This post has been in process since I saw the BioPod product a couple of weeks ago and knew that I needed to let everyone know about it. Unfortunately, I was not able to justify the cost the first day of the kickstarter so I do not have one pre-ordered, but it would make a really good Christmas present ;). Especially seeing that they are expected to ship in December!
Aesthetics:
It has a very slick design and appearance. All of the systems are concealed with a central control system which hides all of the messy cables and tubing.
ALL IN ONE:
This all in one packaged tank makes it very easy to focus on the background & occupants of the tank. This will make an awesome display tank for practically anywhere! You can place it in the Living, Dining, Bedroom or even bring it to work and put it at your desk! (I wouldn’t put it in the kitchen if you are planning on having animals in it though. I don’t like the idea of any stray flies or feeder insects in the kitchen, but that is just me.)
Paludarium:
I have been in the mindset where I would love to create a paludarium tank someday, but struggle with how to create it. With the BioPur air injection system, this tank would make it very easy to create the paludarium tank. It also has a built in heating mat on the bottom of the tank, which would allow the water to be heated without the worry of cracking the glass.
Well, Basically any tank is made easy with the automatically irrigated living wall background! This is compatible with both soil and hydroponic material.
HD Camera:
This would be great for watching the tank while at work/ when away. You could get to see some cool shots that you don’t normally get to see.
Wifi Enabled:
This is a very handy feature if you would like to program the tank to follow weather data from across the world. You could program your tank to follow the native environment! The literature also mentions a wifi capable remote lock. This would make it easy to ensure that no one enters the tank without permission.
App control:
The Biopod app for Andriod and IOS allows you to update the conditions of the tank and easily set what the tank is housing, whether it is animals or just plants and which animals specifically it is housing. 
It has 3 different settings:
Auto Feeder:
As part of reaching the $70,000 on their kickstarter campaign, they are now offering a custom feeder to go with the biopod for $30. This design is adjustable and is compatible with fruit flies, crickets and more! This is a pretty cool feature, that I will be very interested to see how it works. This could change vacations as we know it. The auto feeder along with the camera could allow someone on vacation to watch and check in on the pets to see how they are doing, eliminating the worry from vacation.
Comparables:
As part of their campaign they have a break-down on the individual components. I feel that some of these items are not necessary (like heat mat and camera), thus skewing the actual overall cost of what I would need for a comparable tank. So below is my own break-down of the cost of what I would put together for a tank similar to the largest aqua model.
Exo Terra – 24x18x24 – $169.99 ($143.98 on Amazon)
Digital Humidity & Temperature Controller (63.51 on Amazon) This looks really cool as it will turn on or off fans and misters to maintain temp & humidity!
otherwise this is pretty handy as well : Digital Infared Thermometer (26.99 on Amazon)
Exo Terra Misting System (only .9L) ( 79.99 on Amazon)
Current Satellite Freshwater LED Light (77.47 on Amazon)
Raspberry Pi Kit- 129.99 (84.99 on Amazon)
Standard Digital Residential Timer (24.03 on Amazon for 2)
Total- $500.96
This total is still more than the largest aqua biopod retails for at $429 USD. This same model is available today for only $295 USD as a part of their kickstarter promotion! They also are offering many tanks with plants packages for an even easier installation!
Click here to visit their Kickstarter page and grab your own BioPod.
They currently have 313 backers pledging over $94,000 with 22 days to go. Their original goal of $22,783 was very easily attained within the first day. This is quite impressive!
Creator:
The Biopod was created by Jared Wolfe who is a conservationist and Biologist. He created the biopod as a way to save endangered species of frogs from extinction.
Photos:
Here are some more photos to showcase how awesome this product is:
All photos were obtained from : Biopod’s Facebook Page. Check them out there as well!
Have you pre-ordered your Biopod yet?
UPDATE 2/11/16:
I thought I would give you an update.
Kickstarter Campaign:
The Kickstarter campaign ended up with 809 backers and approx. $296,488 USD total.
Still looking to buy?
Still looking to buy the Biopod but missed out on the Kickstarter? Have no fear, INDIEGOGO is here. Click here to pre-order your biopod today! Total money raised to date is $500,020 USD.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for all the likes, comments & views on this post! Some day hope to own my own biopod so I can update with actual data, but until then, please come over and connect with me on Facebook or Instagram. I would love to see photos and follow-ups of what you do with your Biopod!
Like “The Frog Lady” on facebook or follow aapanaro on instagram to get some sneak peeks into the frog lady’s frog room!
Really thorough comparative post! I did back them on kick starter. Pre-ordered the aqua pod so I can make a nice paludariums! Although they just announced a 4 month delay due to some material changes. So they’re expected to ship in March now!
Thanks! Can’t wait to see how it turns out once you get it! Hopefully the material changes help the durability and performance!
How much does this cost thou does anyone know
How do I order a bio pod, what size ( gallons ) is it and what the price for the complete set up for one and can fish be kept in it like wild Bettas?
You will have to order the bio pod from their indiegogo site here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/biopod-world-s-first-smart-microhabitat–2#/
I have not housed Bettas prior so I am unaware a good size for them.
Does anyone know of the expected ship date beside just some time in May?
I contacted them yesterday and they said “We are looking at shipping in September now. We had to halt production of the current line as we were not satisfied with a component that was not being produced to specifications. We don’t want to send out Biopods that require fixes; we want to ship Biopods that are right when they arrive at your door.”
Hermit crab lovers feel very left out!
I’m sad that EVERY big box pet shop sells hermit crabs, however, they NEVER care what happens after the SALE! No adoption process other than signing a piece of paper.
Sorry, I’m just a hermit crab person. I wish their were more!
Request: Display an environment for my hermit crabs please. I will consider buying one or more
all this time and still not one has shipped yet. while there are 7 reasons to buy one there are 7 more reasons not to buy one.
This article was written in October of 2015. I never would have anticipated such a long wait for these products, however it was a Kickstarter campaign so it is always risky. Luckily it looks like the end of this month they will be shipping out to backers with retail options available starting mid July! I think it’s still an awesome product and can’t wait for people to start receiving and setting them up!