Gizmodo Australia » fish tanks

Floating Garden Freshwater Aquarium Concept Uses 100% Vegetation Filtration To Keep Fish Happy

Adrian Covert — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

If this aquarium doesn’t qualify as green innovation, then I don’t know what does. Because using a small garden to filter out nitrates from your freshwater fish tank is pretty damn eco-conscious.

Designed by Benjamin Graindorge and Duende Studio, this tank not only looks nice, but uses some simple ingenuity to accomplish the task of water filtration.

Here’s how it works: nitrate-heavy water from your fish tank is pulled up into the garden, where it is passed over a layer of river sand, which uses bacteria to convert impurities into nitrates. The water is then passed over some plant life, which naturally absorbs the nitrates as nutrients. Then the purified water is thrown back down into the fish tank, where your gilled friends can swim at ease.

CoolHunting says there are plans for the Floating Garden to go into production in 2010, both in plastic and ceramic iterations. [Duende Studio via CoolHunting]

Hydroglass Allows You To Shower While Lying Down On a Fish Tank

Sean Fallon — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Showering standing up? That’s for savages. I want to lie down when I bathe—and I want it to be on a bed of colourful fish. I want a Hydroglass.

In addition to the fish tank base, Hydroco’s Hydroglass unit can feature a 7-head rainbar, heated aquabed, warm water mattress and other accessories when fully decked out. It’s going to start a revolution of laziness in the bathroom. That’s right—sooner or later we will be able to poop lying down. What a day that will be. [Hydroco via Born Rich via DVICE]

Aquawalls For Creating an Imaginary Undersea Abode

Brian Lam — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:30:41 +0000

I fantasise about replacing all my windows with flat aquariums, filling them with coral and reef life (rays, lobster, clownfish), lighting them with full-spectrum bulbs and calling myself Namor. [Aquawall via BornRich]

Fish Tank Bus Stop May Not Be Entirely Practical

Adam Frucci — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Wouldn’t it be nice, while waiting for the bus, to have an aquarium full of fish to look at? At least for those first few days, until they die, at which point it’d get depressing.

This bus stop is a real design coming out of Brazil, dubbed “AqurioMania.” Due to the ridiculous expenses involved with setting up a working aquarium outside at a bus stop and hiring people to keep the fish fed and the tank clean, I doubt it’ll ever actually be used. But you’ve got to wonder what kind of graffiti this would attract. [Cubeme via The Design Blog]

Duplex Bird Cage/Fish Tank Blows Your Pets’ Tiny Minds

Wilson Rothman — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:10:00 +0000

People who have birds and fish probably set the cage near the tank, but the Duplex stacks the two—cage on bottom, tank on top—in a genius move that everyone except the pets themselves will enjoy.

The fish tank has a deep concave bottom like a wine bottle, so that the bird can fly up “into” the tank. I don’t know what kind of enjoyment the fish would get out of this, but I imagine the birds would be entertained, up till the moment they realise that fish can suddenly fly higher than they can. The fish, on the other hand, won’t notice a damn thing. Cuz they’re fish.

There are some structural issues I have with the design, issues you might have as well. The disc-shaped base of the thing had better weigh a ton to support not only the very tall bird cage, but the heavy water-filled (glass?) bowl atop it. And anyone who’s ever owned birds or fish will be wondering about how to clean the damn Duplex—one hopes at least that the fish tank’s green gunk build-up reaches the point of intolerability at the exact same the bird droppings do, but chances are you’ll be disassembling that thing all the time just to keep your little lovelies from croaking. [Yanko Designs]

USB Hub/Paperclip holder/Fish Tank, May be Worst USB Gizmo Ever

Gizmodo US Edition — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:51:00 +0000

A four-way, USB 2.0 hub. A magnetic paperclip holder. A fake fish tank. A seven-colour LED illuminator. Mix them all together, and what have you got? Yes: possibly the worst USB gizmo ever. I mean, what’s next? A USB hub with built-in electric dog-polisher? I don’t know though: if you’re a collector of USB naffness then maybe you’d prize this thing… available now for US$20. [Gadget4All]

RhythmFish Helps Your Goldfish Say “I Love You” (or “You Suck”)

Wilson Rothman — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:45:00 +0000

RhythmFish is a suction-cupped USB webcam concept that sticks to the side of a fishbowl, tracking the movements of your little shiny-scaled compadres. Sensors inside the bowl measure the “currents” made by fish swimming, and your computer combines both data feeds into a visualisation meant for “inter-organism communication.” Talking to goldfish? From the looks of the invention, I thought designer Sangmin Bae had seen one too many Terry Gilliam flicks, but on second thought, he may just be addicted to American Dad. [Coroflot via OhGizmo]

Moody Acquario: Bathing With The Fishes

Sean Fallon — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:00:00 +0000

There is something about aquariums that is just plain cool—and the Moody Acquario is definitely a cool bathtub. While I can see where the designers got the idea, the logic behind the US$14,500 price tag is a little harder to fathom. I mean, the design itself is pretty basic and it doesn’t look all that comfortable to sit in. Plus, you have all of those fish quietly laughing at your whale like physique or less-than-impressive manhood. [Giant.co.uk via Apartment Therapy via Born Rich]