Aquarium Garden Planter

Here you can see the covers on my latest DIY aquariums.

The cover helps reduce water evaporation and to hold plants.

 Also, the cover can be used as a base for aquarium garden similar to these two aquarium gardens, where I prepare land plants for growing underwater.

 The covers / planters can be used for aquariums of any size and shapes.

 I use 5 mm thick plexiglass for making planters.
Thicker than that is better than thinner.

Place a piece of plexiglass on top of your aquarium.

Use a permanent marker to trace around the top of the tank.

Use a saw to cut out the piece along the marked line.

I left many small corners.

Round the corners with a file.

 Large aquariums have a large surface to cover.
Plexiglass with thickness less than 5 mm curves under its own weight more easily.
Thicker plexiglass is harder to bend and it is more desirable for that reason.

Place the piece you cut and filed on the aquarium.

Make sure it fits nicely. 

Mark spots for holes in the cover.

I want to make three holes here.

And I mark five holes for my Dinosaur Head tank.

The size of the holes I make the same as a diameter of the plastic straw I intent to place in the holes.

Use the same diameter drilling bits as the diameter of the straw, 9 mm in this example, to drill the holes.

Then use a round file to widen one side of each hole to make it wide enough for the straw to fit in.

The straw should not go all the way through the hole!

Once again - I use 5 mm thick plexiglass or thicker.

 Cut about 2-3 cm long pieces of straw.

Insert pieces of straw in the holes.
Congratulations!
We have made the planter.

Put the planter on top of your aquarium.

The straws should be above the water level pointing inside of the tank.

We can propagate and grow many different plants and herbs by placing cuttings inside of the straws.

I keep the straws above water level.
This allows for air circulation while reducing water evaporation greatly.
It’s one way of making self-sustainable aquariums ;)

To feed my aquatic pets I either pick up the planter or move it slightly sideways.

Remember to place the planter back to prevent water evaporation.

In this example, the water level dropped about a couple millimeters in the last couple months.
Larger plants may consume more water.

I will show more about the plants and self-sustaining aquariums in future videos coming soon ;)

Use a glass, clear plastic jars, or cups to cover your plants.

It is the simplest and, seemingly, most effective way reduce water evaporation even more and to prepare land plants for growing underwater :)  

This aquarium garden planter turns any aquarium into the ultimate discovery and adventure tool on your desk.

Have fun and happy adventures :)