What is the ecosphere
The perfect balance between art and science
The original ecosphere (Ecospheres®) was born as a result of NASA aerospace research. They were looking for closed systems in space where astronauts could live on long voyages. They wanted to find a self-sufficient environment, producing food and oxygen for the crew and keeping the water and air clean and reusable. As a result of these experiments, the Ecospheres of the international group Ecospheres were born.
NASA gave away this technology so that people could better understand the balance in nature. And these fascinating little worlds are the Ecospheres.
It is the first totally closed ecosystem; a complete and self-sufficient miniature world embedded in a crystal ball. Easily manageable, an ecosphere is a learning element that provides us with interesting information about life on our planet, as well as a taste of technology for future space exploration.
Red shrimp live in a filtered seawater substrate, along with active microorganisms and algae. Because the ecosphere is a self-sufficient ecosystem, no external food input is necessary.
You simply have to provide your ecosphere with a contribution of natural or artificial indirect light that allows the biological cycle to be maintained, in order to enjoy this combination of art and science, beauty and balance.
Because it is a closed and independent system, the living resources of the Ecospheres function without contaminating the environment, so that the ecosphere does not need cleaning and only requires minimal care. The average life expectancy of the Ecospheres is from two to five years, although there have been some cases of shrimp that have reached 20 years in their ecosphere. See instruction manual for more information about the ecosphere.
However, an ecosphere is much more than a scientific innovation; it is also an artistic work. A living treasure to have or to give to someone special. Each ecosphere is created by hand to achieve a thoughtful aesthetic that can decorate any environment, be it our home, an office, a waiting room or a local.
The ecosystem is made up of shrimp, filtered seawater, algae, bacteria, and natural gorgonian and gravel. These types of shrimp were chosen because they do not show aggressive behavior towards each other. The gorgonian, the gravel and the glass offer surface to the ecosystem. These surfaces act as areas where organisms can settle. Despite the fact that in the natural state the gorgonians are living beings, within the ecosphere the gorgonian is made of a material of high decorative value but lifeless, which is cut by hand individually for each ecosphere.
The ecosphere is a clear example of sustainable development that works on the basis of energy, although it requires little quantity. It is a small biological battery, which stores biochemically transformed light energy. An excess of light energy can upset the balance of the system, because it would stimulate an excessive growth of the algae, which would lead to the algae quickly using the limited existing nutrients in the system, so that the system could not produce the amount of nutrients necessary for its maintenance.
The light, along with carbon dioxide from the water, allows the algae to produce oxygen. Shrimp breathe oxygen from the water and feed on algae and bacteria. Bacteria transform animal waste into nutrients for algae. The shrimp and bacteria also produce carbon dioxide which the algae use to produce oxygen. Temperature also affects the health of the ecosphere. Maintaining a constant temperature will increase viability. The functioning of the ecosystem in a schematic way would be something like this: 
Basically, shrimp eat algae and bacteria. If you look closely, they can be seen feeding by picking bacteria and algae from the walls of the ecosphere. Even if green algae is not visible, there are still plenty of other types of algae and bacteria that can serve as food for shrimp. Shrimp also eat their own ancient ectoskeletons. The pale translucent shrimp-like images that can sometimes be seen in the background are their ancient ectoskeletons (shrimps are crustaceans, whose skeleton is external and not internal). After the old ectoskeleton is shed, a new one expands and hardens.
There are spherical Ecospheres and also with an oval shape, available in different sizes. Likewise, it is possible to design and install larger ecosystems.
Consult our section -how to order- for additional information about the available models.
The delivery time is immediate (24H).
For the installation of larger or differently designed Ecospheres, contact us directly by clicking here .
