Cephalopodcast

Make magazine has instructions on building your own miniature aquatic biosphere. I took the weekend challenge and made my own using specimens from a retention pond near work. There were snails and crustaceans in abundance, including grass shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.), amphipods (aka, scuds) and copepods.

The instructions call for the use of a sea shell to help with buffering. I thought I would be smart and use a small deer antler instead. It looked good at first, but I never properly degreased the thing, so the set up went south pretty quickly. I removed the antler and restarted with a little crushed coral gravel. I also added the iconic econaut refuge (orange diver) and a little bit of hornwort purchased from the pet store.

Cephalovlog #2: 60 Seconds of Green Pond Scum

I made a little video featuring some of the critters. I used a jeweler’s loupe held next to my Canon ZR500 and Powershot A95 (movie setting) to get close-up shots of them in action. It was edited with iMovie and scored in Garageband.

Click To Play

Blip.tv | YouTube

Lessons Learned

Needless to say, this is a great lesson in ecosystem management. Unlike an aquarium, the tabletop biosphere is a closed system. All nutrients must cycle from the plants (producers) to the animals (consumers) and back again (via decomposers/bacteria). A well balanced biosphere can last a couple of years, with some commercial manufacturers claiming systems that have run for ten years or more.

In addition to the articles from Make, there are several lesson plans out there for starting biospheres in the classroom. It might be interesting to get students started with these at the beginning of the year and see which ones last the longest. See the links below for more ideas.

Tendrils

I also wanted to highlight another sources of inspiration for this project. It is an aquascaping photoblog simply called Green. I encourage you to marvel at the beautiful macro photography of Marcus Wallinder’s miniature worlds. And if its zen-like, award-winning design inspires you, then here are more than 130 palettes to “help you get your green on” too.

• Make: Tabletop Biosphere, with resource citations
• Make a Tabletop Biosphere - Make: PDFcast
• Make a Tabletop Biosphere - Make: Video Podcast
• Home Made Biospheres
• Make Labs Biosphere & more!
• Lesson plans (Ohio): It’s a Small World After All! (Pond Microcosms)
• Lesson plans: Examining the Human Impact on our Environment
• Water on the Web: Microcosm Setup and Sample Collection Instructions
• Bottle Biology
• BBC/OU Open2.net: DIY Science - Ecospheres
• Make your own homemade ecosphere
• The Miracle Whip Microcosm
• Ecobottle Investigations
• Green: aquascape photoblog
• Best Of Color Inspiration: 130+ Green Color Palettes
• Flickr: Biosphere symbol/label
• Flickr: My BioJar photos
• Previously: Tiny Lightbulb Tanks