Urban farming, living off the grid, surviving a zombie apocalypse, spaceflight, and Formula 1 racing. Those seemingly unrelated activities do, in fact, have something in common: the people who are successful at them understand that 1 object can serve many purposes.
Sometimes it’s a wood-chopping axe that you use to bust open zombie skulls, other times it’s a rear-view mirror that’s shaped like an inverted wing to eke out that extra thousandth of a second on a race car. This time, though, I’m talking about a 10-gallon fish tank that’s been re-imagined as a hydroponic indoor garden for urban/apartment farming.
Going with my theme, this 10-gallon fish tank is more than a 10-gallon fish tank – it’s an ecosystem. More to the point, it’s an ecosystem that is largely under-utilized … that’s where the Blue Green Box comes in. The Blue Green Box is a fully-contained hydroponic/aquaponic system that mounts to the top of a standard 10-gallon aquarium. The ‘Box holds 4 hydroponic “grow beds” (the cups) which are plastic planters filled with gravel. Water floods the four grow-beds on timed intervals via a programmable timer and small pump (if the roots were constantly flooded they would drown). As that happens, the plants extract the nutrients from the fish waste and the cups get flooded so the roots will not dry out.
Ignoring the fact that the ‘Box itself is white, the name makes sense in a “water is blue”, “plants is green” sort of way. Here’s the original video from the ‘Box’s Kickstarter page, which goes into a bit more detail …
… which really makes you want to kick yourself in a “Why didn’t I think of that!?” sort of way for not seeing the hydroponic potential of your own fish tank, doesn’t it?
Maybe it’s just me.
无论如何,蓝绿盒子的制造商——包括拥有数十年生产经验的工业设计专业人士——只有大约一周的时间来实现他们的融资目标,并表示需要资金来提高产量。如果他们达到了他们的目标,他们将在数控机床上制造部件,然后在美国手工组装部件。第一批“盒子”将在8月底前准备好发货。
Sponsored | Photos By: the Blue Green Box, viaKickstarter.
Ted Kellersays
感兴趣,多少钱?
Jo Borrássays
You should click the Kickstarter video, but I think the kit is $75? Not bad.
John Deeresays
An elegant solution. Could easily grow fresh herbs used daily, such as oregano, thyme, even cilantro.
Sissy Hutchingsays
Super interested in this item. How much do they cost? Will you make them to fit any aquarium? I have several aquariums and would love to turn them all into gardens. Also interested in building a large aquarium to house perch or tilapia, would love to get a blue green box to fit it (I would be motivated to finish sooner if I knew this were possible. Please get back with me. Thanks.
Sarah Cherry Jumelsays
Does this work via aeroponics? I was hoping to use it for rooting.
CHRISTINA REEDsays
This is what I’m looking for, I think. By when are these available? I don’t really see a price point either. Maybe I’m navigating wrong.