# Accidently created miro ecosystem



## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

Looks like I somehow managed to create a micro ecosystem in Mercury's tank.

The tank was my designated snail tank, and I never did take excellent care of it. It had water treated with Prime, gravel, anacharis, a heater, and around 3 full grown Ramshorns, 5 half grown, and I dunno how many babies. The tank is in front of the kitchen window. For care I'd top off the water and around once every week or 2 do water changes and vacuum some of the gravel. 

Before getting Mercury, and around 3 days after a water change, I tested the ammonia and nitrite levels of the water and they were both 0. It's now around 7 or 8 days since the water change and I just tested ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. The levels are 0, 0, and 5. Honestly I don't know how in the heck the tank managed to cycle without a filter, all I can think is that it's established its own ecosystem. The snails feed the plant, and the light from the window allows the anacharis to grow fast enough to clean and oxygenate the water, I guess the bacteria has managed to colonize the snail waste and uneaten food in the gravel. 

Broke around half the rules, got lucky, and got away with it. 

Has anyone else managed to do anything similar?


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## moodynarwhal (Mar 24, 2016)

Luckyyyy! I would love to be able to do something like that. It appeals to my inner nerd. What size is the tank? I wonder if you could recreate the effect with shrimp?


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

I'd think that you could you'd just need fast enough growing plants, but what I'd do is start out with the snails and plants and let the tank age first, from what I hear shrimp are sensitive to parameter changes, and I strongly suspect that if I didn't have the snails my tank would be covered in algae, as it is a little bit grows down on the side of the tank below the substrate line, the snails can't get there. 

The tank is a 2.5 gal, and I've had it up and running for around 2 o 3 months. before that the snails were in a 1 gal, for 4 or 5 months. What I did when I moved them to the 2.5 was to use the same substrate, I just rinsed it a bit first, and some of the old tank water. 

Here's a picture of the tank from today.


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## moodynarwhal (Mar 24, 2016)

I have an empty 2.5! Time to experiment... Also time to look up snail care... 
For light you just put it next to a window?


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

Yep, just the window, and the ceiling light in the room. The snails are ramshorns, they'll eat the biofilm from the top of the tank, dead leaves off the plants, and I'll sometimes put in dead leaves from the plants in the 5 gal, and around once a week I give them an algae wafer. I started out with 3 of the snails.


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## trahana (Dec 28, 2015)

You can cycle even a 1 gallon without a filter, I've done it before, its just hard to do. You need plants otherwise its really hard. 

But some tanks just don't want to cycle even with help of beneficial bacteria added. I have one right now that is well planted and still gives me trouble.


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## mjfa (Apr 23, 2018)

trahana said:


> You can cycle even a 1 gallon without a filter, I've done it before, its just hard to do. You need plants otherwise its really hard.
> 
> But some tanks just don't want to cycle even with help of beneficial bacteria added. I have one right now that is well planted and still gives me trouble.


I agree.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

It was explained to me that the basic needs to cycle are sources of oxygen (plant) and ammonia (live stock). Though smaller tanks may take longer, they will eventually cycle. So pumps aren't really necessary - replaced by fast growing plants

You may need to do more water changing during the first few weeks. But once the cycle is established, you'd only need to top off . . . So they say.

I know the theory. But getting one going is totally a different story.


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