Derek Broughton wrote:
Altum wrote:
But this whole thing started with bare-root lilies.
OK, we're pretty much on the same page.
I have many plants
that take their sustenance from the water column in outdoor setups (WH,
water lettuce, elodea, watercress in the spillways, and even submerged
swordplants and grasses). The nitrogen and phosphate demand of the
plants far outstrips what the fish and foods provide. Add a little KNO3
and KH2PO4 to the water and I get healthy plants with lots of flowers.
YES! That really seems to be key. I'm not at all convinced that the
nitrogen demands outstrip what's available - I have no trouble getting
bare-root lilies to thrive in an unfertilized pond (with very little
feeding of the fish), but it may well be necessary to add potassium.
I'm only speaking of my own setup in regards to nitrogen shortage. I'm
sure it's not a problem for anyone with a lot of big koi or goldfish.
In fact, my three half-barrels of WH, lilies, cannas, and dwarf papyrus
could probably veggie filter a koi pond very nicely. If I don't
fertilize some KNO3, I get zero nitrate on the test kit and the floating
plants don't grow well. Old leaves die and new ones are smaller and
yellowed. The half-dozen white clouds, 2 rosy reds, and a few small
goldfish I keep to eat skeeters just don't keep up with three barrels
full of plants in the summer sun.
(And my bluefin killies breed like rabbits so I'm certainly not hurting
the fish.)
Frankly, I don't think they breed like rabbits at all. At the least, it's
generally hard for rabbits to breed underwater...
LOL! Their breeding displays are a little flashier than rabbits...
snip
I think we'll have to agree to disagree. If you're topping up your pond
with treated tap water you need to be _really_ careful, but I'm certain it
can be done without producing measurable ammonia/nitrite levels.
Certainly. Top-offs are a judgement call. I add a squirt of AmQuel
myself, but my tap water is nasty and my water garden is small enough
that it's affordable.
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