One thing that contributes algae forming in the tank is not replanting once your micro greens are fully grown. There is however an alternative! You can plant herbs or houseplants in place of your microgreens. They have a longer life cycle and would require less maintenance. I would suggest that you try growing plants with longer life cycles in your Water Garden. Microgreens have a notoriously short life cycle which requires frequent harvesting and cleaning.

A great way to grow herbs and various greens in your Water Garden is by using potted plants. This is especially helpful when using plants that are difficult to grow from seed. Here you can view a PDF that illustrates the process of transplanting starter plants into your Water Garden. There are many types of plants you can grow in your Water Garden. Here are a few recommended plants to try:    


House plantsEdible Plants 
HoyaLemon Balm
ImpatiensFlat Leaf Parsley
African VioletsMint
Asparagus Fern
Garlic Chives
PhilodendronCilantro
Spider plantAnise Hyssop
English IvyShiso
Arrowhead vineWild Ginger
BambooBeans 


Unless you are growing sprouts or wheatgrass, you'll have the most success growing plants using small starters instead of seed. This is the best way to grow houseplants, herbs, and greens. You can find mini-plants or starters at any large garden center like Home Depot and Lowe's.  You'll want to keep 1 pod of wheatgrass growing while you transplant your new plants. It could take them a few weeks to grow roots long enough to reach the growbed so having wheatgrass growing during this time ensures your water is being filtered.

Also, light is key for growing herbs and greens so unless you have a sunny, south-facing window for your tank, you'll boost plant growth by 1000x by having a grow bulb like this. This supplemental light is also helpful in the winter months. If you don't have this kind of natural light access or supplemental light from a grow bulb, you will need to stick to low-light plants like sprouts, wheatgrass, and select houseplant varieties.

Hope this helps and we'd love feedback and pictures of your experiments!