Success is in the eyes of the beholder. If you shoot for the moon (or maybe the
Earth is a better goal being that the moon is pretty baron of life) then you
will most likely not be successful. So experiment and think small.



Grab some 1 gallon clear plastic water jugs and head to the pond or ocean and
grab some "stuff" and see what happens. You may be surprised. For example:



- I schlepped three plastic soda bottles back from Florida. All are sealed.

+ One is water only and it is as clear as the day collected

+ One is filled with 3" sand and water from a 3' depth. and to my surprise, a
bunch of baby clams joined the journey. Sprigs of algae that washed up to shore
were added. This died after a month or so of good clam activity.

+ One was collected very close to shore with about 3" of sand. Sprigs of
algae that washed up to shore were added. This one has cycled and the algae is
starting to grow again. Into this one I'd like to add some CO2 producers but
can't justify the shrimp cost.



- My son & I have collected a number of samples from ponds and lakes. Again
success is relative:

+ The first was 2" of muck, a couple green leafy plants and whatever came
along. After many months, the plants have died but there is still algae and
snail activity. The sides of the glass are coated in brown algae.

+ My son filled a soda bottle with muck and green leafy water plants. The
plants are still alive. Can't really see in the muck to tell if anything is
moving. This "mess" seems to be doing the best relative to plant growth.

+ I collected some lake plants, sand/muck and water and put into a 10 gallon
aquarium with a glass lid. The plants are slowly dying. I added two gold fish
(although they never were gold colored). They eventually died. The snails are
doing well.



At this point I don't have an "ocean or lake in a bottle" environment that is
clear, active and pristine. But my son and I have learned a lot and what
happens next will be based on our current success.



I encourage you to experiment with many models and study the differences. If
you take these to work, be prepared to answer questions about your mess
-in-a-bottle:-)



Nick




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