Any container will do as long as it meets these two conditions: it's transparent so you can see inside, and it has a lid that can be closed and sealed.
We recommend plastic bottles, whiskey bottles, or storage jars for making plum wine.
The choice of container will have a big impact on the aesthetic value and beauty of the item, so those who want to enjoy it as interior decoration should pay particular attention to this.
On the other hand, if your goal is simply to ensure that the ecosystem inside runs smoothly, the larger the container, the better.
In that case, there are 8-liter plum wine bottles available on the market, which are almost always the only choice.
Conversely, it is interesting to try to create an ecosystem in the smallest possible container, but it would be far more difficult.
There is one important note.
Both plastic bottles and glass bottles have the property of collecting light like lenses.
Under certain conditions, these can cause fires (convergence fires), so it is important to have an adult for making sure it is safe.
There will be specific measures such as keeping the bottle out of direct sunlight and placing it next to a non-flammable wall.
Mini-Earth are roughly divided into land-based Mini-Earth and underwater ones.
If you are making a land-based Mini-Earth, containers with narrow openings such as plastic bottles may be difficult to handle.
This blog focuses only on underwater Mini-Earth.
More specifically, it is freshwater Mini-Earth.
In addition to freshwater, saltwater Mini-Earth and brackish water Mini-Earth, which are intermediate between freshwater and saltwater, are possible, but I have not done enough research on these, so I cannot explain them in this blog.
For more information on land-based Mini-Earth, refer to Professor Kobayashi's book on Tottori University of Environmental Studies.
As for brackish water Mini-Earth, there is a product sold under the name "Beach World."
I don't know of any previous examples of saltwater Mini-Earth.
It's a field I'd like to try someday.
This blog mainly talks about freshwater Mini-Earth.
One advantage that freshwater Mini-Earth may have over other Mini-Earth is that it is easier to observe inside.
Algae more or less grow in the containers of underwater Mini-Earth, and land Mini-Earths have the problem of condensation.
These factors make their looks less good and make it difficult to observe the contents.
Regardless of the viewability, if you cannot observe what is happening inside, it will be not good and affect the meaning of the experiment.
Then, in the case of freshwater Mini-Earth, measures against algae have been established.
By putting snails such as scallops and red ramshorn snails in it, these snails clean the container.
Also, Japanese freshwater shrimps eat the algae little by little.
In that sense, you can create freshwater Mini-Earth rather easily and observe it clearly.
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