Watering with fish tank water?

[smokinowl]

so! I was thinking, if i watered with fish tank water, seeing as i have a TON of fish tanks that get maintenance every week, would watering with fish tank water be somewhat like a really light fert? + rinsing out filter cartridges and sponges for all that nice gunk. The tanks dont get any other treatment than dechlorinator in the form of stresscoat+

opinions?

 

[WelderDan]

Other than smell being a possible problem, there is no reason you can't.

 

[greenthumbgirl]

I'd avoid using any sort of water that contains algae killer, pH adjuster or added salts. Do you know the active ingredient in stresscoat+?

All that gunk from your filters and sponges will likely form a weird crust on the surface of your growing medium. Though I'm sure the crust has beneficial microbes, it might be kinda unsightly/begin to decompose by existing soil mycelium.

In a healthy aquarium, the dump water should contain a good amount of nitrates. I'd highly recommend for veg, transplants and baby cuttings. Avoid during flower, as the water might over-feed their necessary nitrogen levels.

Word on the street is that aquariums work GREAT to root cuttings. I haven't tried it personally quite yet.

 

[smokinowl]

all but my biggest aquarium is fully cycled and running. im about a month behind on water changes though bc of how busy lifes been. But all i add to my water is the stresscoat. My fish just learn how to adjust to my rly hard water-- its like, and 8 in PH. It usually goes down tho the longer its in the tank. Rn i am having a diatom problem in the newest tank but thats expected.

this is all i could find on the API stresscoat+ ingredients- to me it just looks like its aloevera and dechlorinator LOL


Chemical CAS No / Unique ID Percent
Water 007732-18-5 >80
Sodium thiosulfate anhydrous 007772-98-7 1.0-10.0
Aloe barbadensis/vera extract/gel 085507-69-3 1.0-10.0

 

[pop_rocks]

what medium are you growing in?
ive used water from the fish tank for the yard and i dont know if it really does much
i just tossed the buckets of fish water at the base of some trees

are you familiar with aquaponics?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
i imagine that you would run into many of the same issues

as gtg' mentions there might also be stuff in the fish tank that might not be best for growing herb'

 

[smokinowl]

ill be growing in soil, still working out the finites of the mix but i cant find foxfarm anywhere near me, but there are a few brands that arent miracle gro. not the best, but not the worst either. for lights ill be using 8 23 watt CFLS, or more if i need.

 

[pop_rocks]

the soil will act as a buffer
/ kind of thought you were thinking of hydro

are you planning on using other nuts during the grow?

 

[smokinowl]

originally i was gonna do hydro, but seeing as im going for a small 1-2 plant grow soil seems easiest.

with nutes im very iffy on, was possibly thinking jobes organic all purpose ferts- i am unsure on the application of which, how much, when to start and how often. basically, i have no clue lol!

 

[smokinowl]

i did a little more research and found some supposedly 'no nutes needed' mixes where i dont need to ad ferts or anything, besides maybe a tea during veg and then during flowering, heres a recipe im considering-

- 1 Bag FoxFarm Ocean Forest
- 1/4 Bag FoxFarm Light Warrior
- 5 Cups Vermiculite
- 10 Cups Perlite
- 4 Cups worm castings

 

[DontTellMyWife]

I've been doing this for a few months now. My tank doesnt smell, but then Im growing lettuce with that water too, so it's not supercharged with nitrates. Anyway, small pot cuttings and bonsai moms are holding up well with just soil and tank water. Not showing deficiencies.

 

[Coughie]

this is all i could find on the API stresscoat+ ingredients- to me it just looks like its aloevera and dechlorinator LOL


Chemical CAS No / Unique ID Percent
Water 007732-18-5 >80
Sodium thiosulfate anhydrous 007772-98-7 1.0-10.0
Aloe barbadensis/vera extract/gel 085507-69-3 1.0-10.0

Well this certainly explains some of why I thought the viscosity was a lot like aloe...

So I'm thinking, from reading that, that it's:
> 80% water
1.0 - 10.0 % sodium thiosulfate
1.0 - 10.0 % aloe vera

Doing some reading on sodium thiosulfate, it appears that it reacts with the chlorine but not the nitrates - which is fine..

If I'm reading correctly (maybe a better Chemistry understanding can verify?) it appears that the sodium thiosulfate reduces to sulfites and sulfates - which should, mostly, end up evaporating?


I found reference to water treatment plants using sodium thiosulfate as a treatment step before releasing backwash into the local riverway..


So... I think it's okay?
This is something I was wondering about lately as well..

All I've ever added to my fish tanks is water and stresscoat, so this is a nice find, thanks

 

[Huckster79]

I know a guy who did his first round start to finish with water from a gold vish tank, he arrived at the end w some decent herb. Idk i think he could have got more yeild using something more tailored to flower but by god he completed the mission without a dime out of pocket for nutes...

 

[daveyhouse]

The past few weeks I have been watering with water from these dirty bastards.

 

[lvtokerr]

all the fancy fish food i have says do not use for human consumption. does this apply to their nutrient wastes? i use prime as a decholonitaor sp? as well