Aquariums and gardening.

[Fishman Dave]

Looks like a form of dracenea
If you want to carry on watering with tank water. Pick up a hanging basket fertiliser, that will be low on nitrogen and high on the other elements.

 

[esoxlucius]

Looks like a form of dracenea
If you want to carry on watering with tank water. Pick up a hanging basket fertiliser, that will be low on nitrogen and high on the other elements.

I'm trying to get my head around this fertiliser business. A balanced feed, correct me if I'm wrong, gives nutrient for healthy leaves, healthy roots and good healthy flowers, which I believe are nitrogen (leaves), phosphurus (roots), potassium (flowers), plus other trace elements, but they are the big three. Is this correct?

An imbalance in feed will result in one or more of those three key elements of the plants growth suffering, is that correct?

 

[Fishman Dave]

Yep, you got it.
Hanging baskets usually focus on flowers so the fertilisers for them are usually low on nitrogen (so they don’t produce lots of leafy growth instead of flowers). So if you add a hanging basket fertiliser to your tank water, which already has high nitrogen, you will basically make a balanced feed, with elements of all three. And you can still keep using your tank water, just with a cap of hanging basket feed in with it.

 

[esoxlucius]

Yep, you got it.
Hanging baskets usually focus on flowers so the fertilisers for them are usually low on nitrogen (so they don’t produce lots of leafy growth instead of flowers). So if you add a hanging basket fertiliser to your tank water, which already has high nitrogen, you will basically make a balanced feed, with elements of all three. And you can still keep using your tank water, just with a cap of hanging basket feed in with it.

Gotcha. I know my tank water has the nitrogen part. What about the well rotted down compost in my worm heap? I take it that will be extremely nitrogen rich too as all the scraps in there have gone through the nitrogen cycle, yes?

And these new findings ( to me), definitely explain the small flowers on my anthurium. All it gets is nitrogen rich aquarium water. I'm not surprised it's leaves are great and it's flowers aren't, lol.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Ah, now, decaying leaves like cabbage, most plants, etc. put onto your compost heap give back phosphorous and potassium along with nitrogen, hence your compost soil is so good - it contains all the elements plants need.

 

[esoxlucius]

Ah, now, decaying leaves like cabbage, most plants, etc. put onto your compost heap give back phosphorous and potassium along with nitrogen, hence your compost soil is so good - it contains all the elements plants need.

Oh, just when I thought I was getting to grips with the subject too, lol. So, theoretically, if I surface dressed all my plants every spring with rich well rotted down compost from my wormery, and then just watered them with old tank water, then that should suffice until the next spring? I shouldn't need a shop bought fert? Or would the potassium and phosphurus in my surface dressing quickly run out, meaning the regular usage of a fertiliser would be better to last the whole growing season?

 

[Niki_up]

Oh, just when I thought I was getting to grips with the subject too, lol. So, theoretically, if I surface dressed all my plants every spring with rich well rotted down compost from my wormery, and then just watered them with old tank water, then that should suffice until the next spring? I shouldn't need a shop bought fert? Or would the potassium and phosphurus in my surface dressing quickly run out, meaning the regular usage of a fertiliser would be better to last the whole growing season?

I don’t know the answers to these questions but I do quite enjoy them and look forward to the response

 

[esoxlucius]

I don’t know the answers to these questions but I do quite enjoy them and look forward to the response

Honestly Nik, this should be basic stuff that any gardener should know. But it stumps me. I'm beginning to realise that I am more of a newb than I thought, lol.

I feel like a novice who's just got his first aquarium and knows sod all about cycling it!

But you know what, I love it. I'm just glad Dave knows what he's on about, lol.

And I can't really ask too many basic questions over on my new gardening forum. They'll think I'm a complete twonk. At least on here, everyone already knows that!!! Lol.

 

[Fishman Dave]

I wish I knew the answers for you.
But, my guess is that they would depleteat different rates depending on the plant and how vigorous it was so you would still need to feed.
Just relating it to planted tanks. You can set up a new planted tank with all good soil and correct nutrients in it and the water but same thing happens. If it were full of crypts you may get away with it for 6 months but if it were full of fast growing hygrophilias you would need to fert Feed (or co2) very shortly to keep up the great growth.

 

[esoxlucius]

I wish I knew the answers for you.
But, my guess is that they would depleteat different rates depending on the plant and how vigorous it was so you would still need to feed.
Just relating it to planted tanks. You can set up a new planted tank with all good soil and correct nutrients in it and the water but same thing happens. If it were full of crypts you may get away with it for 6 months but if it were full of fast growing hygrophilias you would need to fert Feed (or co2) very shortly to keep up the great growth.

Yes, gardening and aquaria are related in so many aspects, hence the main title of this thread.

You know what, I honestly think I'm reading far to much into all this. It's too complex for me to understand considering the early stage I'm at. The old KISS method we have regarding aquariums can very much be related to gardening too.

Maybe it would be simpler for me, and my brain, to just water with bog standard rainwater from an outside butt, and add a basic proven fert such as "baby bio" or "miracle grow" as a supplement?

I'm trying to juggle aquarium water, organic compost, ash from my wood burner and ferts!! I'm just overburdening what should be a simple thing. As mentioned, I think the KISS method would serve me better.