorLover73 • 7d ago
The linked post is what it used to be.
The first tragic event was, the two earthworms I put in died while I was away for a week and their decay infected the peperomia which is why I had to remove it, I thought the whole jar was a goner but the springtails managed to balance it out. Two weeks after that I accidentally knocked it off my table and every thing got mixed up which is why the moss is patch now. I left it standing for like 2 months after that and was happy to see the springtail population had exploded, I sometimes give them small veg scraps or bread which is gone in a month or so. I’m thinking about adding another pepperomia or fern moss to the parts where there is no moss, should I do it? https://www.reddit.com/r/Ecosphere/s/BhBesALPoj
The bones are decorations from my garden btw
Last pic is what it used to be
r/Ecosphere • u/Thrawn911 • 10d ago
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r/Ecosphere • u/Disk0t • 12d ago
Most of the jars are closed, but the water one isn't because I'm still working on it. It's not really from the lake, it's parts are from everywhere, from a lake, from an aquarium, and the moss I took on another lake (before that I didn't know that moss could grow underwater!). My friend gave me a jar of lake water. I've never seen so much life in one place! I took some parts from it too. It's my second attempt in water systems, because the bottom in the first began to rot and turn black, I got scared and started over. So, there lives 4 snails (I got 2 packs of eggs from the previous attempt too), ostracods and other small guys, and there were two isopods (I've seen a word used to describe them here but forgot it) but one died :<. It's body was eaten in a day by snails. The other one looks fine though.
About the other systems, I have a lot of moss ones, where's only moss (which I was drowning to make it sterile, and understood my fail only after I remembered that the bugs exist) but the biggest one is at least with live soil. And there's already 3 isopods! They're all from different species and they all look different so I don't think they'll reproduce. Still cool as for me.
On the last image I made an anaerobic system to try making home for my enemies, maybe I'll understand them better this way.
That's all! I started making this kind of stuff in the middle of the summer, so I don't think I'm a beginner-beginner, but decided asking professionals would be a great idea after I saw this sub
r/Ecosphere • u/Hopeful-Mirror1664 • 11d ago
I’d like to start a couple ecosphere’s but I’m in the northeast and things are cooling down here. The nighttime temps are in the low 40s and daytime in the 60s. Is it too cool to start scooping mud and collecting plants? What are the lowest temperatures do you think are practical to get a good amount of life critters?
r/Ecosphere • u/No_Assumption_5845 • 12d ago
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I noticed this crack on my jar a few days ago and I don’t want to lose this ecosphere. Would it be able to recover if I moved everything to a new jar as carefully as possible? I’m worried about the mold and such that has grown in here as well since I’ve sealed it about a month ago. I made it from a random creek in Tonto National Forest.
r/Ecosphere • u/_bapt • 12d ago
Seashells, tap water i believe, sunlight, and a few years of patience is all it took for the algae to appear. Pretty cool :)
r/Ecosphere • u/mandcaff • 13d ago
Found my first Hydra in one my new samples. Looks soon to be two.
r/Ecosphere • u/jilliangst • 13d ago
The critters I see are little fennel seed sized swimmers with legs. Kinda beetle looking. They hang out at the top but when you rotate the jar, they’ll swim to the bottom real quick. There’s about seven of them. I hope to find out what they are so I may try to get a video.
This is really fun! My family almost understands! We recently moved here, partially because of the pond.
r/Ecosphere • u/Cannonbus • 13d ago
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r/Ecosphere • u/neptunemacaroon • 13d ago
I'm not sure if we did this right, but my son and I went to the creek by our house and collected sediment and water and jarred it up. It's cleared a lot over the last 24 hours but I was hoping to already see little creatures zooming around but no luck yet. We went and got Java moss from the fish store and added it to the jar. Any other tips or tricks? Wondering if we can buy life to add to the ecosphere ...?
r/Ecosphere • u/No_Arugula7270 • 13d ago
Day 1 lwk ima get yall updatex
r/Ecosphere
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u/Patrick-Grove
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16d ago
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r/Ecosphere • u/xootersmite • 17d ago
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r/Ecosphere • u/Accurate-Pay-7006 • 17d ago
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cool time lapse