General Aquaria Discussion • Does anyone recycle aquarium water?

[Dawg2012]

I just did a 75% water change, including substrate vacuuming, on my 10g fry/juvie tank at work.

As I was carrying the trash can full of water to the bathroom to dump it, I decided to use it to water my 30 some odd plants in my cube. Figured they'd like it with the high nitrate content, room temperature and lack of chlorine. Plus it saved me a trip with a somewhat heavy/awkward trash can full of water - and those looks from people wondering what in the #%$& I was doing.

I've considered doing this at home for the vegetable garden as I have two 75g overstocked tanks there and now do weekly changes of roughly 50%. Seems like they'd also like it and a good use of roughly 75g of water.

Thoughts? Experiences?

[rp-photo]

Recycling water like that can have a pro's and cons... the major con's, the water can cause the plant soil to smell .....

[reflexhunter]

I do it all the time, never really noticed a smell though, but I only have one inside plant and use the rest on plants outside.

[Dawg2012]

Cool.

Lol I'm sure I will be told if it smells... The plant person here at work hates me as it is.

[reflexhunter]

I use a python to change most of w/c but when I clean out my filters I use a 5 gallon bucket to put water in then clean my filters into it and use that water for my plants.

[irondan]

i have 5 tanks, the biggest being a 125. i change 50% weekly on all tanks. the water goes into my gardens and house plants. the vegetables from the garden are big and juicy and my houseplants thrive. i have been doing this for 2 years and i have noticed a big difference in the size of the plants and their general health

[hbsweet]

Yes I use the water for plants outside, plus your coffee grounds and espresso grounds are wonderful for your plants.

[ollie78]

I "recycle" the water by watering my flower bed. If it weren't for weekly water changes they'd look crappier than they do now

[csolo541]

Some people grow veggies and whatnot out of the tops of their tanks. It's called Aquaponics. In my experience it works best with leafy veggies like lettuce because nitrogen is the main thing produced by the fish tank. Adding nutrients to an aquaponics tank would kind of defeat the purpose of it being self-sustaining.

I went back to growing in dirt tho. Better quality plants. Still, fish tank water is better than tap.

[Dawg2012]

Thanks for the feedback!

My plants here at work seem pretty happy. My Spider Plant, which always looks kind of pale, is now a darker green. Might be me simply seeing what I want to believe but...

As I have a fairly good grasp on how my plants here grow - I'll advise on how regular waterings from the tank go. If nothing else my fish will be happier