miniBIOTA is an engineered, six-chamber living ecological enclosure built in a home studio near DeLand, Florida. Its connected freshwater, terrestrial, and marine habitats are being refined toward closed-loop cycling while the project documents what the physical system can actually sustain.
Studio Craft & Origins
miniBIOTA is designed, built, and documented by Josué Gimbernard, its sole builder and operator. His background spans Air Force avionics, architectural drafting, custom cabinetry, mechanical engineering study, and commercial water-feature fabrication.
The project began in late 2019 as a hands-on way to study ecological systems: cut the cabinetry, drill the glass, route the plumbing, introduce living communities, then document what changes.
During earlier active cooling runs, humid air condensed against chilled atmosphere-tank glass and filled tipping buckets that returned water as rain. The chiller is currently offline for pump repair, so that demonstrated cycle is presented as operating history rather than a live claim.
The full enclosure photograph shows the six habitat chambers and four upper atmosphere-processing tanks. The notes below explain systems that run above, behind, and within the cabinets.
Four vertical 29-gallon processors sit above Biomes 2 through 5. Under active cooling, humid air condensed against their rear glass and collected in tipping rain reservoirs; that cycle is paused while the chiller pump is repaired.
The custom plywood cabinetry uses stepped elevations so freshwater can move by gravity from Freshwater Lake through Lakeshore and into Lowland Meadow.
A waterproof physical barrier situated between Lowland Meadow (Chamber 03) and Mangrove Forest (Chamber 04) prevents saltwater seepage from compromising the freshwater and terrestrial soil chemistry.
A stepper-motor-driven mechanical displacer in Seagrass Meadow generates programmable bidirectional surges with Marine Shore.
ESP32 nodes provide public temperature and humidity context for Biomes 2 through 5 and their atmosphere tanks. Several probes are under remediation, so missing readings remain visibly unavailable.
Microbial biofilms, mangrove root zones, macroalgae, and sediment-dwelling detritivores perform biological filtration and organic-matter breakdown within their habitats.
What the enclosure was built to do, what has been demonstrated, and what is currently under repair.
Water moves through the freshwater chain (Lake → Lakeshore → Meadow) via an engineered elevation gradient. On the marine side, mechanical wave displacers generate bidirectional tidal surges between Marine Shore and Seagrass Meadow.
With the chiller operating, cooled rear glass condensed water vapor into droplets that filled tipping buckets and returned rain to the biomes. The chiller loop is currently offline for pump repair.
Instead of chemical canister filters, the system relies on biological work: microbial biofilms, deep mangrove aerial root networks, macroalgae nutrient uptake, and sediment-burrowing detritivores that recycle organic matter.
Start with the living system, then follow the records that show how it changes. The biosphere, species pages, and chronicles each reveal a different layer of the same connected world.
Supporters are recognized directly on the biosphere, with nameplates placed on the biome cabinets they help sustain. The names below mirror the physical labels inside the miniBIOTA exhibit.
The FAQ answers common questions about the biosphere, species, biome weather, engineering, and support. For new observations and build updates, follow the project channels below.
Read the FAQ