If this aquarium doesn't qualify as green innovation, then I don't know what does. Because using a small garden to filter out nitrates from your freshwater fish tank is pretty damn eco-conscious.
Designed by Benjamin Graindorge and Duende Studio, this tank not only looks nice, but uses some simple ingenuity to accomplish the task of water filtration.
Here's how it works: nitrate-heavy water from your fish tank is pulled up into the garden, where it is passed over a layer of river sand, which uses bacteria to convert impurities into nitrates. The water is then passed over some plant life, which naturally absorbs the nitrates as nutrients. Then the purified water is thrown back down into the fish tank, where your gilled friends can swim at ease.
CoolHunting says there are plans for the Floating Garden to go into production in 2010, both in plastic and ceramic iterations. [Duende Studio via CoolHunting]