A garden, underwater.
The Bubble is a clear dome that sits on the floor of your fish tank and holds a pocket of air. A real plant grows inside it. The tank water feeds it.
Look inside the tank? Turn on your camera and the tank follows your eyes, so you can look around inside it. The video stays on your device.
A pocket of air on the floor of your tank.
Inside the dome, the water stops and the air begins. Roots sit in a small bed of gravel, where the water rises and falls. Leaves sit in the air above it and stay dry.
From across the room it looks like a plant growing where no plant should.
- 5 inches tall. Fits tanks of 5 gallons and up.
- Runs on a standard aquarium air pump.
- No soil. The tank water feeds the plant.
It breathes. On a loop.
Air in
Your aquarium air pump sends a slow stream of air into the dome. The air collects under the dome and pushes the water in the gravel down.
Roots breathe
The water drops below the gravel. For a while the roots sit in damp air, which is what roots want.
Water returns
When the air reaches the reverse bell siphon in the base, the siphon trips and lets it all out in one breath. Tank water rises back into the gravel and stops there: it wets the roots and never reaches the leaves. Then it starts again.
It is the flood and drain cycle an aquaponic grow bed uses. We turned it upside down and put it underwater. The long version
Small things, grown close.
Micro herbs
Basil, cress, cilantro. Anything you'd pick small and put on a plate.
Small greens
Leaf lettuce and shoots, cut young. A handful at a time.
Houseplants and flowers
A small cutting that likes wet feet. Something that flowers, if you're patient.
Good for the plant. Better for the fish.
A plant living underwater gives a tank oxygen by day and takes some of it back at night. The Bubble works on your tank's oxygen a different way, and it doesn't stop when the light goes off.
Air, around the clock
The air that runs The Bubble leaves it in bursts. Each burst rises through the tank and stirs the surface, which is where water takes on oxygen. A steady supply of air does more for a tank's oxygen than underwater plants can.
A plant that breathes air
Underwater plants draw oxygen out of the water every night. The Bubble's plant has its leaves in air, so it never competes with your fish for it.
Hungrier roots
With its leaves in open air, a plant has all the carbon dioxide it wants. It grows faster than it would underwater, and its roots take up more of what the fish leave behind.
Four parts. No tools.
- DomeClear, so you can see everything. It holds the air.
- Gravel bedA perforated cup of gravel. Roots hold on here.
- Reverse bell siphonOne printed part. It decides when the air leaves.
- BaseSlotted so tank water moves through. The airline plugs in at the side.
The Bubble
One dome, one base, one siphon, one gravel bed. Add a plant and the tank you already have.
- 5 inches tall, 3.5 inches wide. For tanks of 5 gallons and up.
- Runs on a standard aquarium air pump and airline.
- Flood and drain, driven by a reverse bell siphon. No moving parts.
Made to order. Checkout is secure and handled by Shopify.
Then it leaves the tank.
The same cycle, right side up. Small aquaponic systems for a desk, a kitchen counter and a living room. In development now; reserve one and we'll write when it's ready.
A bigger Bubble, and the small stuff.
The Bubble Grande
The same idea, 8 inches tall. Room for a fuller plant.
Air Kit
A quiet air pump, 6 feet of airline, a check valve.
Grow Gravel
One pound of rinsed gravel, sized for the Bubble's bed.
Seed Set
Three packets: micro basil, small greens, micro mix.
Fair things to ask.
What is The Bubble?
A clear dome, about 5 inches tall, that sits on the floor of your fish tank. It holds a pocket of air underwater. A plant grows inside the pocket with its roots in a small bed of gravel.
How does a plant grow underwater?
It doesn't, quite. The leaves are in air the whole time. Only the roots get wet, and only some of the time: the water rises into the gravel, then drops away again, on a loop. It never climbs past the gravel, so the plant itself is never flooded. It is the flood and drain cycle that aquaponic grow beds use.
What makes the water go up and down?
Air. Your aquarium air pump feeds a slow stream of air into the dome, which pushes the water level down. When the air reaches the reverse bell siphon in the base, the siphon lets it out in one go and the water comes back. Nothing in the dome moves or needs power.
Is it good for my fish?
Yes, in three ways. The air that runs it leaves in bursts that stir the surface, which is how a tank takes on oxygen, and it does that day and night. Its plant has its leaves in air, so unlike underwater plants it doesn't draw oxygen out of the water at night. And its roots take up some of the waste your fish produce. It works alongside your filter and water changes; it doesn't replace them.
What can I grow in it?
Micro herbs and small greens are the easy start. Small houseplants work too. Flowering plants are possible if you have the patience.
Put a garden where the water is.
Five inches of dome, a handful of gravel, and the air pump you already own.
Get The Bubble