Using aquarium water?

Has anyone ever tried using aquarium water for their plants? I have a planted aquarium and when I do a water change the waste water goes into my herb garden (actual herbs, not cannabis). The plants really seem to respond to it. With CO2 injection the water pH sits right around 6.4 and it is full of micro and macro nutrients thanks to my fish and nutrient additions. Seems that aquarium water would be perfect along with whatever nuts you decide to use.

look up aquaponics, whole way of growing based on aquariums

Yup, like taekwondoguy said, it's a pretty well know form of providing nutrients to plants. I water with my tank water as often as possible. http://www.autopot.com.au/default.aspx?PageID=131056d3-eaab-4e08-88d9-621d98874672

I knew of aquaponics, I wanted to know if people on this forum have been using it for the cultivation of cannabis. So far Gastanker is the only one that has checked "yes" to my question.

i haven't........yet. but i've done a fair amount of homework. it seems the nutrients from your tank are best and safest after passing through a biofilter, perhaps another tank with cut up mesh filters for the aerobes to attach to. they make the nutes from fish available/soluble, and deter anaerobes.. adding tank water to soil, without biofiltering may open your girls to disease.

maybe bubble it like tea...........with a lil shot of molasses

scroglodyte said:

i haven't........yet. but i've done a fair amount of homework. it seems the nutrients from your tank are best and safest after passing through a biofilter, perhaps another tank with cut up mesh filters for the aerobes to attach to. they make the nutes from fish available/soluble, and deter anaerobes.. adding tank water to soil, without biofiltering may open your girls to disease.

Click to expand...

Really no offense but that is absurd. There are no diseases you can pass on and a bio filter just removes the nitrates/nitrites/ammonia that you want... After passing through a bio filter you still have all (or more) of the microbes just less of the nutrients. These nutrients are already in available forms for your plants and need no post treatment/breakdown. Bubbling it like tea adds more microbes - possibly bad ones that can make people very very sick - but will still not hurt the plants one bit. That said, I'm not sure I know anyone with a tank that doesn't run a filter...these are biological filters...except of course those that do true aquaponics in which case you don't want a filter.


@Raymond - there are several people on this forum that use aquarium water. I would say most everyone that has fresh water aquariums. There are several aquarium threads on here - might post the same questions there.

Actually, you can add fish tank water to hydro or soil, either with or without any added biofiltration, with beneficial results. Biofiltration exists in any seasoned aquarium and all soil as well, even hydro unless it's sterilized regularly. The bacteria responsible for converting ammonia into nitrite, then nitrite to nitrate are both waterborne and airborne, and present everywhere. If there is an abundance of ammonia, these bacteria bloom, and vice versa. There are not fewer nutrients after bio-filtration. There are exactly the same amount, and usable to the plant. In addition to nitrates, fish water provides a variety of nutes already water-soluble and usable. I have never heard of any plant disease carried by fish or fish water.

The adding of molasses and bubbling does create a bloom of aerobic microbes, and these microbes break organic compounds into plant usable nutes. Not necessary, but nice. Again, the nutrients are there either way.