# Can I grow edible plants over my aquarium?



## Edan (Oct 15, 2010)

Hi all,
I'm brand new to the forum (and pretty new to freshwater aquariums), so hello to everyone!

So maybe this is a silly idea... I was thinking about growing kitchen herbs over my aquarium, so that the roots would hang down into the water, with the vegetation somehow suspended over the top.

I got the idea from aquaponics, where water is recycled from fish farms to grow vegetables hydroponically. As you know, aquarium water is high in nitrogen and other nutrients which are great for plants.

I'll send you a link to a really cool home-made aquaponics set-up, just send me a request. The designer gave a slideshow presentation to my art-department when I was in school!

Anyways, it seems like it should work, my only worry was that the roots could somehow be toxic to the fish or the water. I would greatly appreciate your communal expertise!

:fish-in-bowl: FYI, I have a 10 gallon freshwater tank filled with barbs (gold, tiger, and platinum-green), along with a siamese-algea eater, a nerite snail, and a couple live plants.

Thanks!
Edan


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

Do u put stuff like stress coat or anything like that in your water? If so i wouldnt plan on eating any of the herbs. A lot of aquarium products say stuff like "for fish intended for ornemental use only" or something like that, and i think it sounds like a weird idea to plant herbs in your fish tank, try your window or something like that.


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## Edan (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks, mk4gti. I was thinking about whether the plants would poison the fish, but I guess I don't really want them to poison me either! 
I've never used stress coat, but I do use a bio-boost, and I was adding Melafix for a while.


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## AtRandom (Sep 11, 2010)

There's alot of really interesting info on the web about hydroponics and aquariums! If only I owned a sump overflow thingy I'd prolly try this! I think this would work fine for you if you had a setup with 1x aquarium + 1x hydro-bin. The aquarium water would be pumped into the hydroponics tub/bin/tank that has its own lights and a return pump back into the main aquarium. In the hydroponics tank you would have 1 styrofoam sheet cut to the same size as the bucket _minus_ 1/4 inch on each side. Then for each plant you cut a hole in the styrofoam and add a plastic plant basket, allowing the roots to fall down. The styrofoam keeps the plants floating always at the top and never submerged, and also blocks light from entering the water below - eliminating threats of algae. As long as you aren't using dangerous chemicals for your fish tank I'd think it would be safe. Obviously you would want to read more in depth about this - this is just a summary of what i read a few weeks ago somewhere online!
Edit: I don't believe your green leafed plants would poison your fish, but you may want to read up on it at a hydro-site! best of luck


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Edible items and aquariums should never come into contact with each other.


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