[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: aquatic compost
>From: "Roger S. Miller" <rgrmill at rt66_com>
>Is there some way we could return the nutrients from our cuttings and
>removed plants to our tanks - doing for our tanks what composting does for
>our gardens? This could reduce or eliminate the need for some
>fertilizers.
As usual Roger has some interesting ideas to present. In this case it is
"aquatic food for thought."
>The direct approach would be to just dump it into the tank. Most would
>settle and form a layer on the substrate. The rest would get filtered.
>Snails and other detritivores would probably think this was manna. Some
>herbivores might like it too. The direct approach would be risky because
>it returns all of the nutrients (including nitrogen that probably isn't
>needed in a tank with fish)
Adding large concentration of soluble phosphorus will be worse than adding
N and probably result in an immediate algae bloom.
>You could also put the soup into a media chamber in a filter. That would
>keep the detritivores and herbivores out of the picture and allow slower
>breakdown, but you're still likely to get a big slug of nitrogen that you
>don't want.
This will also add a big slug of P, right?
>
>So how about taking the soup through a decomposition step outside the
>tank - the aquatic equivalent of compost pile?...... Some of the mineral
nutrients
>will be in the water, and some will remain in the partly decomposed plant
>material.
Unless I am missing something, the P will still be in the water, right?
...... I think you could
>filter the solids and return a useful trace element mix to the tank. The
>solids would be kept in the bucket until they reach a nice, stabilized
>form and then used for a substrate amendment.
>
It would be nice if you can remove the soluble phosphates. What about
discarding the liquid part from the solid mush .... or adding soil (and/or
small amount of iron sulfate) into your aquatic compost. The idea would be
to form insoluble iron phosphate. Then figure out a way to get it into the
substrate and out of the water column.
--Neil