Where do you throw your dirty water?

[thresholdoftime]

How could you get E. Coli from watering your plants with fish waste water?

Are you talking about if you water your veggie garden or something?

 

[7Enigma]

Yeah about the only way you could get sick from fish water was if you were to directly drink it (yum!), or put it on garden fruits/vegetables that were ripe and not wash them before eating. That and open wounds on the hands when playing around in the tank.

Pretty much the only thing that scares me disease-wise in our hobby is tuberculosis, and that is pretty rare, and can't spontaneously show up.

 

[Rikesh]

How could you get E. Coli from watering your plants with fish waste water?

Are you talking about if you water your veggie garden or something?

I'm just stating what other people said when I started a similar thread. I personally water my veggies with tank water(wash them before eating) without any noticeable problem.

 

[thresholdoftime]

I'm just stating what other people said when I started a similar thread. I personally water my veggies with tank water(wash them before eating) without any noticeable problem.

So do you think watering gardens with fish water would fertilize it?

If so I'm going to do it. I just started a veggie garden in my back yard.

Although the e.coli thing kinda freaks me out.. I think I had a hang nail that was open when I was rearanging my rock assortment last time. I guess I'm a hypacondreact...

 

[crushyfish]

I live in the basement so currently it just goes in sink or toilet but I used to throw water outside and I know it is good for plants. If you have plants the fertilizer is quite good for them. Give it a go!

 

[asudavew]

My wife's rose plants and caladiums do very well with the waste water.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Remember, if your filters are working properly, your tank does NOT contain ammonia. It instead contains Nitrate. The principle reason for doing PWC is to remove some of the Nitrate that builds up over time. Nitrate is a fertilizer, so your plants should love the water.

As for additives we place in a tank... well plants are generally much more hardy any animals, and since our animals are swimming in this stuff, I doubt it could do any harm to plants. The only possible exception might be for those that add salt to their tanks.

In any case, just remember the nitrogen cycle. You add fish food to the tank, the fish convert it to ammonia, bacteria convert the ammonia to nitrite and bacteria convert the nitrite to nitrate, and the plants feed off the nitrate.

 

[mgamer20o0]

most plant food contains ammonia anyways. i have never had any problems with anything from putting my hands in the water even with cuts to eating the fruit of the waste water. i do wash them though but thats to get the dirt off. not like any of it gets on them it goes to the stump.

 

[Rikesh]

So do you think watering gardens with fish water would fertilize it?

My plants are quite good on aquaria's water. I water everything(from cactii to veggies) with that water. Oh, btw, there's a guy in another forum who did a little experiment by watering two plants, one with tap water, and the other with aquarium water. The latter grew much better.