fishtank/aquarium water
- Thread starter teeach
- Start date
swansong
Active Member
you have to be careful when using tank water, especially if you use de-chlorinator on the water. Why? becuase the de-chlorinator works by binding the metals and gasses present in the water and making them chemicaly inert or in other words useless. Cannabis plants require these heavy metals in trace elements to stay healthy, calcium, magnesium, boron etc etc.. So obviously if you are making your tank water safe for your fish by adding chemicals, than chances are you are locking out many of the nutrients your plants would need.
There are a few exceptions to this, mainly in the brand or purpose of the chemical additives. Some of the additives are designed to work in tanks or aquariums where living plants are present, and hence they use 'safer' techniques to 'de-toxify' the water.
You can normally see on the back of the additives if they are safe to be used in tanks containing plants.
With all that said, you are really better off using tap water for a whole host of other reasons (eg. fish urine contains ammonia: not good for plants), unless there is an unusual reason why you cannot.
If you fill a bucket of tap water the night before you intend to use it, the chlorine (being a gas) will dissipate over night. The other elements that remain in the tap water will not be overly damaging to the plants. PH and EC level are far more important issues.
There are a few exceptions to this, mainly in the brand or purpose of the chemical additives. Some of the additives are designed to work in tanks or aquariums where living plants are present, and hence they use 'safer' techniques to 'de-toxify' the water.
You can normally see on the back of the additives if they are safe to be used in tanks containing plants.
With all that said, you are really better off using tap water for a whole host of other reasons (eg. fish urine contains ammonia: not good for plants), unless there is an unusual reason why you cannot.
If you fill a bucket of tap water the night before you intend to use it, the chlorine (being a gas) will dissipate over night. The other elements that remain in the tap water will not be overly damaging to the plants. PH and EC level are far more important issues.
Was it from a saltwater tank? My plants love the water from a freshwater tank.
Chlorine will evaporate in a few hours. I just use tap water, but with a saltwater tank I need the higher PH so it works out for me. Chlorine has never been a problem for me, I just let it evaporate out of the water.
Dont let fish waste be a deterant for not using the water. If the tanks bio system is functioning properly you will not have ammonia to begin with. If your tank shows ammonia then you have other problems and fish will be dieing. Fish water has a lot of good stuff in it that plants like.
Lord Dangly Bits
Well-Known Member
I would not use Fish tank water, for the same reason i would not use rain water run off from my roof. Just to much of a chance to get something in the water. Like rain water.. hmmmmm they say it has Acid in it now a days and is killing of frogs. Tank water.. I have three tanks, and when I got home from mexico They all had Algae Ploom. I could not get rid of it for 2 weeks, until i added AlgaeFix to the tanks. Walla nice crystal clear tanks. I am sure this would hurt my plants somehow. And what happens if I have a sick fish in my tank, and it made some kind of weird bacteria in the water. Just not worth the chance to me.....
You are missing a very important point. If the water is good enough to keep an animal alive it is "clean", but maybe not for direct human consumption. Plants also grow underwater in fishtanks and still need the same nutrients that land plants need. Photosynthesis is also the same.
Algae blooms are usually caused by to much light or the bio-system is overloaded. Do more water changes, remove livestock and drastically reduce the light are common fixes for algae blooms, they are a pain. Had my fair share of them.
swansong
Active Member
thats true to some extent, but you have to consider how the notrogen cycle actually works, the fish waste and excess food is converted to ammonia before the filters bacteria can begin converting it to nitrogen. During this conversion period which is ongoing there will be at least some ammonia in the system. Also once the ammonia is converted to nitrogen, you would then have to have living plants to convert the nitrogen to nitrate. So someone without living plants in the tank system, is going to get an excessive build up of nitrogen. Or in contrast to that, if you do have plants, then you will get a build up of nitrate (nitrogens waste by-product) both of these elements can quickly reach undesirable levels in fish tanks.
So while there are certainly going to be some beneficial elements in the tank water (providing you havent locked them out with de-chlorinator), there are always going to be more that are undesirable. All that is said before you even start talking about the fact the the nutrient ratios are never going to be right, let alone perfect. Especially during the flowering period. There will far too much nitrogen in virtually any tank water, to be anywhere near right for flowering.
So for anyone wanting to produce good quality bud, you really should consider buying the easily available and cheap nutrient packs.
So while there are certainly going to be some beneficial elements in the tank water (providing you havent locked them out with de-chlorinator), there are always going to be more that are undesirable. All that is said before you even start talking about the fact the the nutrient ratios are never going to be right, let alone perfect. Especially during the flowering period. There will far too much nitrogen in virtually any tank water, to be anywhere near right for flowering.
So for anyone wanting to produce good quality bud, you really should consider buying the easily available and cheap nutrient packs.
Lord Dangly Bits
Well-Known Member
I understand all of this. But I will not take a chance useing water that i have no idea was has infected it, or chemicals are with in it. With City water you know it has been filtered, just let it sit for 24 hours.. With R/O water as i use. I just have to add CalMag to my tanks. It is just the way I grow. Just because that one guy uses his own Piss, does not mean I do not understand the issue when I do not use it. TO EACH HIS OWN....
If you use tank water, and never had a problem, I am very happy for you. But I would hate to kill off a crop in the 6th week because of contaminated water.
I agree, everyone has their own way. But if the tank is contaminated, the fish would die. As far as using piss, I agree, I will not use it either. That in fact would be a direct shot of ammonia.
mm think i'll give it a miss for now as its my first time griowing then experiment a bit later with different setups etc. my tank has lost two fish since setup before xmas i think they were dodgy fish from the shop, i dont treat the water personally b
cheers anywayut it has a multi filter system with treatments in the sponges i think so i wont risk it
cheers anywayut it has a multi filter system with treatments in the sponges i think so i wont risk it