1 Gallon Sustainable Aquarium with Fish DIY

I use a 1 gallon glass jar with a lid to make a sustainable aquarium. 

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Add gravel to cover the bottom.

 Fill the jar with dechlorinated water. 

Add whatever decorations you want. 

I put a large seashell with a marble in this example. 

Also, we can use seashells to anchor aquatic plants. 

Here I added dwarf hairgrass, guppy grass, duckweed and... you can add whatever plants you like.

The aquarium already looks nice! 

Let it sit for a couple weeks or more before adding any fish. 

Also, I like to add Bladder or Ramshorn snails right away.

 Congratulations, we have made a sustainable aquarium. 

One month later, on April 5th, 2020 I replaced some aquatic plants.

 I use the lid to make a planter that helps to reduce water evaporation and it holds land plants. 

Land plants growing with their roots in water help keep the aquarium clean.

 And now I add 3 young dwarf guppies - 1 female and 2 males. 

Young fish are best for new aquariums. 

And my dwarf guppies are the most suitable fish for sustainable aquariums so far.

I breed my dwarfs to grow up to 2.5 cm adult and to have a very small number of babies in their life time. 

Provide supplemental feeding 2-3 times a week.

 I make this food out of plants and critters living in this aquarium. 

April 5th, 2021

 I moved guppies to another aquarium making this one available for Endlers. 

Endlers livebearers are similar to Guppies in many regards.

 And theoretically, it makes them great candidates for sustainable aquariums.

Time will show whether I am right or wrong about Endlers. 

For now, I've been caring for Endlers following the same fish care routine as for Guppies. 

Schooling Endlers look very nice in aquariums.

 Notice that the amount of waste accumulated through the past year is hardly noticeable.

 And so it will remain low for the next 5 years in my experience. 

Removing old aquatic plants once a month or so is one of the most important parts of aquarium care.

 It allows plants to successfully compete against algae.

 Remember that both algae and plants feed on waste dissolved in water. 

Removing old parts of plants gives space for new plants to grow. 

Also, I dry the old plants and feed them back to the fish. 

That is the simplest and most straightforward way of achieving sustainability in aquariums. 

Here you can see the same aquarium 3 months later in July 2021. 

Happy Endlers busy hunting blackworms. 

I populate my sustainable aquarium gardens with different aquatic critters. 

Those feed on fish waste and fish eat them.

 And there are land plants growing with roots in water on top of the aquarium. 

Altogether it makes this aquarium garden sustainable and the most efficient aquarium with no tech.

 Pure beauty of Nature on my desk. 

Have fun and happy aquarium gardens :)