Skimmate as Garden Fertilizer?

[wpeterson]

It's almost Spring in Boston and my wife is starting seedlings in the house for the garden. I was thinking about all the nutrients we work to export from our aquarium and thought they overlap with all the nutrients we try to import with fertilizer in a garden (Phosphate, Nitrate, etc).

Can you use a thick green skimmate from the aquarium as fertilizer? Is there too much salt content to be safe?

Have any of your tried this and had good luck? My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I think this might work.

 

[phg1960]

The nutrients would be great for a garden, but check the salt content of it first. I dump my water from changes outside my basement. No weeds or grass growing there anymore.

 

[joelg]

I would think the salt may be an issue. However in the summer I do rinse the filter media from my freshwater systems in the garden that seems to work well as a fertilizer

 

[wrassefan]

I would do flowers and bushes...I doubt I would try it my veggy garden

 

[RMc]

Salt would be an issue - salts in general basically halt tertiary plant growth (with a few exceptions).

 

[joe0813]

I would think the salt level would kill the flowers

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

When I had freshwater fish I often used my change water on my houseplants, and they loved it. Saltwater and skimmate is another story. I wouldn't do it, especially not for seedlings. They are very fragile. I grow my veggies and flowers from seeds every year.

 

[reefstarter]

And I quote Ned Flanders of simpsons " Homer I can understand you hating me and all that , but why did you salt my garden so that nothing can ever grow again " lol