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LEGO fish-tank Fishspace & fun contest!

(Written by Greg Towndrow of Fishspace.ca)

Today I would like to show you a new LEGO related product I have been working on: Fishspace is a plastic fish-tank where you can attach toy building-bricks (such as LEGO) to a rim along the top, inside the tank and underneath, to create a scene for your pet fish. Fishspace hopes to encourage kids (and kids-at-heart) to adopt pet fish, but also have fun while doing it. Looks interesting? Here is the story of how Fishspace came to be… 🙂

LEGO Fish-Tank Fishspace

Let’s wind back to Spring 2011. Fishspace started out as an idea between myself and my boss when I was working at an internship in Ottawa while studying Industrial Design at Carleton University. It was my boss’s idea to attach LEGO to a fish tank, and I took on the task of working out the details and come up with an early concept.

LEGO Fish-Tank Play Features

As we were working together on the design, Fishspace evolved into a one-piece Injection Molded tank with studs around the rim and inside for attaching LEGO and other building-toy elements. Fishspace’s large, 2 gallon size provides plenty of room for your LEGO bricks and plenty of swimming room for your fish. In fact, since fish thrive in stimulating, bright environments, Fishspace will help you keep happy and healthy fish!

Fishspace is made of impact resistant BPA-free Tritan, which was recently developed for drink and food containers, and will not leech harmful chemicals into the water. Fishspace is going to be the first BPA-free plastic fish-tank in the world, and the largest fish-tank under $30! Here are some questions people asked about Fishspace that might also be on your mind as you are reading this:

  • What type of fish can live in Fishspace? We used a Betta Fish since they breathe from the air, but you can use any fish that does not require a filtered tank. 
  • Will the LEGO bricks get slimy? Not if the water is changed frequently enough; we recommend at least once every two weeks. Treat Fishspace as if it is a regular Betta tank by keeping the water changed.
  • Will the LEGO bricks hurt the fish? No, the only issue is putting too many bricks in. Leave lots of swimming room for the fish, Fishspace is two gallons in size so there is room for both bricks and the fish. 
  • Will the paint come off of LEGO bricks? Not in a million years! LEGO and Megabloks are molded plastic, their colors are the pigment of the plastic. For all you interested in manufacturing they are Injection Molded ABS.

As we were moving along with the concept of Fishspace, we patented the design (U.S. Design Patent Pending), put together a business-plan, and currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds. We also reached out to The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF), and they have been providing us excellent mentoring and financial support to help us bring Fishspace to the market. If you would like to read more about our business-plan and support or campaign, please visit us at: FISHSPACE  CAMPAIGN AT KICKSTARTER

LEGO Fish-Tank by Fishplace

To help spread the word about Fishspace and our fund-raising efforts, we are also running a fun LEGO contest. We are raffling off 3 of the LEGO sets we used for our Fishspace demos to randomly selected winners. All you need to do to enter the contest is to add your name and email address on the contest page. You can enter the contest until October 18th. So come by to play, but please make sure you read the Contest Rules as there are some restrictions. You can read the Contest Rules here: FISHSPACE CONTEST RULES, and enter the contest here: FISHSPACE CONTEST PAGE (update: looks like this website has been taken down, so the links no longer work)

LEGO Fish-Tank Contest

What do you think? How do you like the idea of Fishspace? What kind of LEGO creation would you add to your own fish-tank? If you would like to support us on Kickstarter and have any questions feel free to ask in the comment section below. And if you are already our supporter, thank you! Also, we need all the help spreading the word about Fishspace, if people don’t know about our campaign, they cannot pledge. So please tweet, like, and share by using the social buttons at the bottom of this post. Thanks! 😉

{ 16 comments… add one }
  • Fingolfin September 18, 2013, 10:27 AM

    Nice idea:) Are there studs at the inside of the tank too? if there were studs on one side of the tank you could make a mosaic background. Anyway, this tank would be the only reason for me to ever buy pet fish..

    • Håkan September 18, 2013, 11:35 AM

      It doesn’t look like that.

      I thought about that too, but there’s a risk studs on the sides would distort the optics of fish-watching.

      But if there’s only one side, it might not matter. Maybe an inside stud wall could be an add-on order? (Just needs figuring out a good way to attach/ insert it.)

  • Fingolfin September 18, 2013, 10:32 AM

    Oh and about the contest, what do you have to do? Just write your name and email address?

  • Chi-bacca September 18, 2013, 10:34 AM

    Nice concept 😀
    I first heard bout this from the brick show so you guys are definitely gettin coverage 😉

  • Fikko3107 September 18, 2013, 10:44 AM

    aww, no joining contest for me…

  • Guillaume September 18, 2013, 11:30 AM

    WOW!! That is an amazing idea. Way to go. Ill definitely get one when they are available.

  • Greg Towndrow September 18, 2013, 11:55 AM

    Hi Everyone,

    The creator of the project here…

    -No studs on the walls of the tank. They are on the Bottom, Top and inside.

    -All we need is your e-mail for the contest…our software will ask you to confirm.

    Best,
    Greg Towndrow

  • ninja of stealth September 18, 2013, 12:06 PM

    who’s idea was it to put the cat next to the fish!!!!!! I’m just kidding. 😉

    • Håkan September 18, 2013, 2:44 PM

      Apparently, domesticated cats should realize that their owners enjoy the fish and should leave them alone, I heard. Merely play around with their paws in the water.

      • ninja of stealth September 19, 2013, 12:33 PM

        my sisters cat plays with the water! now that I wrote that it sounds weird… 🙁

  • Fire Ninja Jedi September 18, 2013, 12:15 PM

    Fabulous idea! (just build a mosaic down the side of the tank from the top: if you wanted one) It would even be good for MOCs involving real water. Will there eventually be larger sizes?

  • D.B. Bricks September 18, 2013, 2:05 PM

    Cool Idea! you could also Just fill it with water and let your kids play in it.

    • ninja of stealth September 19, 2013, 12:34 PM

      I don’t think its that big. 😀

  • Guillaume September 18, 2013, 9:15 PM

    Cool. I just pledge on kickstarter. Its a neat project. Camt wait to do it with my son. I want that ship bad too haha. Good luck

    • Fishspace September 19, 2013, 8:51 AM

      Hi Guillaume,

      Thanks for your support!

      Best
      Greg

  • John Smith November 11, 2014, 8:50 AM

    This is cool, but you NEED AT LEAST A FIVE GALLON TANK. Fish would at least be happy in a 5 gallon, not a puny 2 gallon.

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