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Re: Water Lilly problems
> From: E Enns <ebenns at MTS_Net>
>
> Here's the problem. We repotted the lillies in order to give them a
> start until the snow is gone. They've already sprouted to a length of
> 2-3 inches. We followed the advise we picked up from various magazines,
> and placed them in soil mixed with some bonemeal, and covered this with
> a thin layer of sand on the top. We then placed the pots into a clean 75
> gallon aquarium, (no fish or gravel on bottom) with the water being
> filtered, and placed a 80watt florescent lamp over the tank giving them
> about 10+ hours light (on timers).
> The problem is that the water has been turning milky white and to put it
> bluntly, smells like a septic tank. There was a clear film which looked
> mucoid or jelly like starting to coat the plants and the surface of the
> water. After a week of this the tank continued to get murkier and
> darker. The smell was so bad we had to take all the pots out, wash them
> down, and reclean the tank.
The milky water is caused by growth of micro-organisms (infusoria and/or
bacteria) which are no doubt feeding off something in the pots. I wonder
if that soil you used contained fertilizer? Another possibility is one
or more dead and rotting bulbs. You could try isolating the cause by
putting bonemeal, soil and whatever else in separate containers of water.
Good luck!
Steve