Water Hyacinth Greenhouse

[sissy]

I have over wintered lettuce and hyacinth and last year had a fish tank that I put some in and found they seem to not like light on there roots and the ones in the concrete mixing tub do fine every year but do need fertilizer and i just put in miracle grow .

 

[capewind]

Not for the purposes of overwintering, but have put a few in with baby fish to snack on, and I only get a week or so out of them before needing to put them back into the pond and grab another. Since we have new babies in the fish tank, which sits next to a window, what I just did this morning was wrap 3 sides in a black trash bag to see if that helps any. Still have the fish tank light on, and while the roots are darker, not sure it is going to help any. Right now, I just have one plant in there... wondering if I pack them in, if that will help? I just want to be careful not to add any dragonfly nympths to the fish tank as I know they can make fast work of fry.

 

[sissy]

I had to add lots of fertilizer over the winter just to keep them growing and healthy and added a little fresh water and even some pertoxide to keep water fresh but I had no fish in them .I used an aerator to provide oxygen to the water also .I just use the 4 port one i bought from petco .

 

[capewind]

I'll probably be coming back to this thread again in a month asking for fert help LOL. Hubby is working on the lighting now. I am planning to put a plant food pill in each of the potted plants, and HOPING it is enough to feed the water hyacinths too... I dont think I can get out of it that easily tho...

 

[Shdwdrgn]

I think the heater was a bad idea -- all but one of my minnows died. The heater appears to be bad, it brings the water up to 82F no matter where it is set, so I took the heater out a couple days ago and the temp has settled back to 74. I bough a new batch of minnows today after we did a water change. We're also using Flourish fertilizer, so we'll see if that is enough to perk up the plants. It looks like they've been doing better the last few days, but that could just be wishful thinking. I won't know for sure until I actually see some new growth.

I moved the lights down closer to the water. The bulbs are now only about 6" away from the top of the plants. This should help them get a higher concentration of light and help kickstart them into growing again, assuming everything else is fine.

In the meantime, the hyacinths in my pond are nearing their end. They're all in worse shape than what I have inside, so there's no chance now of replacing my indoor plants if they fail.

 

[capewind]

Whereas you are using such a small container (compared to a pond), what about splitting them into two batches? 82 is a higher temp than I want to pay to maintain, but many ponds hit this temp and higher outside in the summer, so wondering if the temp is what really killed the minnows? I know NOTHING about minnows however.

I would be wondering more about aeration and filtration... again NOT MY AREA (hubby's LOL), but isnt there an issue with the higher the temp, the lower the concentration of oxygen in the water??? No matter how many ways people explain water chemistry to me, I just cant grasp it, so if I am wrong, feel free to correct me. I am also not good at fertilizer/quantity, and wonder there as well.

I know how you feel about not being able to replace water hyacinths that die. My outside ones are looking REALLY sad. I was HOPING if the wind lets up to go out and try to scrounge up another tote worth. Pretty depressing knowing there are well over 1000 out there, and doubting if I can grab even another 15-20:-(

 

[sissy]

I never used grow lights and only used the light that comes from the widows but they are bigger windows .Funny thing is they are on the side of the house that does not get much sun and the other windows are under the front porch .I just add fertilizer when I see leaves change to yellow or brown on there tips .Seems the more fertilzer I add the bigger they get and the more they spread .

 

[capewind]

My biggest question right now is HOW MUCH fertilizer, and still be safe for fish? I just ran the plant pond measurements with its present depth of water, and it is about 600 gallons.

I know the fish load isnt going to do a thing for feeding the plants. So far have only put in the 19 comet babies that were 3 to 3.5"

Just did a rough plant count. 10 potted plants (half in 5 gallon pots, the rest is a mix from 4" pots to 2 gallon pots) and 60-70 water hyacinths (only counted 10, and estimated, not going to actually count those LOL).

Hubby says the potted plants are due to be fed. Have a bottle of 5-5-8 "pills"... No planting media on the floor of the liner... would you throw some "pills" into the water for the hyacinths?

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Your Nitrate levels indicate how much available nitrogen is there is for the plants. You previously stated that your Nitrate levels were 0, so that wouldn't be very conductive to good growth for your water hyacinth since they are heavy nitrogen feeders. Add some fertilizer and your Nitrate levels should go up. Fish can tolerate moderate levels of Nitrate so there is no immediate danger of hurting them by adding fertilizer to your water, just try to not go overboard.

BTW, I accidentally raised 50 goldfish fry in my greenhouse pond and I dumped a LOT of fertilizer in there. I eventually netted them all out and put them in the main pond where they all seem to be doing fine.

 

[capewind]

It was shdw that gave the water qualities, but we are in the same shape with the outside pond (source of water for inside ponds). Our nitrites are almost always at zero. I know it isnt the norm, but figure it is for us... guessing high water volume, lots of plants, and low fish load for pond size.

I remember reading about the fry. Werent you using a really high fert like a 20-20-20 too?

 

[JohnHuff]

I've been bringing in water hyacinths to my 55g tank with tropical fish. The water temp is 75F or so. I plan to bring as many as I can in for the winter. I only need them to survive until I can bring them out again so I don't have to buy them every year.

They seem to be surviving. The roots on mine are dropping off, I think the main culprit is not strong enough light. But then I've also heard that I don't need to bring them in, in the wild, they'll regrow in the Spring.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

But then I've also heard that I don't need to bring them in, in the wild, they'll regrow in the Spring.

That's for MUCH further South, down around the Gulf states. If your hyacinths freeze, they will not come back. This is the case for most of us... In some places the plants can be found at reasonable prices, so its not a big deal to buy new hyacinths every Spring. In my area, they sell for $5 each, and I usually start each season with 10-20 plants, so having my own starters would save me a lot of money.

@capewind - My nitrates always stay at zero. I don't have a *high* fish load, but I don't trust adding any more fish to the pond. On the other hand, I feel I have a higher than average number of water plants, which was intentional to keep up with the fish load as they grow. We're now adding fertilizer to the hyacinth tub every time we change the water, so between that and the minnows, I'm hoping they perk up again.

 

[sissy]

Not sure about koi taking all that fertilizer and I have no fish in the basement tanks when I bring the plants in .So i put as much fertilizer as I want but if the plants sit in stale unaerated water the roots would rot on mine .

 

[capewind]

I have seen water hyacinths as high as $8 each at the start of the season, and then 3/$12 mid summer. I got a great deal via ebay for 250 and that didnt even put a dent in our needs. I am hoping to get a BIG jumpstart inside. Was able to bring in another 10-12 that looked okay today, so have 70-80 to start with inside. If they grow, I'll be looking for every container I can find so not to have to buy any next bring.

 

[capewind]

So i put as much fertilizer as I want but if the plants sit in stale unaerated water the roots would rot on mine .

Hubby has a 500 gph pump on the heater, and a cheap fish tank aerator (the $10 cheapy kind) in with the plants.