Home Aquaponics Kit: A Self-Cleaning Fish Tank that Grows Food

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Home Aquaponics Kit: A Self-Cleaning Fish Tank that Grows Food

Project Title: Home Aquaponics Kit: Self-Cleaning Fish Tank That Grows Food

Status: Funded, with only 37 hours left (at this posting)

Closing Date for Funding: 1:59am CST December 15, 3012

URL of the ProjectHome Aquaponics Kit

Home Aquaponics Kit: A Self-Cleaning Fish Tank that Grows Food

From the Creatives:

Grow fresh produce right in the comfort of your own home – beans, basil, thyme, baby greens, oregano, mint, parsley, spinach and so many other delicious foods!

• So what’s happening inside? The fish, they poo and they pee, and all that waste-water gets broken down by beneficial bacteria into nutrients
• The waste-water from the fish is then pumped up & upcycled as an awesome organic fertilizer for the plants. The plants take up the nutrients and, at the same time, clean the water which then falls back down for the fish.
• There is no soil – the plants are growing just on rocks – all the nutrients coming from the fish (no need for any artificial fertilizers – it’s all organic!!)
• There is no need to clean the water because of the plants – it’s a self-cleaning fish tank!

What Can I Grow?: Choose from a variety of fresh produce, including spinach, baby greens, oregano, beans, basil, mint, parsley & thyme.

All You Have to Do is Feed Your Fish: You can pick from a ton of different types of fish that will work great in the system – including our favorite, the Betta fish we have pictured in our system!

Each Aquaponics Garden comes with the entire system – ready to go & no assembly required!

Kit Includes:

The tank & garden top – food and pet safe!
Air pump to bring your nutrients up and oxygenate the water
5 pots with pebbles (from which the plants will grow)
Organic seeds (mixture of various herbs)
Fish food and water conditioners to get started right away
Just add water & fish and watch your system take off! Our goal was to make this incredibly intuitive and easy to setup!

Home Aquaponics Kit: A Self-Cleaning Fish Tank that Grows Food

Who at Gear Diary Backed It: Dan and Judie

At What Level Did We Back: $50

Why We Backed It: I have a Betta fish, and while it would seem that one little fish on his own would be easy to care for, I have been completely blown away by how quickly his water gets fouled.

Since Bettas are not friendly or social, they don’t really warrant a larger aerated tank; you can’t add other creatures to the tank to help clean their waste, because they will kill them.

I love that in between cleaning days, Brad (yes, that’s his name) is a really low maintenance pet — just a measured dose of his pellets, and he is good to go. But on tank cleaning days? Brad suddenly seems like the most disgusting pet ever.

I love the idea of this closed ecosystem where I can grow herbs that I would want to use while cooking anyway, on the top of a tank that has been designed to fertilize those plants with Brad’s copious amounts of waste.

What a concept! Brad gets a clean home, the plants get the food they need, and I don’t have any extra cleaning to do! I like it!

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How’s Communication From the Creatives Been?: They have posted regular updates on the Kickstarter page; so far so good!

What Has the Experience Been: Great! I am excited to receive the tank. Because it isn’t expected to ship until February, there is a holiday card that you can download and use, so that gift recipients will know what they have coming.

Would You Recommend this Kickstarter Project?: Yes!! But you should hurry and get in on the Kickstarter Aquaponics deal, because the price for each tank will go up to $75 when they are offered after the campaign ends. I ordered two! =)

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.

1 Comment on "Home Aquaponics Kit: A Self-Cleaning Fish Tank that Grows Food"

  1. I backed this project as well. Aquaponics growing systems are very interesting and I’m excited to have a small scale system to try out at home.

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