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Plant

I’m making a self sustaining ecosystem which has both a terrestrial part with plants and bugs, and a water part with some pond water. I’ve had it for a few months, and then this started popping up everywhere. Anyone know what it is?

Entire thing

ᴡʜᴀᴄᴋᴀᴍᴀᴅᴏᴏᴅʟᴇ3000
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  • Has your set up received any sunlight in the last few weeks/months? It's not clear where the algal growth is occuring from your photos - I'm assuming its in the water bottle at the bottom? – Bamboo Nov 22 '18 at 17:56
  • Yes, I have a close up posted as well. I’m just wondering what it is. – ᴡʜᴀᴄᴋᴀᴍᴀᴅᴏᴏᴅʟᴇ3000 Nov 23 '18 at 03:56
  • wow, this is certainly a massive project! If this is a close up of a leaf you are wanting to cultivate, I am looking at chemical deficiency. Have you fertilized? How often is the water moved, recycled, aerated? Plant roots need oxygen. Plants that we humans want to grow to fill our needs need us humans to understand the plant's needs. Photosynthesis takes sunlight, proper water, drainage within the soil medium (so water doesn't take up valuable pore space that needs to be filled with O2), water moved so algae and fungus are not so happy and take control of the resources as well as NPK. – stormy Nov 23 '18 at 08:03
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    Weakened plants are vulnerable to disease, insects and fungus amongus. Whatever it is you are looking at is NOT the culprit. It is a secondary problem, the first being no available plain old NPK. Exacerbated with stagnant water and too low O2, drainage in the soil for the roots.Sunlight, water in proper amounts, great drainage and available O2, bare minimum chemistry added...general knowledge of biology and botany and soils and chemisty...are minimal. Humans can never make a self sustaining ecosystem. Humans do not live long enough to manage our artificial gardens. – stormy Nov 23 '18 at 08:13
  • I'm unable to say precisely what aquatic algal life form it is - it is an inevitable event in a closed, water filled environment like your bottle that receives daylight, and especially sunlight; the same thing is likely to occur in fish tanks which are exposed to any sun at all (as I well recall!). It happens eventually even in just daylight without direct sunlight, but direct sun will mean it occurs much more quickly I'm afraid. – Bamboo Nov 23 '18 at 11:00
  • @stormy I have not fertilized the strawberry, but the soil consists of good nutrients (or at least the ingredients on the bag of soil make it look so). I've realized that my soil is not too great for drainage (only realized the problem after I built it). I have straws so that the water can evaporate and move through the soil and back down. I also had strings to drain or suck water, but those got eaten up by microorganisms, and drainage is not great. Also, wouldn't the cells in the soil and elsewhere be producing O2? I have snails and other creatures inside. – ᴡʜᴀᴄᴋᴀᴍᴀᴅᴏᴏᴅʟᴇ3000 Dec 01 '18 at 05:51
  • I know the algae looking thing isn't the source of the problem, but I was just wondering what is was. – ᴡʜᴀᴄᴋᴀᴍᴀᴅᴏᴏᴅʟᴇ3000 Dec 01 '18 at 05:52
  • Also, this was for a school project, and a report with more info can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VcrWjgBWZAQqFjlSUkxNS6vcU-ZTtOP-umBS7S2YNS8/edit?usp=sharing – ᴡʜᴀᴄᴋᴀᴍᴀᴅᴏᴏᴅʟᴇ3000 Dec 01 '18 at 06:01
  • @ᴡʜᴀᴄᴋᴀᴍᴀᴅᴏᴏᴅʟᴇ3000 Take the lid off of the bottom bottle. Dump the water out daily and replace with 'fresh'. Soil does not come with fertilizer, normally. Some potting soil has fertilizer added and please never use potting soil with added fertilizer nor weird watering holding gimmicks. I'd feel better if you chopped off the tips of the upside down pots a good inch, to have a larger diameter for drainage. I would ONLY water when the soil is dryer in those 3 'pots'? Too much water = low O2 in the soil. That water I am sure smells awful, yes? Replace with fresh and see how that does? – stormy Dec 01 '18 at 07:02
  • For this application I would use a weak solution of 'Miracle Gro' mixed in water and only use this water/fertilizer mixture once per month watering the soil, forget about holding water in that lower bottle. – stormy Dec 01 '18 at 07:04
  • Remove the rubber banded covers as well. You will lose your plants to fungus sooner rather than later. – stormy Dec 01 '18 at 07:05
  • ...and was there fertilizer included in your 'nutrient rich' soil? Then forget adding any fertilizer right now for sure! Plants do not need 'nutrients'...plants need chemistry with which to do photosynthesis. Fertilizer is NEVER nutrients...people mistake nutrients with food. Plants make their own food. To do photosynthesis plants need: CO2, proper amount of light, just the right amount of water to allow the proper amount of air in the soil and the proper amount of chemistry/fertilizer. Balanced fertilizer. "Less is best, More is death and None is dumb"...where fertilizer is concerned. – stormy Dec 01 '18 at 07:09

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