My son has always been into various creatures and science type projects. He read up on this ecosphere thing. Basically you get a sealed jar with water, soil, aquatic plants, and small snails and seal it up and set it by a window and it should sustain itself forever. The sun gives energy, snails give off CO2, the plants take the CO2 and make oxygen which in turn the snails use. Well a few years ago he made one out of a mason jar and it is still going strong today.
Earlier this year he decided he wanted a bigger one so he saved up and spent $150 of his own money on this seven gallon beaker thing. It is 1/4” thick glass and looks like something out of a chemistry lab. I built a wooden stand for it so we could place it in the living room at window height. We were excited he was interested in something other than a phone or games. He loaded it up with mud, plants, etc from our pond and put Saran Wrap and a rubber band over the top. A week or so later it started stinking. I determined his lid wasn’t sufficient so I went and bought a rubber stopper that didn’t fit quite right but I jammed it down in the neck and then used half a tube of silicon on top of it to ensure a good seal. Just opening it up to change the lid made the house smell so bad the wife was contemplating us going to a motel for the night. After a day or so the smell subsided and we determined my new lid did the trick. This was a couple months ago.
Tonight the kids were in bed and the wife and I were sitting on the couch watching TV and the damn thing explodes. Sounded about like a shotgun going off and huge shards of glass are scattered all over the living room. I was about 15’ away and a piece of glass the size of a steak landed beside me. Nasty stinky black filthy water is all over the living room carpet, sofa, table, walls, etc. Its a wonder no one got hurt. The kids came running out wondering what happened it practically shook the walls. We have been cleaning for about three hours but it is still horrible. New carpet is definitely in order and probably a new sofa as well as paint and some sort of acid wash to get the stains off the rock work around the fireplace. The wife was freaking out but I couldn’t stop laughing. It sucks no doubt but is funny at the same time.
Earlier this year he decided he wanted a bigger one so he saved up and spent $150 of his own money on this seven gallon beaker thing. It is 1/4” thick glass and looks like something out of a chemistry lab. I built a wooden stand for it so we could place it in the living room at window height. We were excited he was interested in something other than a phone or games. He loaded it up with mud, plants, etc from our pond and put Saran Wrap and a rubber band over the top. A week or so later it started stinking. I determined his lid wasn’t sufficient so I went and bought a rubber stopper that didn’t fit quite right but I jammed it down in the neck and then used half a tube of silicon on top of it to ensure a good seal. Just opening it up to change the lid made the house smell so bad the wife was contemplating us going to a motel for the night. After a day or so the smell subsided and we determined my new lid did the trick. This was a couple months ago.
Tonight the kids were in bed and the wife and I were sitting on the couch watching TV and the damn thing explodes. Sounded about like a shotgun going off and huge shards of glass are scattered all over the living room. I was about 15’ away and a piece of glass the size of a steak landed beside me. Nasty stinky black filthy water is all over the living room carpet, sofa, table, walls, etc. Its a wonder no one got hurt. The kids came running out wondering what happened it practically shook the walls. We have been cleaning for about three hours but it is still horrible. New carpet is definitely in order and probably a new sofa as well as paint and some sort of acid wash to get the stains off the rock work around the fireplace. The wife was freaking out but I couldn’t stop laughing. It sucks no doubt but is funny at the same time.
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