Clouds over a Solar Powered Aquarium

The Solar Powered Aquarium is another patented oddity in this hobby. On the surface, it piques one's interest of course. Electric bills are the Trojan horse of reef aquariums so the premise of mitigating the pain with solar panels is alluring. Even more so when you could obtain a whole aquarium kit complete with panels. However the excitement begins to wane when reading over patent 7,211,188 and then turns to dismay as what may be the true intention of the patent begins to become clear.


A Patented Solar Powered Aquarium

Beyond the small, hinged solar panels affixed to the base of the aquarium, what makes this aquarium setup interesting is the way the DC motor generates current in the aquarium. It is not done with the common impeller setup we are all familiar with. The shaft from the motor is actually connected to a ferrous metal plate in a hollow bottom that then propels a magnetic stirrer within the aquarium - a setup inspired by a common method of mixing liquids in laboratories within a sealed beaker. How odd to see here.



There appears to be a bonus to this setup as the inventor, Jeffrey G. Lawson, later conveys pride in the low noise generated by this method as the stirrer is somewhat baffled within a cone. Additionally this arrangement can be run with as little as 150 milliamps which Mr. Lawson claims was easily generated by the solar panels in during the day with indirect sunlight in his experiments. He also claims that enough electricity is stored in the rechargeable batteries to keep the pump running at night.

Although that all sounds good, a quick study of the water flow reveals several red flags.



Foremost, when one follows the flow generated from the pump through holes in the top of the cone, it becomes clear that the water is pulled through the gravel substrate "where it is trapped." However, unlike old-school under gravel filters, the water is not returned near the surface of the water releasing gas and creating turbulence and oxygen exchange, it is simply blown out some small holes at the bottom of the cone still under the gravel where it may be forced through the under-gravel plate or simply out holes in the sides. It is a bit unclear. There is also no mention of gallons per hour anywhere. Red flag?

The only mention of maintenance is regarding the gravel as the inventor states that "periodically, the user has to exchange the debris filled gravel for new clean gravel." See another red flag here? There goes any beneficial bacteria to help break down waste and stabilize water.

And maybe you are like me and have been thinking about maintenance with that stirrer within the cone buried under gravel. Good luck with that. Any red flags left to raise?

So here we appear to have a cool idea poorly executed, at least if your purpose is to keep fish. But is that Jeffrey Lawson's intent?

Maybe not.

"While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims."

What is claimed?

Why a solar powered aquarium of course… any solar powered aquarium with solar panels that may include:

• a "water retaining vessel" - read aquarium - he goes on to describe the walls within, which make it sound like it covers just about anything that holds water.
• a "water flow path defining structure having a upper end and a lower end within the confines of second wall" - read overflow here.
• a "rotatable magnetically drivable pump disposed within said water flow path" - this could cover a lot.

So will we see a commercially-available solar powered aquarium that might actually have a good filter and keep fish alive?

Not likely anytime soon. This patent was issued in May of 2007.


Source:
Solar powered aquarium - Patent 7211188

 

its a pretty decent idea however, terrible implementation throughout.

 

similar to the submarine screen door, nice idea, but ultimately not practical

 

Interesting. Good little read. Thanks Matt

 

This is about 1/8 as innovative as putting a hole in the ceiling above your tank. Why would anyone go to so much to run a pump for free only to continue plugging in their halides?

 

I think the real issue is if anyone were to make an aquarium using solar energy they would be infringing on the patent issued.