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AquaSprouts Aquaponics Garden, Self-Sustaining Desktop Aquarium Hydroponics Ecosystem Kit, fits Standard 10 Gallon Aquariums

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$135.96

$ 60 .99 $60.99

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About this item

  • The AquaSprouts Garden is a self-sustaining aquarium & aquaponics kit for the home, office or school
  • Fish fertilize the plants. Plants clean the water for the fish. Once up & running, aquaponics requires minimal water changes & no filter replacements
  • Grow your favorite veggies, herbs and greens anywhere, all-year-round. No need for added fertilizers—let your fish friends provide the nutrients your plants need
  • Perfect tool to explore how our natural environment works and great option for those with limited space
  • Fits any standard 10-Gallon aquarium (approximately 20" X 10" X 12") from any manufacturer (not included)



Product Description

Aquaponics Hydroponics Aquarium Garden

Dive in & Get Growing with the AquaSprouts Aquaponic Garden

It's not magic - it's nature! Aquaponics employs the same principles as the natural world. Imagine having a living ecosystem to grow, learn and discover with-all in your own home. The AquaSprouts Garden transforms your aquarium into a self-sustaining ecosystem using the beauty of aquaponics.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: 28" L, 8" W (10" with 10-gallon aquarium), and 17" H (35" H with light bar)
Color: Matte black
Material: Custom molded grow-bed housing constructed from durable black polypropylene plastic, with black powder-coated aluminum steel lighting mounts
Pump & Plumbing: Adjustable depth flood-and-drain style grow bed controlled by a mechanical timer. 160 gallons per hour submersible pump (10 Watts/120V)
Capacity: Standard 10-gallon aquarium approximately 20" x 10" x 12"
Plant types: Grow houseplants and low-maintenance ornamentals anywhere; place in the sun or add a grow light and grow herbs, greens, and many small-statured fruits and vegetables
Fish types: Many varieties of barbs, tetras, platies, mollies, guppies, danios, minnows, Corydoras and most other small freshwater fish
Certification: ETL Listed for US and Canada - Complies with UL & CSA
Included with the AquaSprouts Garden, Pump & Timer, Light Bar

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

  • AquaSprouts Garden: The custom-molded, single-piece Garden bed snaps together easily with the supporting legs. Modern matte black design complements a range of styles.
  • Light Bar: A removable light bar to which you can affix any standard indoor grow light of your choice- ideal for places with insufficient natural light sources.
  • Pump & Timer: Submersible 160 gallon per hour pump & a mechanical timer.
  • Expanded Clay: Replaces soil from traditional gardening & serves as the support for your plants.

NATURAL AQUARIUM

The Garden's design is simple, freestanding, and virtually maintenance-free, making indoor gardening and a beautiful aquarium accessible to anyone regardless of experience with fish or plants. Eliminating the need for traditional synthetic nutrients by using principles that recycle wastes in natural ecosystems, making upkeep as simple as feeding your fish. The Garden fits any standard 10-gal aquarium, including existing tanks, making it the perfect way to grow fresh herbs/ornamentals anywhere.

AquaSprouts Aquaponics Aquarium Garden
Hydroponics Aquaponics Plants

Natural Balance

Aquaponics sets itself apart from traditional aquariums and water gardens by requiring minimal maintenance, even after it's up and running

Classroom Hydroponics Aquaponics Garden

Sow & Discover

Grow your favorite herbs & greens all-year-round in any location. Have fresh produce available to you at any time of the year, just feed your fish

Aquaponics Aquarium Fish

Functional

Fully functional indoor garden and aquarium system that allows you to grow plants and keep fish in an integrated ecosystem

Classroom Aquaponics Hydroponics System

Educational

Through specialized curricula educators provide students with a unique learning experience that engages curiosity & appreciation for the natural world

  • In aquaponics, you don't have to change the water as often as in a traditional aquarium. However, performing partial water changes (usually 10-20%) on a quarterly basis is recommended.

  • There is a 2-inch gap between the grow-bed and the aquarium to easily accommodate accessories like automatic feeders and heaters. This space also facilitates fish feeding. For full aquarium access, you can slide the Garden forwards or backwards.

  • The AquaSprouts Garden is perfect for not only growing herbs & keeping a clean aquarium but also teaching chemistry, biology, and ecology. It's a dynamic ecosystem model that engages kids by showing how fish food transforms into plant growth.

  • You'll need gravel/decor, fish, fish food and water conditioner or a source of dechlorinated water. A grow light is optional but broadens plant options. Consider a tank heater for cold environments as most fish need warm temperatures.

  • The Garden is low-maintenance, needing only regular fish feeding and water top-offs. Pruning promotes healthy growth and prevents overcrowding, helping plants thrive. Regular upkeep of your aquaponic system is necessary for its success and health.


poozerparty
Reviewed in Canada on September 3, 2018
Love this product so far, but be prepared for some work. You’ll need to purchase a grow light and a 10 gallon tank to complete the set up. It’s much larger than I thought it would be. It’s a good looking setup overall though!I did have a minor problem with the pump timer, but I called customer service and they sent me a replacement immediately. This product really does have fantastic customer service. If you have any questions, they’re definitely there for you.Will most likely update this review, once I’m further along in the growing process, and my tank is stocked with fish.
Katy
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2018
So I gave this plenty of time before reviewing. My tank is not yet mature (the cloudy water is due to this), but I think I have figured out how it works. This has been really fun and interesting but also frustrating at times (like any project). Now that everything's ironed out, I love it. So far I've got nerite snails (5), mystery snails (2), assassin snails (2), devil snails (2), dwarf shrimp (10 and counting, they are breeding like crazy), a pom pom crab, a clam, a plecco, a school of neon tetras (6), a betta and breeding platies (4 adult, lots of fry) living happily and feeding some mixed flowers. Here's some pointers I've learned along the way.First of all the kit is NOT all that you need. Someone else said you need another filter and I don't agree at all- it's surprisingly effective to do it the natural way. I was worried it wouldn't be as effective as a normal filter, too, but it's actually the best filtration I've ever used, now I want to build aquaponic beds onto all freshwater tanks/paludaria I set up. My tank is overstocked for a traditional setup but this setup handles the waste fine. What you DO need instead of a mechanical filter, though, is an undergravel filter. Without this, your substrate will become anaerobic and toxic as gunk builds up. You could just vacuum it, but it would be hard with the tiny gap in the back and anotherthing I recommend is planting the tank, and that means you can't vacuum it without messing up your plants. Why plant it then? Because it makes the pump easier to hide, decaying plant matter helps feed your plants up top, your fish like them, they help oxygenate an otherwise stagnant environment, and they help absorb anything not taken care of by the aquaponics. Also, the stuff you use in a planted tank will help your plants up top too- I use and recommend seachem products and nutrients and aquatic arts foods, which are safe and beneficial to plants. Seachem stability will make cycling, super important here, pretty much foolproof. You'll also need an LED for inside the tank and a way to attach it (I used outdoor Velcro tape to mount it under the grow bed), a heater, an airstone and air pump to run the UGF and oxegynate the water between times the pump is running, and a grow light for up top- putting it in front of a sunny window won't do it. The main drawback to this system is how inaccessible the tank is. So there are a couple ways to help this. One is to make it as self sustaining as possible by automating as much as you can and picking the life forms thoughtfully to mirror a real ecosystem, thereby minimizing the amount you need to get into it. I used more invertebrates and herbivores than higher organisms- the top predator of the tank is just the betta who is there to eat the platy fry, and the platies, which are only small omnivores. Because a 10 gallon tank is tiny, I would stick to peaceful fish that don't mind close quarters. Gouramis, rainbow fish and some small cichlids could work, technically, but I feel like they'd be stressed and cramped. I'd recommend tetras, platies, Guppies, danios, goldfish, female bettas or one male betta.... Things like that. Even small aggressive(ish) fish like barbs might not like this environment. Anything that requires a constant current will not like this tank either. You want easy small fish that are basically incapable of hurting each other and in their wild environments live in stagnant or nearly stagnant water. I also planted a grassy covering in the substrate, aquatic moss and plants like swords which are rooted plants that suck up a lot of nutrients, and some stem plants like hornwort that need attention... A pretty diverse choice of plants with all of them doing different things. Up top, I picked ornamental flowers. Why? Because the bed is too small to be truly productive, so if it's just for looks anyway you might as well, but more importantly, flowering plants suck up waaaaaay more nutrients than grasses or herbs. Tomatoes, cucumber, strawberries (or any berry) those would work if you really want it to make food. Anything that puts out a flower and fruit (fruit in the botanical sense) will be a much better filter than anything that doesn't. As far as automation, I bought some smart outlets that I could program with an app so I rarely have to mess with the lights and pump (for fun I put a blue LED in the back that comes on at night), and an automatic feeder because it's kind of a pain to reach around to the tiny gap in the back. Once it's all set up I barely have to mess with it. The other way to deal with the lack of accessibility is to make it easier to take apart. As it is it's pretty much impossible to disconnect the pump and remove the grow bed to get into the tank more than a few inches. So I bought some (clear) tubing from Home Depot with a bigger interior diameter that just slips off, and used a hose clamp to attach it up top and stop it from leaking. Now if I want to get in there, I just loosen the hose clamp and it comes right off. Last thing I'd recommend, definitely go to the manufacturer's website. They sell light bar extenders that aren't on Amazon which you'll probably want once the plants get big, and the forums are great. BUT, I wouldn't recommend anything else they sell as accessories- the grow light sucks, buy a good one (mine is for growing pot), and the under gravel filter is overpriced and off brand.Some complaints that gave me pause before buying this, and why they're wrong/how to fix them:It's cheap flimsy plastic. Or, it's ugly. Yes it is thin plastic. But it's perfectly structurally sound, sturdy, and if you think it's ugly, you should see a real aquaponics setup. Compared to anything you could make yourself, it's very attractive.It's loud. When the pump is on, for 15 minutes every hour, the water level will sink as water from the tank fills the grow bed. When it drains, the splashing is kind of loud. It's made quieter by putting something on the drains-either using aquarium decorations or fitting some tubing to the bottom of the grow bed so that the water is not just splashing down.The filtration isn't strong enough. This is just incorrect. The people who say this must either have grossly overstocked tanks or have not started their plants before adding fish. If you want to cycle your water and establish your plants root systems with fish, you can, but you'll need something to detoxify ammonia and also some live nitrifying bacteria. Like seachem stability and Prime or am guard. If you don't know what you're doing, I would say start with snails and algae tablets while cycling. The snails will produce a minut amount of ammonia to cultivate nitrifying bacteria, and the algae tabs will feed your snails and provide some nutrients to your plants while they get their root systems developed enough to be an effective filter.It's hard to get the height of the grow light right. Go to the manufacturer's website and order the light bar extenders. Start with the light on the kit at the height it comes, and make it taller as needed. Just hang your grow light with the hardware provided or zip ties or anything, and rather than mess with the light itself add or subtract extenders.The plants don't grow. If you've never grown anything hydroponically before it makes sense to expect to put seeds in the ground and have them grow with water. But there are no nutrients in the grow medium itself. Just like any other hydroponic system. So if you're starting your plants before you put fish in, which you should, the plants will germinate but won't survive or thrive for long because the water has no nutrients until the fish are pooping in it. Even if you don't plan on planting your tank, you should use some seachem flourish for really robust plant growth. It's a nutrient mix that is safe for fish. Seachem also makes some separate nitrogen, potassium, iron and phosphate nutrients for specific mineral deficiencies that you might find helpful. Honestly, I don't work for seachem or anything, but I can't recommend their products enough especially for this setup. If you try to buy conventional hydroponics nutrients and look at the ingredients on the back you'll find arsenic, mercury, cyanide, lead, all kinds of nasty stuff for animal life, because many hydroponic nutrients are made from kelp or seaweed, which sequester those toxic materials (that's why they're a great thing to have in your real Marine ecosystem but not such a great thing to grind up whole and disperse through your terrestrial ecosystem). Fish emulsion does not have as much of the same toxins, but obviously it's not a great thing to put in a fish tank. It's ground up dead fish and fish poop. In a fish tank environment it will start producing ammonia spikes very quickly.Overall this thing is a great introduction to aquaponics and I've learned a lot and had a lot of fun with it. It's not fancy but it definitely works, and setting it up has taught me how to build my own larger system. When I do, I'll definitely do things differently (probably build a freshwater refugium on the side to handle the pump, heater, a skimmer, etc. and 2 stagger stacked grow beds for more access) but this is meant to be workable with a non-custom system and it definitely is that. I definitely reccomend it for any biology nerd or experienced aquarist, but if you had no idea what you were doing you could still figure it out, just might lose some fish first. I actually haven't lost so much as a snail or shrimp yet, and that's not easy in a new tank, so as a functional filtration system it definitely works. The fish seem happier in higher concentrations than a normal tank and I used way less chemicals. You never, repeat NEVER, have to do water changes, which almost broke my brain. You don't have to change filters. If you check the water daily like I did you'll be bored with how consistent it is. Dump vinegar in the tank and it will bounce back within an hour. All fishtanks should work like this. As it turns out, nature knows best again. Highly recommend, just do your research and understand that like all fishtanks it's an expensive and time consuming project.Edit 2/1/20Still works great. Over time I've made some minor changes- I switched to herbs up top, because it turned out that I really didnt *need* as much nutrient-sucking up there as I originally thought, so I gradually switched them out for herbs and that works fine. I've had rosemary, basil, sage, and flat leaf parsley, all have done well and provide all the filtration I need.My crab escaped, presumably up the pump tube, after about 6 months- so maybe the tank isn't quite secure enough for animals like him or african dwarf frogs or certain snails that are known to escape.I've added a cory catfish recently to help clean the sediment.About once a year I have to take all the plants out and wash the grow medium- otherwise the drains and uptake for the pump get clogged with roots and it builds up dead root gunk. I just put it all in a bucket and use a colander to rinse scoops of it until the water runs clear, then return it to the grow bed. After this treatment I use some seachem prime to dechlorinate the water that sticks to it, and some sachem flourish advance (basically a safe-for-fish root stimulant) to help the plants recover as you have to do significant damage to their roots to detach them from the media balls. I call it my annual ball washing (I'm female). It's kind of a pain but I make light of it.So yeah, still loving this thing.
Lucette Lessard
Reviewed in Canada on August 11, 2018
Concernant cet aquarium/aquaponie je suis vraiment déçue, je perds des poissons et mes fines herbes presque toutes mortes, donc ça revient très dispendieux ça ne vaut pas ce prix. Voici une photo de ce qu’il me reste de poissons et de fines herbes.
Juan Francisco Fierro
Reviewed in Mexico on October 1, 2017
Excelente calidad. Ideal para un regalo. La estética es muy buena y su funcionamiento también. Lo recomiendo ampliamente. Vale cada peso pagado por él
Dave
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2017
This kit was designed to incorporate a 10 gallon aquarium into an aquaponics system. It comes with a growth bed and support stands that allow it to fit snugly over an aquarium. It also has plant light supports but does not come with a grow light. There is a pump with a timer and a transparent flexible PVC tube that runs from the aquarium to the bottom of the overhanging growth bed. Water is pumped into the growth bed and is then drained back into the aquarium via two drains that are located on either side of the bed. The bed itself can be filled with clay pellets.I had to modify this kit to fit my aquarium because I wanted the fish to have some live plants, Since the live plants would require lighting, I needed to include an overhanging hood with LED light. Since the growth bed fit too snugly over the aquarium, I elevated it by putting a brick under each leg. I then had to cut away the back corners of the aquarium lid. If I hadn't done this, the water drains would have been obstructed and water would have cascaded off the cover and onto the floor.The draining water fell 6-8 inches from the bottom of the growth bed into the aquarium. To avoid having the plunging water stir up the aquarium and unnecessarily alarm the fish, I stood two pieces of drift wood in the tank and leaned them against the back corners. The turbulence of the water has been reduced because water draining from the growth bed now hits the drift wood.The clay pellets float and when I first tested the system, the rising water actually began pushing the top layers of pellets out of the growth bed. I removed some of the pellets and because each of these pellets are about the size of a small marble, I had concerns about loose seeds falling to the bottom of the bed. To avoid losing my seeds, I purchased a biostrate hydroponic growing mat (through Amazon) that I lay on top of the pellets. I sprinkled seeds over the mat, covered them with a damp paper towel and let them germinate.I have included a picture of my tank set up (though you cannot see the brick supports on either side). I have also included a picture of my first planting of fenugreek which is doing quite well after just 1 1/2 weeks of growth.UPDATED May 2, 2017After harvesting fenugreek to feed to a pet rabbit, I tried planting herbs from Home Depot. I planted English Thyme, Chocolate Mint, and Basil using the biodegradable containers the plants came in. To ensure that the roots didn't drown, I added an air pump to the aquarium. It's been 3 weeks and the plants are THRIVING. I've had to remove some of the clay pellets and estimate that I'm currently using about a third of the amount I originally received.I am pleased overall with this product.