Thursday, August 1, 2013

Ecospheres - the Easiest Aquarium Ever


Ecospheres are amazing, entirely self contained little ecosystems. These biospheres come with live species inside (Hawaiian Red Shrimp), are completely closed, and never need feeding or watering or anything.

If you wanted to keep sea monkeys, but couldn't keep them alive, love aquariums but can't afford them, and want something decorative and charming on your desk, then an Ecosphere is ideal. They come as a simple and elegant handblown glass globe or teardrop, complete with plants, algae, micro-organisms and shrimp. They last 2-3 years, and only need a light source and a comfortable room temperature.

Basically, they are art and science.


Ecospheres come in all sizes!




How Do They Survive? How Long Do They Last?

It's a self contained circle of life!
Shrimp in the EcoSphere Closed Aquatic Ecosystem, Small Pod
Shrimp in the
 EcoSphere Closed Aquatic Ecosystem, Small Pod
The shrimp usually live 2-3 years, but can live a lot longer, as long as they get enough light, aren't broiled alive, and aren't bounced around. So be gentle and try not to knock it onto the floor!

It's basically a tiny version of what happens in the wider world - the shrimp eat the algae, which grows in the light, and uses the nutrients provided by the micro-organisms. The micro-organisms feed on any leftovers and shrimp waste.

A larger sphere would support a larger population, and if there are too many shrimp, some will die. And if there are plenty of nutrients and lots of space, they may breed, instead!

And that's it. Round and around. If your sphere finally runs out of shrimp, and you want to, you can get more. Otherwise, you still have an interesting ornament!


Small Ecospheres (Less than $100)

Pod, globe or teardrop? Smaller sized Ecospheres

Watch the algae grow, the shrimp dart about, and the light reflect off the water! A marvellous, living ornament and a perfectly safe, easy aquarium! At about 4 inches across, the small versions of each of these charming biospheres makes a nifty little paperweight, shelf ornament or desk decoration.



Medium-Large Ecospheres (Less than $250) 

Want something a bit larger? Try on of these Ecospheres!


Extra Large Ecospheres!Fantastic coffee table aquariums!


Slightly More Maintenance: More Self Contained Ecosystems

So you don't like shrimp...?

These lovely little aquatic ecosystems, ant farms and terrariums are a little more hands on - you set them up, and provide water and enough light, but are still very low maintenance. In some cases, you need to get hold of the species separately.
This amazing and sleekly designed desktop aquarium is meant to hold fantastical little moon jellyfish, but can also hold other small species. It stands 17 inches high and is 8 inches deep.


If you don't feel up to live jellyfish, there's always this LED Jellyfish Mood Lamp.

  These are some cool, desktop sized fish aquariums



Awesome little Ant Farms and Terrariums!

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