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Aquarium Water as Houseplant Fertilizer

© Jill Florio

I love to reuse the resources my own home produces, and my many fish tanks are a fine source of free nutrients for my houseplants, yard and vegetable garden.

A great way to introduce the ecosystem concept in your own home is to recycle your own natural resources - like the dirty water you collect from your own fish tanks. I change my freshwater fish tanks on a regular basis - betta bowls get changed every few days, larger tanks get it once every week or two. I DON'T pour this water down the drain. It goes right into my houseplants and garden.

People always notice how healthy, green and shiny my plants are. While partly it's a firm knowledge of how to raise houseplants, my main secret is the fish water. That dirty, icky, smelly water is pure nutrient nirvana for your flora - both inside the house and in the garden.

Here are some hints:

• Use a gravel siphon, from any fish shop to remove fish wastes. Ask your shop how to use it, then drain your wastes directly into a bucket you set aside for this purpose.
• You can use this smelly stuff directly; no need to age it or add anything. The concentrations won't 'overfertilize' your plants, unlike many chemical applications you buy at the store.
• While your houseplants might stink for a few minutes, that scent will go away within the hour. So don't be afraid to water your houseplants liberally with it.
• In my garden, the plants that get the most fish water thrive the best. I concentrate on my honeysuckle, roses, tomatoes, willows and peach trees. The growth and flowering is unbelievable.
• I have so many fish tanks that I can't even use all the stuff up. So I keep my plastic bottles and fill them with excess fish water. This is a good idea for wintertime, so you can store up the fish water to use on houseplants whenever you wish. Yes, the bottles will be smelly when you open them. So don't open them unless you need them! Remember, that smelly stuff is pure gold.
• I even give out extra bottles as gifts to friends with houseplants, and have sold a few extra bottles at garage sales. Anything to not pour good, free nutrients down the drain!

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  This is a crossover article between my Bella topic sites of Fish and Living Simply, and the Suite Simple Living Garden Hub.

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