FYI: This product seems to be unavailable at IKEA in many countries! But there are other similar options online, google „IKEA indoor herb garden“ or something similar! Thanks @christheghostwriter for the help!!! 👍
The lid with a hole in it is for holding a terrestrial plant root ball out of the water. The hole is for draining out old water. With a small pump, some tubing, and some silicone calking, this setup could be a filter!
That’s probably true, but I think the saving potential is not that enormous with this being priced 50€ and including everything… especially if you also have to buy a timer and an adequate light (this one here is quite strong)
It actually was mind blowing for me to realise that the reason some plants need co2 is because they are not well suited to grow underwater. I don't know why nobody is talking about this.
I don’t think it’s common sense. It’s just that the plants don’t want to be submersed for a super long time, because that doesn’t happen to them in nature (usually). But if they get enough CO2 etc. it’s not a problem for them. Also there are true underwater plants, who obviously are well suited for living under water
@@passion4aqua yeah man but if thats not common sense for you then you simply don’t know anything about biology. There are only very few real Water living plants and all the rest only adaptations.
I didn’t know about that before having aquariums. And I believe that considering aquariums many people just accept that plants need CO2 without realizing why. That’s also the reason for the classical „My plants don’t need CO2 because in Nature there is also no Diffusor in the river“ type arguments… 😂
I have aerogarden I don’t use anymore. It’s basically the same thing, this is a genius idea! I’m going to give it a try with some of my more troublesome plants.
As someone who has over 3 dozen indoor plants... welcome to water propagation! Since you already have them, it would be a good idea to put an air stone in the water, so the water doesn't stagnate, and the roots can get oxygen. That could also be why the plants in the aquarium are dying: you have tiny air stones, and all the organisms in the tank are competing for oxygen. Side note: the disk with the hole in the center is for holding large plants upright as they would have no substrate to stabilize them in a pure water hydroponic setup.
I am not sure about the oxygen thing, the problem is rather that some aquarium plants are just very picky about their water parameters and especially CO2! But thanks for the tip, might think about that!
@@tomclift7630 The CO2 is just for photosynthesis. Plants also need O2 to do normal cellular respiration and utilize the sugars the produce. Roots don't photosynthesize, but still need to do gas exchange for respiration.
@@passion4aqua Plants also require oxygen to do respiration. The phloem transport sugars to the roots, but the actual respiration happens locally in the cells. Regardless, adding more/bigger aeration would add more dissolved gas into the tank and would increase the levels of O2 and CO2.
Thank you, I didn’t know about that… one problem with bringing a lot of air into the tank though is that to my knowledge, Oxygen and co2 compete for their share of the water, which is the problem with too high co2 concentrations: it’s not an overdose of co2 that kills the animals, it a lack of oxygen. But I might look into this topic more, sounds interesting! Thank you for the tip
This product is not available in The Netherlands. But samla boxes work too if you have some net pots on hand. I always save net pots and the ceramic rings.
Just FYI: I'm in the US, and I just googled "IKEA indoor herb garden" and found several options that look just like this one on Temu, Amazon, and other online retailers
I love this idea. I might try it myself. I know there are other ways to grow carnivorous plants, but I like the look of this planter as a display piece
Very unique hydroponic kit! You could also grow extra plants in a fish bowl with an aerator. Your plants looked healthy- I think they’re being eaten! They were not in decline. Some they like to eat more than others.
I haven’t thought about that… although I don’t think that amano shrimp eat things that aren’t in decline… I will pay attention though, thanks for the tip!
This is really Awesome and great job on your videos , I have thoroughly enjoyed your approach to creating Freshwater Nature Aquariums!!! Healthy plants & the rest of the layout can evolve in time, not so easy to say what exactly I have in mind or how it gets to the point where I have that feeling it is just the best for the future because I have always thought about getting my tanks to just keep getting better and I have never believed in turning around and start the next layout.
It’s not that difficult actually… I use strong lighting, CO2 and a good fertilizer, with aquasoil as a substrate. Weekly waterchanges for the first 2 or 3 months and you should be good. I also keep ramshorn snails and Amano shrimps as a cleaning crew! Of course, it is not necessary to have all this equipment if you want a lush planted tank, but at least from my experience, my tanks started to look like this with the equipment…
While this system looks nice, it is not very efficient. You can use clear plastic containers, add a thin layer of compost, water, seal and keep under light. This is how I propagate my dwarf hair grass, dwarf baby tears etc. I use the containers that you buy strawberries in as they are clear and only have a few holes in the roof plus they are free once you've eaten the strawberries. I use a led tube light and have many containers going at once. Having said all that, I do like your video and always appreciate sharing new ideas.
Thats true, it’s not the most efficient way. Since I will display this next to my tanks, the design was pretty important for me. But of course, if I would want to propagate plants on a large scale, I would do it different! But for what I need it for, I think this is a good solution. Happy that you still liked the video! :)
Sunlight is great for the emersed plants, that is true! But I am really happy that I have a light for it, since I want to display it next to my tanks :)
I live in Germany where it’s available, but it’s a new product here as well, might come to different countries soon… but you can also google something like „ikea indoor herb station“ to find similar products
dude this is awesome content. I just bought java moss, and i am freaking out because i tried growing it above water when i bought it, but it wasnt growing. it seems to be growing underwater now, but im wondering if i should add pebbles in the water so the moss will have something to hold on to
Don’t worry, Java moss is really hard to kill! You can attach it to a pebble or piece of wood with super glue or a thread, it will attach itself pretty fast! Over time, it will start to grow on other surfaces as well, since one single cell (!!) of moss is enough to become into a new plant on its own!
@@passion4aqua they haven't been sold for well over five or six years! I used them to flow water through for my aquarium, just put two holes in the bottom for in- and outflow.
found it on swedish ikea and it had several negative reviews for same problem as you, leaking. it might be meant as a drain to empty the water, but it seems like its pretty bad made if it starts leaking after a short time.
Yeah that would be pretty bad, although I think that they might have filled it up to high the same as me… but I think I would have excluded the feature completely or tried to find a different solution
The leaky bit is probably a drain, to let water out without disassembling it or tipping it over. It's weird that it has no handle to open it, but maybe the instructions clarify how it is supposed to work.
Doesn't seem to be available in the USA. But even if it were, I think you'd be better off buying a small hydroponic setup, it would probably cost the same or less.
I used to have one and I wish I kept my hydroponic setup. Still, it was before I'm into aquarium. Smart idea! For a moment I thought you were going to put the top of the planter on to the tank itself.
definitely try rotala walichii, i have grown it in dirt/sand with no co2 for almost a year.... i had already tried purple bacopa and that plant requires high co2, thanks to my stupidity and bad money spending habits i did find a really nice purple plant that has grown very well for me without co2 and that is (echinodorus purple knight) your welcome fellow aquarium friend :)
Once tried walichii in my tanks, but it died unfortunately… thanks for the echinodorus tip, I have already seen this one in stores and might try it out in the future
@@passion4aqua thats understandable, rotala walichii can be picky with its water parameters and if there is not enough flow for them they wont do well. Goodluck on the echinodorus, only negative thing i have to say about it is it does take a bit for it to establish if you get it in a tissue culture form.
@@passion4aqua see thats the thing i cant grow crypts to save my life haha, everyone has different ecosystems with different resources being utilized, always appreciate the plants that can grow best for you and mine would definitely have to be rotalas
Really??? I have never struggled with crypts, but rotalas are also really good at my tanks usually… except the walichii 😂 But the amount of different setups without any type of maintenance I have grown rotalas in is insane… definitely my favorite type of plants! For me, I have now failed to grow pogostemon Helferi for a second time, and I have never succeeded at growing Microsorum, which is ridiculous considering what types of plants are growing great in my tanks 😂
@passion4aqua Will you make a video on how to make the bottle thing where your 'chai' was. Did you bend the longer strips with heat? What is the medium inside ?
wonderful and much cheaper than only 1 little bulb (full spectrum) paid on AliExpress and all of them dying after 8 months... I got 16 bulbs and all of them died and were replaced again but dead again... Chinese bulb... European prices...
I HATE lights with these corner-cutting timers. I use smart plugs on all of my plant lighting that allows me to set my own photoperiod as needed, synchronize everything easily, recover from outages without headache, and override the timer if I need to turn things on or off, if needed. I've had to modify every single product like this. Some I just removed the board entirely, others, I ended up creating my own replacement with the features I needed. It would be great if manufacturers offered versions without the timers at all, or an upgraded version to a better one.
I think for the initial purpose of the product, the timer is pretty nice, and I think it’s better to have it like this one than none at all. But I agree, it can be a little bit unhandy sometimes, and of course, I would never use something like this for an aquarium or similar. Maybe I will also use an external timer to synchronize it with my tanks!
Seems terrible to me, alot of wasted space. You can use a big storage box and inside you can create an actual arrangement with a small river and all the plants together, stones, wood, moss, ferns etc. Can't even grow a medium anubias in this.
Thanks for showing off the product, it was interesting to see. I think the little rubber part is a plug for easy draining. Is it removable from the imside? If so, try plugging it from the outside. Perhaps the tension will be greater and actually create a seal.
@@passion4aquaYeah, looks like that's just a temporary plug for attaching a bulkhead? If the kit didn't come with them, you should be able to get the fittings at your local hardware store for a few dollars, then you can easily drain the basin without having to remove anything.
Yeah you‘re right, if the goal would be to produce a maximum amount of plants, there are many ways to make this more efficient. But since the main reason to have an aquarium is that it looks nice, and because I want to display the emersed plants next to my tanks, looks are really important!
I had issues growing plants in my old tank. It was gravel and a weak light. My new tank is soil with a sand cap and a strong light. My plants grow wicked fast and i was even able to give away cuttings in my first month. Plants are pretty basic they need food and light give them enough of both and they'll do great
Might be the case for some aquarium plants, but the ones that I struggle with right now are pretty difficult to keep. They grow pretty slow and need a lot of CO2, light and some even different water parameters than I have in my tap water. That’s why some hobbyist with those plants create their own aquarium water. The „normal“ aquarium plants grow like weed in my tank, I have to take out multiple hands full every week
Everywhere you hear emersed (should be immersed) think instead emergent. There is immersed which is below water. Then there is emergent which is literal as in emerging from the water.. The reason aquarium plants “melt” when you put them in your tank from the store is they usually are grown emergent and those leaves die off to be replaced by immersed leaves.
I'm using small box for seedlings, filled it with some old aquarium sand and pond soil, filled it with water slightly above the soil and put it near a window. Works wonderfull too! No light though so the IKEA solution has its perks.
Great idea, there are lots of ways to do this, and if it’s just about the efficiency, something like your setup is probably a lot better! Since I want to display it though, the look was also important to me, and I thought it was funny that it’s from IKEA 😂
you could probably run it through your tank, pumping the water from the tank through the setup, that way plants could get the nutrients from the aquarium and filter it a bit as well. a mini aquaponic system
This is a hydroponic cloning station. If you purchase a pack of neoprene cloning collars that fit snugly into the net pots, you can root anything. Nice product but would have preferred a single clear container cover over the base.
Not available in Belgium 😢 Yet this is exactly the niche content I'm looking for as I'm trying to improve breeding of my slow growers. Subbed and exited to see how it goes.
Just FYI: I'm in the US, and I just googled "IKEA indoor herb garden" and found several options that look just like this one on Temu, Amazon, and other online retailers
