Tank is available for pre-order on Kickstarter from £150 ($242)

Lighting is red in the morning, white during the day, and blue in the evening

Avo has LED lights optimised for plant growth, which leads to clear water

It recycles old bacteria into plant food, creating space for new bacteria

Scraping muck and slime from the side of a tank, and continually cloudy water, annoys many fish owners.

But now a young designer has created a fish tank that she claims never needs cleaning, the water never needs changing, and owners can save money bu never needing to replace the filter.

The spherical tank only requires an owner to top up the water occasionally – and to feed the fish.

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Cleaning up: A young designer has created a fish tank that she claims never needs cleaning, the water changing, or a new filter. The spherical tank, called Avo, (pictured) only requires an owner to top up the water occasionally – and to feed the fish.

Suzy Shelley, a graduate from Loughborough University, created the 15-litre tank, which is fitted with technology that enables fish, plants and bacteria 'to work together to create a balanced ecosystem'.

The tank, called Avo, has a self-cleaning filter that ‘never needs replacing’.

A continually-moving bed recycles older bacteria into plant food, creating space for new bacteria to grow.

‘Harmful ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are naturally removed from the water, meaning the water never needs changing,’ according to the company, called Noux.

Crystal clear: A continually-moving bed recycles older bacteria into plant food, creating space for new bacteria to grow. ‘Harmful ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are naturally removed from the water, meaning the water never needs changing,’ according to the company, called Noux. The process is illustrated

A bright idea: Avo features smart LED lighting that is optimised for plant photosynthesis and growth, which leads to clear water. It glows red in the morning, white during the day, and blue at night to look pretty in a room

AVO FISH TANK FEATURES Self-cleaning filter system: The plants and bacteria work together to create a balanced micro-ecosystem. The harmful ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are removed from the water meaning the water never needs changing. The filtration system is natural and self-maintaining, comprising a moving bed that doesn’t need cleaning. Automatic lighting: When there is too much light, fish tanks get algae. Avo's lighting is plant-specific, providing the wavelengths that the plants need to photosynthesise and grow, making sure they are cleaning the water efficiently. It produces wavelengths of light that our human eyes can't detect. The light moves around the tank and is magnetic, so can be detached to access the fish and plants easily. Automatic heating: Water is heated at 27°C (80.6°F) - the perfect temperature for tropical fish. The heating elements are positioned to create convection currents which help the nutrients reach the roots of plants. Plant system: Seven plant pots slot into place in the filter system to make them easy for owners to lift out and trim. Size: The tank holds three-and-a-half gallons of water (15 litres). Price: It is available to pre-order from £150 ($242). Advertisement

Avo features smart LED lighting that is optimised for plant photosynthesis and growth, which leads to clear water.

The lighting is soft red in the morning, white during the day, and blue in the evening.

The tank is designed for tropical fish with a constant water temperature of 27°C (80.6°F).

The heating elements are positioned to create convection currents which help the nutrients reach the roots of plants.

The plants are housed in seven trays so they can be easily maintained and moved around to change the look of the tank.

It has taken Ms Shelley over four years to develop the tank, which is now raising funds on crowd funding website, Kickstarter.

Avo can be pre-ordered from £150 ($242) plus shipping and the tank is due to be shipped in July next year.

So far, £45,000 ($72,669) has been raised out of her £60,000 ($96,892) goal, with 52 days to go.

‘I've always kept fish and it was a steep learning curve in the early days - trying to maintain a tank properly, making sure my fish were healthy and had a clean tank,’ Ms Shelley said.

‘Fish keeping isn't as easy most people think…there's important bacteria in the tank that need to be maintained, plus there's the weekly water changes and smelly filter cleaning needed to maintain a healthy tank,’ she wrote on Avo’s Kickstarter page.

‘I decided I'd design something that takes the stress out of keeping tropical fish and makes fish keeping simple, beautiful and above all enjoyable.

‘Avo is packed full of technology and clever design features that make it really, really easy to keep fish.’