Making a small bog in an old aquarium

[Mr.Fakename]

Not too long ago while going for a walk, I ended up near a lake that was undergoing some landscaping.

Turns out, workers were digging a ton of living Sphagnum to change water distribution around the lake and make a path.

So I did what every normal person would do, and used the dog's poopie bags to harvest perfectly cut chunks of bog.

Today I arranged the pieces in an old aquarium, added scraps of my own Sphagnum, and sow Drosera seeds.

In a month or so it'll be the perfect enclosure to add bog orchids, starting with Pogonia ophioglossoides

[DirtyCoconuts]

I am very excited about the concept but I can’t make sense of the pics. Are we looking down at the aquarium?

[Paphluvr]

You also got all the bugs, larvae and other creepy-crawlers that were in the bog. Good luck!

[Mr.Fakename]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

I am very excited about the concept but I can’t make sense of the pics. Are we looking down at the aquarium?

Yep! Sorry if perspective is a bit weird, it's a crappy aquarium and the plastic became cloudy.

If it works, I'll scale it up into a bigger, glass enclosure.

Originally Posted by Paphluvr

You also got all the bugs, larvae and other creepy-crawlers that were in the bog. Good luck!

That's a reason why I was so excited! Instant ecosystem, with all the good microorganisms.

I left it outside for a bit though, so creepy-crawlers kindly crawl their way out!

[WaterWitchin]

Exciting!! Please continue to show the progress. Convince me to get a smaller aquarium off the shelf!

Set up a 75 gallon a couple of years ago on a wild hair... too big of a project and it ended back outside after about six months. I'll start smaller next time.

I have a two-gallon terrarium that goes well. We took a trip to northern California five years back to visit husband's family cemetery. I brought back moss and rocks with moss and lichens on them from the plot, plus a little fern that was there. It's done amazingly well, and I've had to transfer moss out of it a couple of times now. A little piece of family graveyard... pretty cool.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Only a group like this would get all mushy over pictures of swamp muck!
Looking forward to seeing the end results.

[Mr.Fakename]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

Only a group like this would get all mushy over pictures of swamp muck!
Looking forward to seeing the end results.

I'm all about that sweet Sphagnum porn.
Have you ever seen Sphagnum rubellum? Just look at it, and tell me it's swamp muck.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Hahahaha
But yea. I’m excited

[Gepwin]

Such a fun idea, I hope it works out well. I have so many fond memories of looking at the bog plants around Boston as a kid, it would be so nice to have a windowsill bog. Really looking forward to seeing this all grown up.

[Mr.Fakename]

Lots of advancement since the beginning; the Pogonia has been planted, tons of new growth, and the species of Sphagnum have been identified.

Incidentally enough I got my hands on a bunch of very cool Sphag, including rubellum, cited above.
Some of them are so dark that the camera doesn't understand what's going on