Seeding filter media within the substrate

[Wyld-Fyre]

Has anyone ever considered extending the use of their 'used' filter padding, by burying it within the substrate?

Like to hear from anyone who've tried this, and whether it had any effect on plant root growth.

 

[fufanu360]

wut would that accomplish?

 

[Tolak]

Probably couldn't hurt. I take the water used to rinse filter media & water the house plants with it. Seems to help them grow, if that is any indication of wether your idea may make a difference in root growth.

Tolak

 

[TwoTankAmin]

A complete waste of time and very messy to do. The size of your bacterial colonies do not increase unless you increase their food source- ammonia. If you take a fully cycled tank and remove 50% of the waste load, w/i a few days your bacteria will die back until the colonies are also 1/2 the size they had been.

 

[Tolak]

If I'm not mistaken, you are looking for a sort of fertilizer effect for your plants from the used media, as opposed to increasing the biological load of the tank by using the nitrifying bacteria in the old media. Burying the media will do nothing for your biological filtration.

You've really got me thinking, my wife has 2 of the same houseplant sitting on the top of one tank. I'm going to try the "fish water" on one, tap water on the other. It will probably take a while to see if there is any difference, but why not try. Gardening season is a couple months away, I'm all for free fertilizer, especially if it's the natural sort.

Tolak

 

[Polardbear]

Depending on the condition of your plants you may be quickly surprised. Whenever I do water changes I haul the dirty water out to my newly planted trees and some sickly rose bushes that came with the house. When I started giving them the fish waste water the difference in them was incredible. The roses that were on their last legs snapped back and are now out of control. I've been giving most of the water to one tree in the front and occasionally to the 3 trees in the back. The tree out front has twice the growth of the trees out back.

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Hey!....Glad I could help with the brainstorming guys. Hope it works out for you, and anyone else whose gonna give that idea a crack

What I was thinking about was the nutrients locked within the media padding that could be useful, than rather just throwing it away. Once buried, of course it would no longer act within the nutrifying process but instead provide 1) stability for root growth as an 'earthen root hold', and 2), most importantly, a rich food source/ location point.

I also use the quality nutrient-rich 'waste' water for feeding my house-plants, albeit with a little babybio to give it that extra kick.