Sunny Bench: Making an Aquarium in a Bottle

I've recently read about creating an aquarium in a container other than a fish tank.
The concept is,

Live aquatic plants cycle CO2 into O2, use animal waste as nutrient and filters water.
Bacteria in the soil also cycles CO2 into O2, use animal waste as nutrient and filters water.
(Optional) Animal releases waste and CO2.

Once the balance is established, no filtration and no air pump are needed. The only regular maintenance required is change 1/3 water by slowly pouring in water and letting it overflow (and feed the fish if you choose to have one). That's it. How cool is that!

Must say, the low maintenance part was especially appealing.

Here's how I made my first bottle aquarium.

1) Pour a bit of soil, making a slope towards the back. Decorate it with pebbles and stones.

2) Put a filtration cotton on the top so the water won't ruin the setup. Slowly pour in water.

3) Keep pouring in water and letting it overflow until the water becomes clear.

4) Plant aquatic plants by holding a plant's root with metal tongs and gently pushing it into the soil. Once the tip of the tongs touch the bottom, release the plant and very slowly pull out the tongs.

5) After 2 - 3 days, introduce some fish and snails. Don't crowd the aquarium or they won't survive!

I also used water treatment to remove chlorine and heavy metals from the water.

I bought 4 Neon Tetras for a 7-gallon jar. The rule is, 1" fish per 1 gallon. The fish that tolerates a wide range of pH level is suited for this. Betta is also perfect for this setup.