Botanicaire "Plant Sushi" as Riparium Planters?

[Urban Aquaria]

Thanks to bravobb for spotting this product and highlighting it this other thread.

I managed to have a look at the Botanicaire air purifier recently from In Vitro (a local company in Singapore). Their air purifier uses plants as part of a system to filter and remove harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the air.



Photo Source: In Vitro Pte Ltd

You can read more about how their system works over at their website: Botanicaire

The air purifier itself looks nice... but as an aquarium hobby enthusiast, what i was more keen on was the possibility of using the individual pots of plants (which the company calls "Plant Sushi") as planter pots to hang at the back of aquarium tanks to mimic riparium-style layouts.

On a side note, i guess it'll be cheaper to buy similar plants directly from plant nurseries or florist shops and then house them in suitable planter boxes... but for those who already got a Botanicaire unit, you can just try it out with your existing planters too.

Here is a look at the "Plant Sushi" sets (which can be bought separately, there are many different plants to choose from).



The plants are packed in curved plastic boxes with seramis clay granules as the substrate.



Under each plastic plant box there is a length of wool wick which is designed to soak in water from a reservoir below to hydrate the plants above.



I figured it would be interesting to see if i could hang them on an aquarium tank like riparium planter boxes... i didn't have any strong magnets or special holders, so i simply used some wooden clothes pins to clip them to the back of one of my tanks.



As you can see, i positioned the plastic plant boxes just above the water surface, while the wool wick is allowed to dangle down and dip into the water.

Note that i had to lower the water level in the tank to accommodate the plastic pots (most riparium setups are only filled partway to make room for the overhanging plants and pots too). In addition, with such layouts, i wouldn't be able to use light sets which mount on the sides of the tank, so i'll have to use lights suspended higher from above instead.

Looks like an interesting alternative method to use such planter boxes.

[cdckjn]

Cool idea, can DIY yourself the planter box.

[felix_fx2]

Previously there was someone (i already clean forgotten who) mentioned to me using Daiso plastic boxes and drill hole for suckers & on the base for water as a alternative to getting planter cups.

[Urban Aquaria]

Previously there was someone (i already clean forgotten who) mentioned to me using Daiso plastic boxes and drill hole for suckers & on the base for water as a alternative to getting planter cups.

Yup, i've also tried using those hanging plastic boxes from Daiso for storing kitchen/bathroom items before, look abit "bathroom-style" though, but they work too.

I was actually looking to order the hanging planter cup sets and floating rafts from Riparium Supply (unfortunately they only ship to US and UK), 'cos i like their transparent plastic holder and magnet attachment design... so i'm currently searching for clear plastic holders of the right size and shape locally to see if can DIY and try out.

[felix_fx2]

Ok lah, can work well ok already.

[cdckjn]

the wick material can get some foam or similar material, it should also function well to bring up the water.