The AquaGarden - Grow fresh herbs out of your freshwater aquarium!

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junginit

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Jan 10, 2014
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Hey everyone, I combined my aquarium with the art of aquaponics, and created a fresh-herb garden that feeds off the tank!

Thought I’d share it here.

It’s made owning a tank much easier (because the plants auto-clean the water), and more functional since I get fresh herbs out of it.

With the system I’ve built:
The fish waste fertilizes the plants, and the plants clean the water in the tank. So it makes the whole system very sustainable and clean.

Instead having to clean the tank twice a month like before, I only have to clean it once a year thanks to this system!

Here’s some pictures:

The mint I have growing in there has been taking of with this system.



You can see the auto-siphon in the grow box. It automatically takes out excess clean water and puts it back into the tank.



The grow box has an LED light strip to light the tank (instead of a fluorescent light). This saves energy, and you can also change the color of the light just by pushing a button!

If you like fresh herbs for cooking, then this is a cool solution that also LOOKS good!

Benefits of using the grow box:
-Produces fresh herbs.
-Looks good.
-The plants clean the water in your tank.
-Less cleaning thanks to the plants. Only had to clean the tank once a year.
-Turns fish waste into fertilizer for the plants.

Drawbacks of using the grow box:
-Because of the extra evaporation from the plants, you need to just add a glass of water to the tank everyday. I just dump a tall glass of water in every morning.


Anyhow, that’s the cool little grow box I made. The complete thing cost about $40 in material from Home Depot, and took about 5 hours to assemble fully.
I’ve made a couple of these for my friends already, and they’re loving them!



I’m happy to answer any questions or show you more about this grow box, just reply to the thread and I’ll answer them (and try to include pics for anyone wanting to build their own)!

Sincerely,
Bryan
 
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huapala

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Jul 25, 2013
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Huapala
I had a similar set up. You will still want to do regular cleanings and water changes though. there is no way your mint is going to use up all of the nitrate or phosphorus from waste unless you only have two 1" fish with very small bioloads. You will want to supplment with fe in order to see maximum growth (can make a good organic mix from honey, wormcastings and spirulina). You will find that after a while, it is not a proper venue to observe fish and has a lot of limiting factors. The growbed being directly ontop of the tank leaves very little room for adjustments inside and makes in difficult to attach lighting for better viewing asthetics. Good job tho! Aquaponics is great fun. E hoomau aku

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junginit

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Jan 10, 2014
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The noise isn't bad. Like a small fountain and then a gurgle for a few seconds when the siphon stops sucking the water.

For the lighting I got a led strip and stuck it to the bottom of the grow box. It works well. You can see the reflection in one of the pictures.
 
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qwe123

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Jul 30, 2008
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Western Mass
Besides mint, what herbs would do well with their roots constantly being wet like that?

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junginit

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Jan 10, 2014
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So with the auto siphon the the grow bed is constantly being filled and drained, probably 2 times a minute. So the roots are not just sitting in water, they receive oxygen as well.

I had a jalapeno, banana pepper, and basil plant so far. I know that lettuce and similar plants would do fine as well. It all depends on how much light the plants have or need. I only have indirect light on this grow bed and the mint has done the best so far. The window it is buy doesn't get a lot of light. The other plants grew, just not as fast as the mint. I am still playing around with the extra light for the plants.
 

mela

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May 9, 2011
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Very nice. Is it a steady flow of water? What herbs are you growing? The reason for these questions I have started an aquaponics system and have been that herbs won`t grow in the system hence the questions. Great idea might try it inside too.. tks
 

ZorroNet

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Dave
First: Great idea!

Mint is tenacious to say the least. It will grow just about anywhere, and it will take over your yard if you plant it terrestrially. You should consider building a little light bar over the plants with a few more of those LED strips. I will caution you about one thing I noticed though...

"Water-proof RGB" LED strips are not such a great idea. I have tried and failed with them 3 times. Moisture eventually compromises them when they are on for extended periods. The heat from them hardens and cracks the silicone coating. Anyway, you will notice that suddenly you have a rainbow of dim light or dead points within the strip. (Look for black marks on the copper where the cut lines are.) It can happen slowly or quickly, but protect them from direct water exposure, or you will be sorry. I suggest you use 6500K white lights for your plants and skip on RGB.
 

huapala

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Jul 25, 2013
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if you feel like wasting two minutes you can see my old setup that incorporated a horticulture cfl to grow kale indoors. this video shows the set up and the seeds 5 days after being planted. I could harvest around 10 oz of kale every 6weeks.
[video=youtube_share;ZUpFIv5B30E]http://youtu.be/ZUpFIv5B30E[/video]
 

FishFanMan

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Jun 13, 2013
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Naperville, IL
I love these! And your setup is very nice. If I were to try this, I think I would make some contraption that would allow the plants to grow in the tank and let the roots grow down into the fish tank. That would eliminate the need for pumps. Maybe some day..
 
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