Air Detoxification

[bravobb]

Maybe you have come across or seen it, but this is the first time i am seeing such product in Singapore... Orchard Road department store selling...
The plants are real and there is LED lighting on top to support the plants.
Not sure what kind of substrate are these but they look hard and there is some kind of wool type that goes into the water below with the guppies inside...

Reduced size picture.


Original size.

[Draka]

Wah. Thanks for sharing bro this looks interesting.

[wongce]

I saw this months back in homefix...it claimed the soil is special-made, and the plants can filter out some negative/toxic elements in the air etc. However, you need to change the soil(red gravel) after certain period of time. This system is not cheap, not sure whether it works or not.

The plants the system uses are readily available at shops/pasar malam at a fraction of the cost of the whole system ... But the whole system looks nice though

[Shadow]

Does it mention the detoxification rate? How many liter of air per hour? It is so small, how much can it do?

[bravobb]

This product concept is very similar to the ECO friendly product... (http://www.gizmag.com/ecolife-eco-cy...ics-kit/25981/)
If it is not available here, i might be thinking of DIY one for my 2 feet tank...
I think these people have put alot into the R&D and may not be so easy to get it setup correctly, but i would like to give it a try and i hope to see others doing it so that we have a better success rate.

[Urban Aquaria]

I've seen some DIY setups online using overhead filter boxs and putting lots of plants on top to aid in absorbing the nitrates, quite cool. I guess these are a variation of those "plants-in-sump" setups.

[Urban Aquaria]

I did abit of research on this gadget online and found the website of the firm that makes these, apparently it's from a local company in Singapore.

http://invitro.sg/botanicaire/productinf/

Here is the product manual, which provides an idea on how it works:

http://invitro.sg/wp-content/uploads...2011-07-07.pdf

Seems like a fan-driven air purifier but instead of HEPA filters, it uses plants and some "special bacteria/microbes" to process and remove the toxins from the air.

Not sure how fishes would fare in the water reservoir below though... from their info it seems to be designed to trap and accumulate all the dust and particulates there.

Then i did some further searches and found this photo of its plant cartidge chart on one of the online aquarium forums...



Very interesting stuff!

[bravobb]

Do you want to DIY a similar one for you tank ?
I think everything has to be right on design for it to work if it really works.
Even if we can DIY a similar one, there could be more maintenance to do as compare to this one as i am sure extensive R&D has been carried out on this design.
Maybe we can just get the cartridge and had it planted on top of the tank to experiment it.... anyway the cartridge is not too expensive if it works.
But notice its effectiveness is indoor... or at home with open windows etc... may not be useful.

[Urban Aquaria]

Yeah, that would be an interesting experiment... aquarists are already using the same plants mounted in planter pots and trellis rafts in riparium setups, so its workable.

I guess the main reason to use those particular cartridges is the "special bacteria/microbes" that come with them (apparently that combo is required to detox the air)... otherwise if its just to grow emersed plants at the top of the tank then probably can just DIY some hanging planter pots and foam rafts.

[Urban Aquaria]

Just an update, out of sheer curiosity i went to check it out at the dept stores. It's actually quite a simple system that's based around a 12V fan that draws air in from the top through a pre-filter and carbon filter, the fan blows the air onto the water reservoir below (which will trap dust and particles), then the air flow is diverted up pass the planter boxes, then out the vent openings.

There is quite abit of surface agitation from the air flow on the water, so that should provide sufficient gas exchange/oxygenation in the water. In addition, since a fan is constantly blowing on the water surface, the water would be cooler too (like using a fan in aquarium tanks). Would need to regularly top up water lost from evaporation though.

Point to note, for all those thinking of what kind of fauna to put in the bottom water reservoir, i measured the dimensions and its approx. 18cm diameter and 5.5cm water height... so the water volume is only around 1.5 liters.

With such a small water volume, i personally wouldn't feel comfortable putting fish in there (even though the demo sets manage to cram a few guppies in)... but i'd imagine it could be okay for a few hardy cherry shrimp, just put some moss in with them and feed occasionally.

An idea that came to mind was to perhaps just suspend the entire setup on top of an existing aquarium (without the bottom reservoir), so now the aquarium becomes the reservoir... will need to DIY some method to mount it that way, but it'll be quite a sight, like an instant mega riparium planter set with air detox feature build-in

The planter boxes/cartridges (aka "plant sushi") use a porous stone substrate, and a wool wick dangles down from the base into the water reservoir below. Water soaks up the wick and keeps the planter boxes hydrated.

The entire set itself retails for SGD$298 (with a selection of 4 plant cartridges included). Each plant cartridge if bought separately retails for between SGD$10-$25 each (depending on the plants and configuration).

One thing i noticed is the planter boxes are a nice size and shape to use as riparium planter boxes, so i ended up buying 2 cartridges to try out... i just couldnt resist the tempation ... what i'll be trying out is suspending the cartridges slightly above the waterline in my tank (only let the wool wick go into the water surface), see if can arrange them like riparium planters. Still working out how to mount the planter boxes on my tank though, probably need to DIY magnets to attach them.

[bravobb]

You really fast hand fast leg...I did not even mention the dept store and you already found it... (now i know why...i have left evidence behind)
I am still thinking but you already ACTION !

As you may or may not know, my planned planted tank is not ready so have to depend on you for the test result for now.
Well done !!

By the way, please post some pictures if you can...

[horst]

Marketing hype!. I saw it too. My conclusion: Just a fish tank with some land plants sitting ontop of the lid. Call it what you want as long it sells.

[astro]

I use tank water to water my plants, no need use electricity to operate the fan. Just novelty IMHO