First CFL Grow Using 30 Watt CFLs

[donpaul.p]

thanks miwa, it was something gg7 told me, it replicates the winter and should make the seeds more viable, im more than happy to use them as they are, ill stick some in the fridge for a while to replicate winter and some i wont put in the fridge, then i can grow them and see if their is any difference, i wonder if it has any affect on male/female ratio.

ive also been reading up about this fish tank water, here is some info i have found, it sounds like it could be a good thing,

Most aquatic plants thrive on NitrAte, which is only present in an established (and HEALTHY) aquarium after it has become cycled. Fish waste (Ammonia) is eventually converted to NitrIte after beneficial bacteria has established in the filter. Both are poisonous to fish and some plants help in absorbing these harmful chemicals (java moss to name one). After a bit more time, another type of beneficial bacteria will establish itself in the filter converting NitrIte in NitrAte. Nitrate is what aquarium plants thrive on (as well as most common forms of algae).

Given this, well established aquariums should ONLY have NitrAte present. As with aquarium plants, house plants tend to thrive off of this nutrient. I can only speak for aquarium plants, but I would suspect that some "easy to care for house plants" would only need aquarium water as a fertilizer if the nitrate levels are at a moderate level.

As far as backing up the "propagating plants in fish tanks", I've started a few spider plants by floating the roots in my aquarium water with VERY accelerated results. The roots are present within 24 hours and within a couple of days the roots are around 2" long. Plant in soil watch em grow. I water all of my plants with aquarium water.

science experiment uses aquarium water on sweet peppers. Based the the gathered data, there is a better growth yield on the plants with 100% aquarium water compared to the set of peppers using 50% aquarium water and "pure tap" water. For the peppers with 100% aquarium water, their leaves are larger and grew taller compared to the rest. Also, they have more branches that makes them more roboust. At this time, buds are coming out and more matured flowers are seen 100% aquarium-peppers.

this is me now below is the best bit of info i have found, it says its upto 30% better than hydro, this is off a none cannabis site that produces fruit and veg and plants like orchids etc etc

read up on aquponics, animals and plants require almost opposite things to survive, for example we breath in oxygen and expel co2, plants take co2 and produce o2
also the nitrogens and other by products from fish will be of use to your plants,
using aquaponics i often see an increase of 20-30% plant size compared to hydroponics and 50-60% over soil alone
using fish water will only ever benifit your plants.

so it looks like this fish water will work great, just not sure on the long term affects,

 

[miwa]

Good info...i'm convinced..i hope cheap fish for the tank works..

 

[donpaul.p]

i know ive posted a lot of info but this is just getting better and better, i just found this as well, i wonder if you could do a dwc with fish tank water, if i could get away with mounting some lights above my tank id give it a try as i have air stones in my tank, but the more i read the more fish tank water seems like a good idea, some say its better than most fertalizers.
here is what i just read, i copy n paste it for you all to read.

Almost all plants will grow better if watered with the water from a fish tank, since fish excrete in good supply the two most important nutrients for plant growth: phosphorus and nitrogen. Thus, if you compare two plants, one which is unfertilized and the other watered with the water from a fish tank, it is only logical that the latter grow better, since it is essentially being fertilized. In fact, I would bet that such a plant would even have an advantage over a fertilized plant, given that chemical fertilizer is presented in inorganic form, while fish excrete organic phosphorus and nitrogen molecules, more readily assimilated into plant tissues. Of course, the relative dose plays a role, but I would wager that fish tank water is, mol for mol, the better fertilizer.

 

[Heirloom]

@miwa - Oh, it will!

 

[donpaul.p]

fish tank water should not be used every feed, i just been reading this also, it says it can be used on a weekly basis but water once with tap water, so i think if i do a 2/1 ratio then it should be ok, so ill water with tank water 2 times then the next feed ill use tap water and bpn, ill try it with these 2 plants and see what happens, im interested now ive been reading all this, it sounds like it could be a good thing for these plants.
im just about to move my flowering plants out of the main grow room as the hps is now set to glr so i can finish off my veg plants, so i got 4 plants to take out that are in flower, the 2 hempies and 1 x ak47 cross uk cherry cheese, i decided to flower this off now as i dont have the room for it so its in a smaller pot than the bigger plants but its starting to flower, ill take clones from it as i like this strain, so i got the 2 hempies plus that one, the other plant is a male, its an ak47 cross uk cherry cheese male, so ill be collecting pollen from this as well and ill pollenate the other ak47 cross uk cherry cheese so ill have some more seed of that strain, and i might cross it with something else as well,

 

[miwa]

Definately going to check it out...got plenty bagseed..

 

[donpaul.p]

it says any fish will work, even cold water fish, so you could just have a basic fish tank set up with some cold water fish like gold fish, stick an air pump in to keep the fish happy, but if you set up a new tank it will take weeks to get the nitrate and nitrite up to the levels of a tank thats been set up for a while, so it seems it can be any fish as long as its not salt water fish or marine fish, so tropical and cold water tanks should be ideal for feeding these plants with, so my fish are now keeping my plants happy,
the good thing is i got 2 big tanks so got plenty of this water, ill give these 2 plants a good try with it first before any other plants get it,

 

[Heirloom]

Two words...one name...

Murray Hallam

 

[spring2012]

i know ive posted a lot of info but this is just getting better and better, i just found this as well, i wonder if you could do a dwc with fish tank water, if i could get away with mounting some lights above my tank id give it a try as i have air stones in my tank, but the more i read the more fish tank water seems like a good idea, some say its better than most fertalizers.
here is what i just read, i copy n paste it for you all to read.

Almost all plants will grow better if watered with the water from a fish tank, since fish excrete in good supply the two most important nutrients for plant growth: phosphorus and nitrogen. Thus, if you compare two plants, one which is unfertilized and the other watered with the water from a fish tank, it is only logical that the latter grow better, since it is essentially being fertilized. In fact, I would bet that such a plant would even have an advantage over a fertilized plant, given that chemical fertilizer is presented in inorganic form, while fish excrete organic phosphorus and nitrogen molecules, more readily assimilated into plant tissues. Of course, the relative dose plays a role, but I would wager that fish tank water is, mol for mol, the better fertilizer.

Seems logical! I am new too growing but have some experience with fish tanks. My only concern would be Amonia and the chemicals used to curb it. What would that do to a plant?

 

[miwa]

Two words...one name...

Murray Hallam

Yep...Murray Hallam has a DIY video on Aquaponic's..Good post Heirloom

 

[Heirloom]

Thanks!. When it comes to Aquaponics, he's the guy to listen too. Good Aussie mate, no frills and always great info.

I do understand that what DP is doing is different than full Aquaponics. He is simply replacing tank water. Aquaponics creates a full ecosystem with not only the plants and fish, but the micro biology as well. In fact the micro biology is most important. The tank water is great stuff, but when processed by all the micro's it is even better and broken down into forms the plants can readily use. Murray even has worms in his beds! You know it's good stuff when the worms are thriving!

 

[donpaul.p]

thanks for the info ill check him out, the water is certainly doing the trick, the 2 plants i been feeding it are clearly doing ok and seem to be doing better than the other plants, i need to look into it more and get the water tested, i need to find out if i can use bpn as well, say 2 feeds with tank water then the 3rd feed ill give either tap water and bpn or tank water and bpn, im not sure what will build up in the soil so it might be best to give a plain tap water feed every so often to flush anything out of the soil, but so far everything seems to be going ok.

the test im running with the hempies has not changed, seeds have not sprouted but this is only the 2nd day since planting, so their wont be no change for a day or 2, then ill take pics and document whats going on.

i wish i had a good camera this big hempie has got trichs all over the place, even the fan leaves are covered, its got more trichs than i have seen on any of the other plants ive grown, its covered, ill try and take some pics and you can see what i mean, ill put some new pics up tomorrow so you can all see what i got going on and how the plants are doin

pictures taken so ill upload them tomorrow,

 

[fish cake]

that said with all the fish talk, I would say that discus fish would be the best to use! the best of both worlds if you can breed those and grow smoke, well you would have a legitamet income

 

[donpaul.p]

discus fish, not heard of them before, ill check them out, i have no problems breeding fish, i just up the temp a few degrees and they start making babies, i lower the temp and they stop, so its pretty easy to get them breeding, the hard part is to try and stop them inbreeding with brother and sister and mother and son etc, cuz these fish really aint that fussy, they will have babies with anyone, relative or not

 

[Jimmycricket]

discus fish, not heard of them before, ill check them out, i have no problems breeding fish, i just up the temp a few degrees and they start making babies, i lower the temp and they stop, so its pretty easy to get them breeding, the hard part is to try and stop them inbreeding with brother and sister and mother and son etc, cuz these fish really aint that fussy, they will have babies with anyone, relative or not

Don P must have got his fish from Kentucky.

 

[donpaul.p]

now i know what they are, not seen many of them in the pet shops and aquatics i go to, but i do recognise them from somewhere, are they worth some money then, i got fish like mollies, pleks, coreys, sharks, upside down catfish that are totally upside down, i got glass fish that are perfectly clear and you can see right through them, i got cat fish, neons, and many more, to many to name, but not got none of them discus fish, i was going to get a marine tank and get the kids some nemo fish or clown fish as most people know them as, but them marine tanks are hard work, you have to have skimmers and stuff to take the crap out the salty water, lot of hard work and the fish are usually tiny, but i do like the sea horses, so i may get a marine tank yet, was going to get piranha for my coffee table fish tank because this coffee table tank is pretty big, i struggled to get it in my flat, the delivery bloke wasnt to happy as he had to carry it up 2 flights of stairs as it was to big for the lift,

 

[donpaul.p]

i just been reading about them discus fish, their just cichlids, i got plenty of them, i know them as cichlids, my moms got loads of them in her tank, keep breeding, i tell her to take her temps down but she thinks the fish will not like it a degree or 2 cooler, if she dont want babies then lower the temp, you want babies then raise the temp and seperate them when you know their pregnant else the other fish eat the eggs, its a nightmare when they have babies,
i got a seperate tank with convicts in it, now they breed like crazy and water temp makes no difference, trust me i tried it, the problem is you can only have convicts with convicts, the reason why is they got big teeth like piranha and shred anything, when i clean the tank and use a scraper on the inside of the glass, they rip it to pieces, i had a plek in their with them and they shredded him to pieces as well, in a few hours so took him out and he grew his tail back, i make sure i keep my fingers well out the way, they eat anything, burgers the lot, they aint fussy, if it moves and got a heart beat then they eat it, if it hasnt got a heart beat then its an easy lunch for them, getting rid of them is the problem, i bought them from a pet shop and they wont have them back, finding owners who want them is pretty hard going

 

[Heirloom]

As I have been reading up on aquaponics (ANOTHER in a long list of to do's) I see than adding chelated iron and kelp extract is a popular thing. But again that is in an active aquaponics system.

 

[fish cake]

i just been reading about them discus fish, their just cichlids, i got plenty of them, i know them as cichlids, my moms got loads of them in her tank, keep breeding, i tell her to take her temps down but she thinks the fish will not like it a degree or 2 cooler, if she dont want babies then lower the temp, you want babies then raise the temp and seperate them when you know their pregnant else the other fish eat the eggs, its a nightmare when they have babies,
i got a seperate tank with convicts in it, now they breed like crazy and water temp makes no difference, trust me i tried it, the problem is you can only have convicts with convicts, the reason why is they got big teeth like piranha and shred anything, when i clean the tank and use a scraper on the inside of the glass, they rip it to pieces, i had a plek in their with them and they shredded him to pieces as well, in a few hours so took him out and he grew his tail back, i make sure i keep my fingers well out the way, they eat anything, burgers the lot, they aint fussy, if it moves and got a heart beat then they eat it, if it hasnt got a heart beat then its an easy lunch for them, getting rid of them is the problem, i bought them from a pet shop and they wont have them back, finding owners who want them is pretty hard going

the reason I mentioned the discuss is they are quite beautifull fish and if you can get them to breed quite lucrative.
they also like the Ph levels that Mj enjoys. I have had saltwater tanks and my clown fish had babies 2 times!
also have raised african cichlids from lake malawia and had a synadontis angelicus cat fish that I won a first place for at a fish show
raised a red belly piranha to be about 14" they are very skidish so if there is alot of activity near the tank they tend to beat themselves up trying to get away and one will become domanint and kill the others if you keep more then one in the tank
and as far as the saltwater tanks go bigger is better as you dont have big fluctuations in temps, salinity and nitrates and amounia.
you dont have to have special filters as long as you dont try to keep corals alive. seahorses are a bit of a pain in the butt tho they like very still water and are hard to regulate their food so you can foul the water very quick.
wished I knew as much about growing pot as I do keeping fish LOL
good luck with what ever you choose brother man

 

[donpaul.p]

you certainly know your fish, i think watering with the tank water every now and then will give the plants a boost, but i dont know enough to use it all the time till ive looked to see whats in the water,

just uploading the latest pics now