Frogfish Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 So I have been experimenting with some ''waste water'' to dose nitrates in planted tanks. I have been dosing water from a fish only tank to increase nitrates in my planted tanks. So far this method is going quite well and all tanks are healthy. At first I was testing water regularly in all tanks and used some simple algebra to figure out approximately how much water to dose with. A few months in I just take water from the fish only tank to use as regular top ups for evaporated water from the planted aquariums. The thought behind it was that I felt bad wasting the water and found myself compelled to find a way to re-use this precious resource. Other things to do with water from all tanks is to water houseplants and when winter is finally gone to water trees and add nitrate to the compost pile. I suggested to my wife that we use the water to flush the toilets with but the idea didn't fly. Have you thought of water conservation and if so what are your thoughts and ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Never really used the waste water for plants and what not but it does work well. i do welcome the evaporation from the tank which helps the low humidity in our home especially in winter. So in essence I use the tank as a humidifier than using the humidifier on the HVAC system. Waste water from FW tanks is always good to use on houseplants and as well as outside. For SW tanks the waste water from RO units again is great for houseplants and again outside. For the FW tank you didn't say anything about water changes. So I'll just throw this in there. The WC's are needed to balance the system and is especially important when we manipulate levels of nutrient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogfish Posted March 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Oh i religiously change the water in all tanks every sunday, this is just what I do to top up water, I know the water change is essential to maintain the closed ecosystems health and balance, I also love the added humidity and guests visiting also notice and appreciate it. Mostly I was just hoping to help float the idea of reusing excess water from doing weekly maintenance. Norm at Pisces was saying that outdoor plants relish in the murky water resulting from filter maintenance, really looking forward to giving the strawberry patch a shot of that before the fruit sets in of course. I completely forgot about saltwater setups but this water would kill plants unless run through an RO unit. Good catch ckmullin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Had thought I'd mention that water change thing because I know many new tank people might get the idea of just topping up and never changing the water. For the saltwater to make ro typically it's a 3 part waste to 1 pure. That 3 parts would be good to use as the waste output is typically run straight into the drain. The saltwater waste water from a change I don't think is much good for anything but perhaps weed killer rock walkway as you had said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 I always save my "water change water" and use it to water house plants.Never thought of flushing toilets with it, but it's a neat idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Yep from spring thaw to freeze up water ends up in the flower beds,vegee garden or lawn,winter on the house plants.Snails and plant trimmings land in the compost pile,old filter media ends up on the bottom of flower pots for drainage.Vegee garden loves the stuff lots of spinach & cucumbers for me & the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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