Self-Sustaining Aquarium Prototype

Here you can see my 4 month old self-sustaining aquarium with snails and seed shrimp as it was on January 20th, 2018.

I use this aquarium to learn what it takes to build a self-sustaining aquarium for fish.

In this prototype, I made holes in the upper part to provide access to atmospheric air while reducing water evaporation.
Check previous videos for details.

January 30th, 2018
I punched more holes to check if it would make any difference.

February 7th, 2018

 I moved a 5 month old female guppy, born in August 2018, into this aquarium.

This aquarium became a testing ground for a number of ideas that I will talk about in future videos.

May 6th, 2018
The water level has dropped a few millimeters in the prototype tank in the past 3 months compare to about 2 cm in my open top aquariums (though, I keep them covered).

Also, I added a male guppy and plants.

 June 4th, 2018
 I added Elodea.

July 25th, 2018
The water level dropped few millimeters.

December 17th, 2018
16 months passed since the initial setup of this prototype aquarium.

I doubled the number of holes about a year ago.

Let me shake it a bit for you to see the water level.
For all the time water level dropped...he-he...about 1.5 cm or about 1 mm a month.
Great!
This aquarium can stay without a water refill for a couple years :)
The layer of algae on the walls of the tank prevents to see the beauty inside...

Let's take a look from the top.

Here you can see the fish and all the way to the bottom.  

In future videos, I will share about other things I have been doing in this and other aquariums to make small self-sustaining aquarium for fish. 

Have fun and happy aquariums :)