I first caught wind of the Back to the Roots Aqua Farm, the self-cleaning fish tank that grows food, via Kickstarter. The campaign had been completed by the time I got there, but I pretty much stalked the page waiting for the “coming soon” to change to “it’s available.” I love this product! It is sustainable, cool and fun!
You can grow a variety of fresh produce, including spinach, baby greens, oregano, beans, basil, mint, parsley & thyme. I am fascinated by the options!
Here’s how it’s happening inside the tank:
- 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!
- All you need to do is feed your fish.
The Aqua Farm comes basically vanilla, so it’s fully customizable to make it your own. The backdrop you see in my Aqua Farm is a photo from Junaphotography’s collection. My betta, HippyFish, doesn’t care that he lives in a Pocono Mountain setting with seashells, stones and crystals. The full tank set up makes me feel good every time I stand at at the sink.
You can see in the picture that the greens really do grow on the rocks! Some seeds come with the tank, but I wanted more variety. Seeds of Change are what they ship, which worked for me because that was the brand I had for planting Dill and Cilantro. I also have two different kinds of basil growing, and a wheat grass.
Here’s a bit more information from the product webpage:
The Aqua Farm Self-Cleaning Fish Tank that Grows Food:
- Includes everything you need to get started as well as organic seeds and a discount coupon for a Betta fish
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- Sleek and attractive design with 3-gallon capacity
- Perfect for your kitchen or classroom. Also makes a great gift
- Designed and manufactured in California (and that is why it was featured on GreenInRedWhiteBlue)
We are thrilled with the Aqua Farm, and are genuinely happy we bought it. Not a moment of buyer’s regret for the $59.99 spent.
You can order directly from the Back to the Roots webpage, or one of the many other options popping up. We ordered ours from Abe’s Market, because I like their style, and so I could support two companies in one purchase.
We would love to hear from other Aqua Farmers!
Related Articles:
Harvesting your own garden
Green Choices we need to make for our kids
Say NO-Frankenseeds in my garden