Konrad Lorenz's Aquarium w/ Biological Equilibrium

[2suffer4souls]

Hi,

I'm new here, but I've come to ask this question:

How do I create a self-supportive aquarium w/ no filter - no unnatural devices - simply to bring the pond to my indoor space?

I have the book "King Solomon's Ring" by Konrad Lorenz, who is/was a naturalist. He talks about going out to a local pond and gathering everything needed for the aquarium, including the microorganisms, etc. He was from Germany, so I'm wanting to get advice for how I would create it in my area w/ local wildlife and greenery. I live at the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains in Knoxville, TN, so we have fairly fertile soil with lots of growing things with the TN river running through it. The temp in the summer gets to be around 90 degrees w/ humidity, winter down to the teens--but rarely that low. I can make this in the spring, since Lorenz suggested sprouting plants to grow within the aquatic world so they'd be acclimated with it. My apartment has a living room with sliding glass doors that get direct light from Sunrise until 10AM or 11AM--the rest of the day is still lit. My room window has a window that receives direct light for approx 2hrs during the evening. I've been interested in creating one of these aquariums since I was in high school, when I first read the book, and now as a 28 year old adult I would like to make it a reality.

I want this to be self-sustaining. I'll put the constructors--the green plants, the consumers--the animals, and the decomposers--the bacteria. I'd like to keep it on the smaller size to start out (approx 20-30 gallon--will go larger if I get a house) 2-3 fish would be fine -- advice on that is welcome.

I'm a big step-by-step learner, so I'd appreciate most of all a list of how to do it.

Thanks for any and all help! You're going to make a dream come true!

 

[OrangeCones]

My ecology class in college ran several tanks as you described. We used natural sunlight to add energy to the tank, which helped algae and plants to grow. We then added plant-eating fish (mollies and platies if I recall) to one. The only thing we did was to top off the tank with rainwater we'd gather. Started out with 5 or 6 fish, and at the end of the semester, we had 14 or 15 adults or subadults. Most of the fry would be consumed by those older, but obviously a few made it to adulthood.

Another tank we also added 3 juvie oscars to the tank. They consumed all of the other fish as they aged, so our conclusion was that you needed more plant-eaters in a larger 'pond' to balance out the ecosystem (or less oscar fish).

 

[2suffer4souls]

My ecology class in college ran several tanks as you described. We used natural sunlight to add energy to the tank, which helped algae and plants to grow. We then added plant-eating fish (mollies and platies if I recall) to one. The only thing we did was to top off the tank with rainwater we'd gather. Started out with 5 or 6 fish, and at the end of the semester, we had 14 or 15 adults or subadults. Most of the fry would be consumed by those older, but obviously a few made it to adulthood.

Another tank we also added 3 juvie oscars to the tank. They consumed all of the other fish as they aged, so our conclusion was that you needed more plant-eaters in a larger 'pond' to balance out the ecosystem (or less oscar fish).

Thanks so much for your reply. This is useful information. What time of the year was it? I'm trying to find out if the weather was cloudy/sunny/rainy. What part of the country were you in? Thanks!

 

[OrangeCones]

This was just west of Chicago. The tanks were started in August, and my part of the class ended in December. Several classes did the same tank set up. My tank was maintained for two full years until the department disassembled them. Odd thing too, that the livebearers maintained a male-female ratio of 1 male to 4 or 5 females in all the tanks. They all started out with the genders equally split, but at the end of 2 years, it was 2 or 3 males to 10-12 females.

The Oscars ate all of their 'food' within 4 months, so that is where their tank ended.

 

[FreshyFresh]

The only thing we did was to top off the tank with rainwater we'd gather. Started out with 5 or 6 fish, and at the end of the semester, we had 14 or 15 adults or subadults. Most of the fry would be consumed by those older, but obviously a few made it to adulthood.

Whaaaaat??? No water changes? No water parameter testing? SAY IT AIN'T SO!! LOL.

 

[OrangeCones]

We did test the water weekly at first, then every other week. Because of the plant mass, the 'water changes' we were not doing was done by trimming plant growth. Plants took in fish waste, added sun energy, and created more leaves/branches. Taking out some of the plants when we trimmed them was like doing a water change (sorta). We never saw ammonia or nitrite in any tank, and nitrates stayed between 3 and 5ppm.

 

[Thyra]

Now I understand better where all your knowledge came from OC. You are a trustworthy source for all of us!

 

[OrangeCones]

What was funny is that I didn't need the class for my degree, but took it just because I struck up a conversation with the instructor one day in the hall and the idea of the 'labs' for the class intrigued me. Easiest "A" I ever got (helps if you love the subject matter)!

We thought we'd have to be adding a source of nitrogen (ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate) since the nitrate started so low. But nitrate remained measurable.

Plants (including algae) need a nitrogen source, and if it were to drop to zero, all sorts of nasty algae can take over. The algae that can take nitrogen from the air is normally not edible and hard to get rid of. Our plants would grow to the surface and then stick out above the water. Air contains a lot more carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) and nitrogen than is dissolved in water.

In my planted tanks I keep now, I have to ADD nitrogen every week (or overfeed the fish for several days) so that they poop a lot and fertilize the plants.