# AquaponicsGarden fish tank thingy



## stim (Apr 20, 2011)

this seems like a bad idea to me, what do you think?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2142509221/home-aquaponics-kit-self-cleaning-fish-tank-that-g

... If you think it's a bad idea, how about leaving a comment on there Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/backtotheroots


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Cool idea, but it would take some work to find the right level of fish for enough but not too much waste for the plants.

In theory it would work, but I doubt its as simple as they advertise.


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## RR37 (Nov 6, 2012)

One more reason to use a quality fish food I guess ?


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

I just left a comment on there website can not believe all the people jumping on this. How do you feed the fish, where does the light come from if you have to leave it in the sun all day the algae is going to build up.The temp in that small tank in the sun will fry the fish. You would have to take it all apart to clean it. Every one leave a comment on the web site.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Not sure what fish to recommend for this small 3 gallon setup.... maybe just large Apple Snails, or Crayfish? This seems really more for educational value on the extremely small scale for children, and maybe people who never wanted to get an aquarium anyways, so they can get "mushrooms" and a fish, though i really wish it was more like 5 - 7.6 gallons to be acceptable for fish. You can always get those crane type lamps from ikea for this setup for the plants. To give it more beneficial bacteria, i think it would have been better to make the space for plants even wider, to fit more rocks, but maybe i am over thinking it for what this is meant for... ie not me.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Oh just thought of that mushrooms only grow in the dark.


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## stim (Apr 20, 2011)

It's for herbs, not mushrooms. The mushrooms are from a different, decent, product.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I don't think the idea is all bad.. but I do wonder how they cope with the inevitable buildup of waste at the bottom of the tank ? Not all the waste is going to go the top with the pumped up water.. if it did, we'd never have to vacuum gravel. And plants, while I've seen some amazing growth in plants I water with what I change out of my tanks, don't use everything that's produced. And I think they're naive if they believe that offside window light will grow herbs and not grow algae. Herbs need a lot of light.. to grow indoors they need either a south or west window or grow bulbs of some kind. 

Like that herb garden kit you can get with built in lights, which costs a small fortune to grow just a few pots of basil or something of that sort. I also wonder about evaporation.. the plants will use up water, some will evaporate, so new water will have to be added.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I sent these folks some comments, asking about the types of fish recommended and about cycling and lighting among other things. My main concern was for the health and well being of any fish involved. 

I got a very nice note back from their chief researcher and had a nice chat with her on the phone today. I expect I will be talking with her again. 

They've already removed goldfish from the list, as it happens. And I mentioned that there are, unfortunately, not many fish that would do well in this kind of setup other than Bettas. But for Bettas, I think it would work. 

They're talking to the guy who invented BioSpira too, about cultures to include to get the cycle started. They want to educate the public about the nitrogen cycle and how it works, and they are aware that the bacteria won't establish overnight. They're quite serious about this project and I really hope they have success at it. 

I think this could be quite a good thing down the line both for the fish hobby in general and for aquaponics too, though there are sure to be some growing pains to start with. But right now, how many people out there are buying a fish or two and a small tank and not doing anything right, so the fish die and they give up ? At least this is going to have some good information, but in the end, only the buyer is responsible for what happens to any fish that might be kept in such a tank. And that's the same for any tank, any fish, anywhere.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

thanks for sharing, i sure am happy they removed the goldfish from the list!!!


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