j.w
I Love my Goldies
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Great looking plants mucky and sissy!
Water Hyacinth Greenhouse
- Thread starter Mucky_Waters
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I'm getting ready to set up an indoor tank to keep hyacinths over the Winter, and since I keep minnows in the pond anyway, my wife suggested getting some to put in the hyacinth tank. They would put out the waste needed by the plants. Anyone see any problems with this idea?
If goldfish eggs could hatch and the fry grow in my greenhouse pond with all the fertilizer I was dumping in there, I don't see how you could have a problem.
I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on just how much light hyacinths need? I just got a tupperware tub (20-30 gallons?) set up in the basement finally. I started with a couple buckets of water from the pond, then filled with treated tap water. I have a small filter running to stir the water up, and this weekend I'll get some rosey-red minnows to stock in the tank. Being indoors, the water will stay around 74 degrees, but since its in the basement, it will not receive any natural sunlight.
We have found on our fish tanks that the plants respond best to lights around the 6500K range, which are easy to come by. I grabbed an old shop light from the garage and put over the tub, about a foot above the water. This has two 4-foot bulbs, putting out 80W total light, but it doesn't look like nearly enough. I will probably get another shop-light to double the output, and see how the plants do. I grabbed the healthiest looking hyacinths from the pond, plus some baby water lettuce that has been growing. So hopefully the fish waste will feed the plants. If I can get the plants to start growing, then I can turn back the amount of light to keep them at a steady level through the Winter, and turn the light back up again in the Spring to start stocking the pond.
By the way, one thing that occurred to me while reading this thread... Many people say WH do better when they are crowded together, and a few folks have mentioned that they do poorly in fish tanks where light gets to their roots. Anyone every think maybe the two were connected? That when the plants are crowded, sunlight isn't getting to their roots anymore? Just a thought...
We have found on our fish tanks that the plants respond best to lights around the 6500K range, which are easy to come by. I grabbed an old shop light from the garage and put over the tub, about a foot above the water. This has two 4-foot bulbs, putting out 80W total light, but it doesn't look like nearly enough. I will probably get another shop-light to double the output, and see how the plants do. I grabbed the healthiest looking hyacinths from the pond, plus some baby water lettuce that has been growing. So hopefully the fish waste will feed the plants. If I can get the plants to start growing, then I can turn back the amount of light to keep them at a steady level through the Winter, and turn the light back up again in the Spring to start stocking the pond.
By the way, one thing that occurred to me while reading this thread... Many people say WH do better when they are crowded together, and a few folks have mentioned that they do poorly in fish tanks where light gets to their roots. Anyone every think maybe the two were connected? That when the plants are crowded, sunlight isn't getting to their roots anymore? Just a thought...
sissy
sissy
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I have found out something over the last couple of years keeping them .It seems they don't like light on there roots .I had some in a fish tank by the window in the basement last year and they did not do good but all the ones on the floor in front of the fish tank in a concrete mixing tub did great and just had to add a little miracle grow once a month
the fish tank and to much light they got mushy .
the fish tank and to much light they got mushy .
Shdwdrgn I don't know if I'm qualified to help you because the one time I tried to over winter water hyacinths I only managed to get them to survive till the end of January. But if I was serious about trying again here is what I would do.
First I would use a proper florescent grow light of at least 300 watt capacity. Also I would use an aquarium heater to keep the water warm. And I would use a shallow tank with clean sand in the bottom for the roots to grow in to, and in the sand I would put some fertilizer tabs. And I would do as you are planning to do and have some pump or filter pump running to keep the water circulating and fresh. I think it would also be a good idea to run a circulating fan once in a while to discourage any type of airborne bugs that might try and infest the hyacinth.
First I would use a proper florescent grow light of at least 300 watt capacity. Also I would use an aquarium heater to keep the water warm. And I would use a shallow tank with clean sand in the bottom for the roots to grow in to, and in the sand I would put some fertilizer tabs. And I would do as you are planning to do and have some pump or filter pump running to keep the water circulating and fresh. I think it would also be a good idea to run a circulating fan once in a while to discourage any type of airborne bugs that might try and infest the hyacinth.
Well I now have 160 watts of light on the tub, and it is sitting right under the furnace duct so there will be periodic air blowing across them. Also our unheated tanks usually stay around 74 degrees through the Winter, so that shouldn't be a problem. The aquarium filter I'm using has a plate for bacteria to grow, providing biological filtration plus carbon scrubbing. And finally, I picked up some minnows last night which will also help stir up the water, and provide nitrates for the plants.
I know my light still isn't at the level of natural sunlight, but I have a couple different types of bulbs which should help give a wider spectrum. However I'm not sure about your suggestion of sand for the plants to grow in? I thought I'd read that hyacinths did not do well when planted?
So I guess we'll see what happens from here. Crossing my fingers, but we also have some water-plant fertilizer to add if needed.
I know my light still isn't at the level of natural sunlight, but I have a couple different types of bulbs which should help give a wider spectrum. However I'm not sure about your suggestion of sand for the plants to grow in? I thought I'd read that hyacinths did not do well when planted?
So I guess we'll see what happens from here. Crossing my fingers, but we also have some water-plant fertilizer to add if needed.
Regarding the sand. I've seen evidence in my own ponds, and read experiences from others, that the hyacinth do better when their roots are able to grow into the soil. Likely because they are able to absorb more nutrients from the soil that may not be available in the surrounding water. If you bury fertilizer tabs in the sand you can provide higher nutrient levels without having to "contaminate" the water, which wouldn't be desirable since you will also be having fish in the water.
Well it looks like I'm failing already... The leaves of my plants are getting brown blotches on them, although none of the plants have actually died yet. Here's what I have so far...
HELP?!?
- Plastic tub approx. 18" x 28". Water is about 12" deep
- Small in-tank filter that stirs the water a little, but not much
- Four 6500K florescent bulbs at 40W each (160W total)
- half a dozen minnows adding biological waste to the water
- pH: 6.6
- Ammonia: 0
- Nitrite: 0
- Nitrate: 0
- GH: 71ppm
- KH: 0-18ppm
- Temperature: 71F
HELP?!?
Hmmm... no expert here, but how high are the lights above the plants? As I type, hubby is building a pond in the basement for plants... reread this whole thread looking for info for ours...
My lights are about 15" above the top of the plants.
I also forgot to mention -- I have a handful of baby water lettuce in this tub as well, and they are doing just fine in these conditions. My wife suggested that I may not have enough minnows in there to provide enough waste for feeding the hyacinths, so I may pick up another batch this weekend. The amount of light over this tub already exceeds anything we have on our aquariums (all fully planted), so nutrients is going to be what I focus on next.
I also forgot to mention -- I have a handful of baby water lettuce in this tub as well, and they are doing just fine in these conditions. My wife suggested that I may not have enough minnows in there to provide enough waste for feeding the hyacinths, so I may pick up another batch this weekend. The amount of light over this tub already exceeds anything we have on our aquariums (all fully planted), so nutrients is going to be what I focus on next.
I dont think adding more fish will address it fast enough... If you think nutrients are the issues, I think I would add a fish safe fert to the water. I've been wondering about the comment in this conversation about putting some sand on the bottom too ... Not sure I want to do that, but I do know my water hyacinths are happiest with their roots dragging (aka the ones in shallow water are much happier than the ones in 4-5' of water)...
I am also wondering about the PH level. How low will plants tolerate?
I am also wondering about the PH level. How low will plants tolerate?
The ph sounds perfect for water hyacinth, but your nitrate level is 0. I would mix some fertilizer in the water, Also, as I've already mentioned I would put try a pot with sand and fertilizer in the tank that the water hyacinth roots can reach. All my water hyacinth in pond that did the best this year were ones that had their roots growing in the pots of other plants.
When I tried over wintering hyacinth before mine did well right through till the end of December, then in January they really started to die off, but in the end I failed too, so take any advice I give with a grain of salt. lol
When I tried over wintering hyacinth before mine did well right through till the end of December, then in January they really started to die off, but in the end I failed too, so take any advice I give with a grain of salt. lol
I am hoping to start moving plants indoors tonight. Will be transferring pond water, so will have a start there with it atleast being the same water they are used to, but for floating plants, I am really not sure how much fert I want to add. We will also be moving several potted plants, which will all get new plant pills too... also giving them a heater...
My wife uses this stuff called Flourish in her aquariums where the plants don't get enough nutrients, and she swears by it. It is fish-safe and goes straight in the water. I added a heavy dose of it last night, hopefully will see some results in the coming week. I also dropped a heater in yesterday, but it appears to be stuck at 82 degrees no matter where I set it, which seems a bit too warm to me, but I'll let them sit in it for awhile and see if anything helps.