# 1.5 litre Jar



## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Well, today I embarked on the challenge to create a mini-planted tank, in an old coffee jar. This is the jar my first rescue, Apollo, was given to me in. It is about 1.5 litres in capacity, which means it holds more than a litre even now I've filled it with dirt and plants.

The first picture is the empty jar. 
The second picture is the jar after I filled it with dirt. I used dirt from the hole that the pond will be going into, which has no fertilisers etc in it. It does have a lot of crud (twigs, leaves, rocks, roots) that I tried, but only partially succeeded, to remove.
The third picture shows the first stage of planting. I used offcuts from my 16 gal. The two plants there are elodea and red ludwigia.
The fourth picture shows my fully planted jar. I used tiny black gravel for the cap, then added a java moss carpet and a little pagoda (courtesy of Acumen Aquatics) with a java fern attached to it. The water is cloudy still.

I will post more photos as the water clears, and when I add the first shrimpy inhabitants. Chances are a few snails jumped in with the plants. 

Sorry if any of the pictures are on their side/upside down, I don't know why they do that. I also apologise for the poor quality.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

love it!
cant wait for the water to clear
man.. how I miss the outback


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## JessJesting (Jan 16, 2013)

Oo another one! I love these little jars! So excited to see it grow out!


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## Mal72 (Jan 7, 2013)

Ooh I really like it!! I can't wait to see how it looks when it clears up. I've had some snails jump on my plants at the petstore, but I always keep them around


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## Agility4fun (Nov 16, 2012)

What a totally cool project. Keep the pics coming to see the progress.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Well, the cloudiness is all gone and I will hopefully add some shrimp soon.

Image 1) The jar front
Image 2) Top-down view
Image 3) The back
Image 4) Close up of the pagoda
Image 5) The view behind my jar to inspire it to grow big and wild  This one's for you, Aokashi!


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## JessJesting (Jan 16, 2013)

Wow very beautiful! Nice job! Amazing view as well. =)


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

My shrimp species will be Northern Territories Chameleon Shrimp.  I'll hopefully make my order soon as a birthday present to myself.


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## jstn (Feb 10, 2013)

What is that little hair looking stuff in the bottom?


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

I think that's java moss.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

It is indeed. The shrimp in my other tanks love it and it doesn't really need light, so it should work really well in this tank.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Alas! My plants are not happy. They seem to be going very thin and transparent. I have been giving them 8 hours of daylight and 1-2 hours with the flourescent light from my main tank, so I suspect it is the temperature shock causing them to go goopy, rather than light. Nonetheless, I'm going to get a tiny clip-on lamp for the jar. I'm also dosing with ferts to try and give them a little boost.


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## DragonFyre14 (Aug 20, 2012)

This is so cool. I think it would be really cool to do something like this but as of yet, I haven't built up the courage to take the leap into the land of live plants so.... 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Now there is a bit of a funky smell emanating from the jar. Hmm.


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## DragonFyre14 (Aug 20, 2012)

Could that be from the plants dying?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I think so. I also think that perhaps the soil has something to do with it.


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## ashleigheperry (Mar 1, 2013)

This is an awesome project - I never would have thought to include shrimp/snails. I'm definitely going to give something like this a try.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

My snails are still in there, I think, but I'm going to wait a few weeks and see how things pan out before adding shrimp.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Any new pics?
i'm still jellie of that view @[email protected]


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

It is a pretty good view. Pictures don't do it justice. I'll try and get some on a sunny day.  

I'll see if I can get some pictures of the jar tomorrow. It's looking pretty bleh, though.


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## jstn (Feb 10, 2013)

Does it smell lile rotten eggs?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

jstn said:


> Does it smell lile rotten eggs?


looks and smell are often very different. one of my planted tanks look like peepee water but smells like tea


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## Tracy7768 (Jan 17, 2013)

So you can keep plants alive in an unfiltered tank/jar???
And, also, with no air pump???
I have been wondering about that.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

You definitely don't need an air pump - that increases oxygen exchange but reduces CO2 exchange - plants need CO2, not oxygen.  For the same reason, you also don't need a filter. Plants filter the water for you, and if your tank is planted heavily enough, can actually completely replace a filter.
The most important factors in keeping plants are light and nutrients.


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## jstn (Feb 10, 2013)

aokashi said:


> looks and smell are often very different. one of my planted tanks look like peepee water but smells like tea



True. But the rotteb egg smell could be the bio matter rotting under the substrate turning into explosive gas!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

jstn said:


> True. But the rotteb egg smell could be the bio matter rotting under the substrate turning into explosive gas!


XD my 1 gallon has 1/2 gallon of soil and sand  with enough plants rotten egg syndrome shouldnt happen


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## DragonFyre14 (Aug 20, 2012)

I've never even heard of this rotten egg syndrome or whatever. Good thing to know about when I start getting into live plants.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

DragonFyre14 said:


> I've never even heard of this rotten egg syndrome or whatever. Good thing to know about when I start getting into live plants.


Ofcourse you haven't, I just made it up, lol. but if plants are unable to use up nutrients fast enough in a NPT it can end up smelling to high heaven


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## jstn (Feb 10, 2013)

its called hydrogen sulfide and is deadly to everything in your tank in small doses. it is caused by anerobic bacteria in the dirt under the sand, yo


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

jstn said:


> its called hydrogen sulfide and is deadly to everything in your tank in small doses. it is caused by anerobic bacteria in the dirt under the sand, yo


=D hasn't happened to me yet ... or anyone else I've read about :3


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

No, it isn't the smell of rotting eggs, just decaying organic matter. 

Unfortunately, my girl Artemis unexpectedly died last night, and in a fit of distraction I left my jar out overnight (it had been sunbathing during the day), so goodness knows if any snails/plants have survived the relatively chilly autumn night. (It's ridiculous - it can still be 31C during the day, then drop down to 9C at night).


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Well, the elodea totally melted into gunk, so I've removed that. The java fern is looking pretty iffy but the ludwigia seems ok, despite having been exposed to the extremes of temperature we get here for more than two days. I'll post more photos when the water clears.

This is it before I removed the elodea, then afterwards.


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## mermaid77 (Feb 24, 2013)

Beautiful, I love the Pagoda! And WOW the view is simply breathtaking!!!

Edit: Just saw the latest pics...sorry some plants didn't do well...I just ordered mine...crossing my fingers all will survive ME as well! LOL


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## Agility4fun (Nov 16, 2012)

Oh bummer!


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I'm thinking I'll try some ambulia to replace the elodea, and probably remove the java fern too. 

I'm not too sad if this doesn't work out - all of the plants are offcuts from my 16 gallon, and I had everything else already, so I'm not losing money or much time on it.  It's a great experiment for learning, that's for sure.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

fluctuating temps near the window is definitely a problem. I usually let my jars use the ambient light from my other tanks


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I did have it by the tank for a while, but I took it outside to see if direct natural light made a difference, since the ambient light didn't seem to be enough. It's back next to the tank now.


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## kyle89 (Mar 1, 2013)

I like the idea. Its different


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## BulletToothBoris (Jan 8, 2013)

Very cool jar!


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Thank you.  Well, the ludwigia is absolutely thriving and growing out the top of the tank. I think I'm going to trim it and plant the offcuts. The java fern is still hanging in there, but it isn't happy.

I need to get a turkey baster and do some water changes, I think.


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## Picasso84 (Feb 11, 2013)

I love what u r doing with the jar, sorry your plants died like that! 

I would love to see new pics... Great for the ludwigia!  

I have a question, just out of curiosity... If u got earthworms, or other creepy-crawlies in your dirt when u planted the tank, when they die do they cause an ammonia spike?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Neat


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Picasso84 said:


> I have a question, just out of curiosity... If u got earthworms, or other creepy-crawlies in your dirt when u planted the tank, when they die do they cause an ammonia spike?


Yes, but if the tank is planted enough, the plants will absorb the ammonia.  You should always sift dirt really carefully to avoid this, though.

Thanks, Tiki!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

my baby betta graduated from her 1.5 liter jar ^_^ I now have ghost shrimps in mine!


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Naw, so jealous! Why does yours look a bajillion times neater than mine?  I think I'm going to take my stuff out, redo it and try and find a light that I can leave on there all the time, instead of trying to rely on natural light and a couple of hours in the mornings/evenings using the light from my big tank. 

Love the susswassertang! What's the other stuff? Scuse my whilst I copy your tree idea.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I think myaca fluitans and myriophyllum mattogrossese XD

I have a thin layer of sand substrate and a rock + some twigs 
wasnt ambitious as you with the NPT XD

tree idea is great! it's been done so many times over I dont know who it was originally copied from! haha


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## VJM (Feb 7, 2013)

I bet you don't need extra fertilizer yet. Until the plants take hold and start actively growing for awhile, the soil should suffice. Extra ferts just encourage algae. 

All my plants in one tank went through a melt period. Bleech. The thing that made the biggest difference was just stripping off all the dead stuff and changing the water. They all seem to have recovered and are growing now. 

Beautiful view!


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## mattoboy (Feb 4, 2012)

How do you guys keep these mini's heated?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

my jar... I heated with a 25w adjustable when i had a baby betta in it...
as long as the heater fits ^_^ which in my case it did 

however, I highly highly highly highly dont recommend putting fish in these....

I'm pretty sure bombulrina doesnt need a heater right now. LOL


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Yeah, since I don't have any live critters in it, apart from one insanely determined snail, I don't need a heater.  However, given the rapid temperature fluctuations here (went from 30C at the peak of the day to 9C overnight), I would definitely add a heater if I did put critters in, I think. 

I've had a nasty cold, so my poor jar has become neglected and a bit algae-fied. I'll do a water change today and add a couple more snails. I might do a re-scape too.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Well, I've totally re-done it, and I think it looks much nicer. I took the dirt out, as it was looking nasty, smelling nasty and apparently killing my plants - even the ludwigia had turned black and rotten where it was under the substrate. I have been aerating it, but apparently not enough.

So, now I have black gravel, the ludwigia (new stuff) in the centre, and a java moss carpet. I might add some hornwort as a floater once it has all settled. Pics to come. 

Can anyone recommend a good light?


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