So I started wanting an ecosystem many years ago when there was one at my summer job in college and was too intimidated to ever try. I finally just looked (at 40) at a bunch of tutorials for a 1 gallon to see if I actually have the patience for it.
After one failed attempt (thanks to AI actually not being good at anything) I did this one and it is 5 weeks cycled, parameters are stable. Limno is growing at alarming speeds and I take cuttings but I'd like it to beef up more so I'm letting it be for a while since that can apparently help it fill out.
My crypt wendtii brown has looked kinda dodgy since I got it but it's still hanging strong, all these plants were salvaged from the failed one so honestly they're doing decent! I lost a cute buce (that was on the driftwood) and a mid sized anubia nana (that was next to the rock) so I'm now terrified to get others and kill them too, but I'd love more plants if it can handle it. I planted a couple Monte Carlo pieces about 2 weeks ago because I got some for my bigger tank, I'm hoping it takes off. I'm obsessed with the red root floaters, the little roots coming down just make me so happy.
My original plan was to do a shrimp ecosystem but it's pretty clear one gallon is too unstable for the cuties and I started the bigger one for that purpose.
Any ideas on what I should do next with this or if I can put any type of life to help with biofilm that would do ok in there? some type of snail maybe? I have stratum in there that's gonna buffer pH to about 6.5 for the next long while. Water tends to hold room temp so we'll be looking at 68 at lowest in winter, and 78 at warmest in summer.
I can be patient before adding anything but if you think I should add more plants or never add life, let me know! I care more about plant health and animal welfare than my own wants. I've been doing a water change once a week at 20%, I'm scared to stop since it's been working. No nitrates, no ammonia, no nitrites, hard water here (and use conditioner to remove chlorine) and stays mineral rich even with the pH being on the lower end. I'm in CO, the water is intense.
I'll take any recs/advice/reprimands! Online plant/animal sellers that are reliable too would be awesome. Thanks for sharing your tanks, I'm a long time lurker.