Cookie Jar, Pickle Jar or TK Maxx Vase as an Aquarium?!

[omnaturestudio]

I'll be doing an update on these jars and much more (including a look at my big cichlids) very soon!

Here's some random thumbnails taken from some of my videos.

 

[Magnum Man]

looks a lot like my 5 gallon jar type nano tank

 

[GaryE]

I love nano fish - the smaller the more interesting. Nano tanks though? They shouldn't have fish in them. They can be very beautiful, but they're awful habitats.

 

[ilex]

I love nano fish - the smaller the more interesting. Nano tanks though? They shouldn't have fish in them. They can be very beautiful, but they're awful habitats.

Well, at least they don’t have to endure noisy mechanicals like buzzing air pumps and clattering filters. They can be good habitats for shrimp. I keep a small jar of excess plants and Java moss and it’s pretty with the sunlight shining though. But I agree they are usually too small to keep fish.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am not a fan of jars. They are too hard to work in and make it hard to catch a lot of the fish. But That is just my opinion. I remember years back on a long gone forum one of the members showing pics of a drip coffee pot being used this way.

And most of my tanks make little of no noise unless you count the bubbles that result from using central air to power filters. I have been very lucky in terms of plants in my tanks. The problem is that plants grow. At my very last weekend as a vendor I have the largest anubias in the vendor room for sale. And there were several plant vendors there.

However, this is just my opinion and how I do things. I spend a lot of time on the plants, especially pruning and moving things into bigger tanks when they outgrow where they started.

 

[omnaturestudio]

Well, at least they don’t have to endure noisy mechanicals like buzzing air pumps and clattering filters. They can be good habitats for shrimp. I keep a small jar of excess plants and Java moss and it’s pretty with the sunlight shining though. But I agree they are usually too small to keep fish.

Yeah I had great success breedings 100's of cherry shrimp in some planted bowls some years ago! There's lots of variables to manage to keep them stable and suitable for the little shrimpies though.

 

[omnaturestudio]

I love nano fish - the smaller the more interesting. Nano tanks though? They shouldn't have fish in them. They can be very beautiful, but they're awful habitats.

There's certainly a cut off point, and 6.5 litres is pretty close to it... Some fish fry though? In a jar receiving plenty of light, and in turn algae growth, it can be good in the short term.

 

[omnaturestudio]

looks a lot like my 5 gallon jar type nano tankView attachment 381601View attachment 381602

What fish are those? Looks like you run a pump?

 

[GaryE]

I can't speak for shrimp - they've never interested me.

If you were to put fry in a vase type tank, they would grow if conditions were right. If you didn't consider them disposable, you'd have to wreck the set up to remove them.

I use 18 liter tanks to raise fry from killifish. I have 3 10 liter containers I use to hatch eggs and keep fish in for the first week of life, but they rapidly move into larger tanks. But even those tanks - they are rectangular, which facilitates oxygen exchange. A taller jar or vase lacks surface area for exchange.

I think it may be as simple as a philosophical difference here. I don't see captive fish as ornaments, accessories or as disposable life. They're complex creatures and I find myself wanting to give them more and more space so I can observe how they behave in as close to natural conditions as I can set up. I've collected fish in the wild on 2 continents, and the fish in tiny bodies of still water were dying or diseased, waiting for rains to expand their habitats. Many fish hobby lore says come from still water live in currents we can't manage in a glass box without extreme turbulence.

Vase or large jar containers aren't tanks, and are fine for plants and tiny invertebrates though. I've seen some beautiful, fishless ones.

So, study the fish and create the habitat based on that, or create the habitat and throw the fish into your creation to survive or not?

 

[Magnum Man]

@omnaturestudio … I run a simple sponge filter , a micro heater, and a small air pump for the sponge filter… with no tank specific light ( there is a desk lamp on a timer, but my “jar” sits in a corner south west window, in full sun )… it holds 5 gallons of hard water… the fish are a pair of Florida Flag Fish (Jordanella floridae) they were not fully mature, when they got put in the tank… I think they would/will breed, when the female is ready… the tank gets a lot of algae, sitting in full sun, of which the fish eat a lot of it, but I remove a large amount during water changes… they get a varied diet, along with the algae

 

[Back in the fold]

This makes me think of my very first aquarium in 1965 . It was a gallon jar for the guppies I got from another kid at school . That didn’t last long because my Dad surprised me with a brand new five gallon with everything just a couple weeks later .

 

[TwoTankAmin]

There are ways to reduce or even elimnate the sound of an air pump. One is to place i on some filter foam. I have a lot of Poret bough in sheets. I cut to fit ACs and prefilters. I find the 10ppi foam is great for this used and it really damps the sound. A lot of the noise from air pumps is because they are on a hard surface which acts to amplify the sound. The foam prevent this.

There are a few places where there is no room to put the air pump anywhere close. But, I can use another trick. I hang the pump by the power cord so the pump is in mid air. Yhis works great for smaller pimps but if you are using a lager pump, go with the foam solution.

I have a central air system which used to serve 76 tanks, I use the upper end DAPM brand from Jehmco. I used to have 3 of these I still have one left which is in use. I had 3, 2 x DAPM15s and a one DAPM20 which can handle up to 22 outlets. I sold the model 20 when I downsized from 6 to 3 tanks in the fish space. I sold one 15 at the Keeystone clash after I broke down the booth. I now have two 6 outlet manifolds that can serve 2 tanks usinbg the remaining 15. I may have 2 in one tank and 4 in another. I also have one running into the air which I will split when I need to use the hang on circulating traps. I used to bring a 15 to power thanks when I would sell in a vendor room.

You can see these pumps here: https://jehmco.com/html/diaphragm_air_pumps.html#DAPMH8-15

If you have never shopped at Jehmco, I can tell you the owner, John, is a good guy and he helped me a lot. He made all my manifolds and air lines custom for me. Inititally I used a large regular air pump with two outlets. He made me manifolds woith an airline in one each end. But as thinhs got bigger I neede to upgrade to the DAPMs. I also get a lot of my frozen food, ish bags and heat packs there.

 

[GaryE]

It's a question of scale there. I have two Jehmco sold Japanese made linear piston pumps run through a manifold with 60 air valves. That isn't good for a few jars or a couple of tanks!

But those pumps, one 20 years running and the other 7 years in, are quiet. I hear the air bubbles, and not much more. I have one quality diaphragm pump I use for brine shrimp, and it makes more noise than the two linear piston pumps running 40 tanks.

It's all well and good, but not for what the original poster would be doing... there'd be a bit of overkill.

 

[Magnum Man]

my jar tank experiment is doing well… male in the 1st 2 pictures, female in the 3rd…

 

[Back in the fold]

Well , they’re pretty and look nice but I’d rather have an ice cream cone instead of a pine cone .