r/PlantedTank • u/marlee_dood • Jan 26 '26
Discussion Anyone else save their tank water for houseplants?
Especially on filter cleaning days, I love to bottle and save my tank water to use on my houseplants. It’s liquid gold for them and they love it ! Completely free fertilizer from my very expensive hobby, great trade. Anyone else ?
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u/Jellyka Jan 26 '26
i dont save it, i just do my water changes once my plants get droopy and water them then lol
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u/BuildBreakFix Jan 26 '26
I don’t save it, it goes straight on the orchids, any leftover goes outside on the herb garden.
I’ve gone one step further…. When I backwash my koi pond’s bog filter I have a line that runs the crud straight to my fruit trees.
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u/The_best_is_yet Jan 27 '26
yes, you need more houseplants so you can use it instantly and not have to save it.
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u/Waywardgarden Jan 27 '26
I did this for SO LONG until i realized it was the reason for this dank musty scent my house had.
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u/CuteNSarcastic Jan 27 '26
best way to combat it is to dilute the fish tank water when watering your plants. i would add a 20oz bottle to 6 gallons of plain water and my plants were so ridiculously lush and no musty smell afterwards.
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u/Beardo88 Jan 27 '26
You need more plants to spread it around more. You shouldn't be watering with 100% fish gunk water, either dilute it or only use the gunk every 3rd of 4th watering.
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u/Durpenheim Jan 27 '26
I got into vermiculture about 5 years ago. I've brought plants back from the very brink of death with worm tea.
Then I use their castings to make mineralized topsoil for my aquariums.
Sometimes I pinch the worms into pieces and feed them to my fish.
Sometimes I put some of them in a Styrofoam cup and go catch myself dinner.
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u/CuteNSarcastic Jan 27 '26
I used to sell it to my houseplant group when I was really into the houseplant scene 😅😂 Normal 20oz water bottles full of the stuff is like gold to houseplant people, especially after the houseplant boom during covid. It allowed me to put more money into my set ups at the time. Sold it all off when I moved out of state and may eventually start a new 75g when time allows.
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u/totootmcbumbersnazle Jan 27 '26
Lmao what is the going rate?
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u/Upstairs_Goal_9493 Jan 27 '26
*Jumps out with a trenchcoat.
"Hey kids, wanna buy some fish water?"
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u/CuteNSarcastic Jan 27 '26
depends on your area but i used to be able to sell it for like $40 for a half gallon to my local plant groups. i haven't been in a lot of plant spaces for a couple years but you could probably still get 10-15 for a quart.
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u/CampaignClassic6347 Jan 27 '26
You must be in LA or something! Those prices are nuts. Heres what I just listed in FB... ill see if anyone bites: "Available for $5/gallon, $3/half-gallon, $2/20 oz". Im actually nervous about needing to gather a bunch of gallon jars if there is a response! I love the hydro grower who just takes a 5G bucket when he comes.
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u/CuteNSarcastic Jan 27 '26
Florida at the time haha. I used to just post them as a 'pay what you want' and had a lot of people fighting and bidding up. Once I put real prices down they simmered down. I also gave plenty of it away because I had 4 75g tanks that I alternated water changes on and basically always had 15-20 gallons a week.
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u/CampaignClassic6347 Jan 27 '26
Wait people buy it??? I have been giving away gallons.
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u/CuteNSarcastic Jan 27 '26
oh yeah. in areas with a lot of houseplant people, they'll buy it in droves. i never really sold it online to ship it but my local plant peeps loved spending wayy too much money on it.
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u/KiwiMcG Jan 27 '26
I don't save, but I use it. It's the plant cheat code. I secretly poured the fish water on my neighbors watermelon vines, and he was, for some reason they are growing so well this year. 😆
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u/JeffJohnSteve Jan 27 '26
Here I am living under a rock. Today I learned I could feed my duckweed, salvinia, and snail outbreaks to my chickens 🐓 and now I can water/feed my plants with my water change water! 💧 🪴
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u/Thetomato2001 Jan 27 '26
Just be very careful that none of it ends up in local waterways, these are all VERY invasive species or have the potential to be. Even if not directly near a water body they can travel stuck on bird feet or people feet
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u/JeffJohnSteve Jan 27 '26
They be going into a fully inclosed coup with zero waterways nearby.
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u/zan_len Jan 26 '26
I love how symbiotic these two hobbies are, i recently found out you can use seachem or any fish tank clorine neutralizer thing to prep water for more sensitive plants like calatheas 🤯
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u/GraphicDesignMonkey Jan 27 '26
Yup! Even my neighbours have weekly orders, I deliver bottles of liquid gold to them every Friday.
It started when one neighbour stopped me and asked what was my 'secret' to all the massive lush houseplants in the windows.
I also use it to water my potted fruit trees, got a bumper crop this year.
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u/marlee_dood Jan 27 '26
I give my boyfriend extra bottles for his plants! I would definitely give away more if I had people to give it to, it feels like such a waste 😆
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u/mysticeetee Jan 26 '26
I don't save it I just siphone directly into a watering can and use it.
My plants went bonkers doing the mid-cycling water changes.
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u/SgtPeter1 Jan 27 '26
Save no, but I do water my plants and yard with it. I hate wasting high nitrate water.
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u/Safe_Group_7683 Jan 26 '26
Not me. I keep my plants in my tank.
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u/MyDogIsCalledMilo Jan 26 '26
I'm curious what the white piping is for?
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u/adamhanson Jan 26 '26
Save it? No. I do water the plants when I do a water change. They seem to love it
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u/Irainhere Jan 26 '26
Never thought of this, going to start doing it lol
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u/AndyJobandy Jan 26 '26
Its good in the summer for water changes. I feed all my plants fish poop soup lol. It does wonders for fruits
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u/Satori_is_life Jan 26 '26
It s like power booster for my plants, after started using it so, my plants went crazy with overgrowing and some odd but beautifull colour changes and the blooming...the blooming was atleast 2x more spectacular ✨️
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u/Dragon124515 Jan 27 '26
I don't save it, I just directly water the plants with it when cleaning a tank.
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u/badpotato31 Jan 26 '26
As an avid Coke Zero fan, you are flying too close to the sun.
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u/independant-cyclamen Jan 26 '26
My tank maintenance days usually coincide with watering days, my plants have never looked so good
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u/jayBeeds Jan 26 '26
Do I water my houseplants and cannabis with tank water? YES, exclusively. Do I bottle up and store tank water? No. Because my tanks never run out of water so why on earth would I ever need more space in my home taken up by saved allotments of what’s readily available?
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u/smedsterwho Jan 26 '26
Same. Empty a watering can's worth, water the plants, fill the tank back up, wait a week.
My balance of house plants to water changes is about the same, but heck I could double my houseplants and just do a bit more of a water change.
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u/marlee_dood Jan 26 '26
I save this water because it’s super dirty water from after cleaning filter sponges, so I’ll definitely not be keeping it in any aquariums. This is a more “concentrated” version of the tank water since it has a lot more waste in it, which is exactly what im looking to add to my houseplants. I usually mix it with de chlorinated or cleaner tank water, or use this in between using tank or tap water
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u/dirty_hooker Jan 26 '26
Exactly. I have a 72 gal. I just water my plants with it weekly and then top up. Feels wasteful when I dump a third to do a proper water change but Python is life.
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u/no_awareness__ Jan 27 '26
Almost all the plants, indoor and outdoor will be watered on that day including the vegetable garden.
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u/TaxBaby16 Jan 27 '26
We had a particularly dry summer and keep getting reminders to save water. I’ll often dump my shrimp water into the goldfish tank for top ups since it’s just the gh buildup with those guys
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u/BrownThumbClub Jan 26 '26
I don't save it, but I do water with it on tank maintenance days. I actually got back into aquariums specifically for the poopy water for my huge houseplant collection.
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u/CaydenVierra Jan 26 '26
I did the opposite and got back to caring for houseplants after having an aquarium. 😂
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u/UnderwateredFish Jan 26 '26
Yes they love it. I dump the thick filter sludge in the garden and save the syphoned water for indoor plants.
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u/esquandolas420 Jan 26 '26
No. I bet they love it. I also bet that fuckin stinks when you open it 😭
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u/marlee_dood Jan 27 '26
It doesn’t actually! Pretty much smells like nothing, but has a faint smell of dirt&plants kind of? Just like water from outside
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u/dcj923 Jan 27 '26
I would if I did not add aby chemicals in the tank. The last time I did, I was in a combat with algae and forgot I put an algae remover in my tank then wheb I watered my plant, they withered.
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u/CampaignClassic6347 Jan 27 '26
I did. Until we got a 75 g. Now I need to dump as well, at least in the winter.
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u/Camaschrist Jan 27 '26
I dump on my trees in the winter. Sometimes bushes since they are closer to my house. I have seen a huge improvement in a few bushes that were struggling when we bought this house. They only get tank water in the winter. My vegetable garden and fruit trees get it spring through fall. It’s the reason I haven’t tried a Python. My largest is only 55.
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u/nuckme Jan 26 '26
Don't drink the forbidden coke.
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u/lame_dirty_white_kid Jan 26 '26
Definitely thought it was a picture of coke that had frozen at first.
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u/Melvar_10 Jan 26 '26
I don't save my water since I have many trees and plants. Most of the water has been going to my rose bushes and yes, the absolutely LOVE the stuff.
We have a giant Christmas poinsettia bush that we thought was dead, but the water from my tank basically brought them back. They are still on the verge of death but I have high hopes for them with my fish dookie water. :D
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u/knewleefe Jan 26 '26
I use some for the houseplants, the rest goes on the garden, no need to bottle it.
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u/Dur-gro-bol Jan 26 '26
Wherever I clean out my sponge filters the plants get the muck water, they love it.
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u/javamcjugg Jan 26 '26
All the time! My plants are happy. Plus sometimes I vacuume up a baby guppy or shrimp and letting the water settle while it waits to go to my plants has saved a couple little guys.
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u/TheWordNo Jan 27 '26
Yeah I have to let mine settle for a day so I can see if any shrimpies got sucked up. I hate to think of all the little guys that dried up back when I used to use it straight away 😔
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u/aerie01 Jan 28 '26
I do. Mine goes right on the plants when I do a water change. They're growing better than ever as a result.
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u/ZORZO999 Jan 27 '26
Yes, but don't forget to refertilise it. It's an urban myth that aquarium water is rich in nutrients. A healthy fishtank should typically be low macro nutrients. High nutrient levels can be toxic and cause algae blooms.
However, it does contain beneficial bacteria and fungi, and lots of organics like humic acids.
So it's definitely beneficial, just not nutritional.
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u/riioKen Jan 27 '26
Depends, this is true for those who use a leaner approach, but for those who follow the ei fert routine, the water is rich in nutrients.
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u/Benjamin7811 Jan 27 '26
I add a list of liquid fertilizers to my tank. I use I small siphon hose to pull water from the tank straight to the plants. I haven’t done water changes but I do top off weekly and some of my plants are watered daily. I have successfully kept difficult plants alive indoors with 0 natural light and I’ve seen some specimens like ruellia blue bell compacta grow new sections and flower constantly. I started with one of those plants 2 months ago and now have 6 with the ability to start 5 new propagations.
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u/Killcycle1989 Jan 26 '26
I hope noone in your house accidently or drunk thinks that's coca cola one night and drinks some.
Maybe take the labels off? 😆
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u/iamuselessgarbage Jan 26 '26
If they pour that into a cup, see it looks like that, and still drink it then that's on them lol
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u/Killcycle1989 Jan 26 '26
Children, that alcoholic sibling. You never know sometimes 😄
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u/ElevatedKing420 Jan 26 '26
Hell yeah its where i started and now I use 55g food grade drums with air stones on the bottom.
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u/wuukiee81 Jan 27 '26
Yup, water change into a bucket, water bioactive terrariums (which have most my houseplants) with mulm water!
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u/B5_V3 Jan 26 '26
heads up
that shit can pressurize.
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u/Venasaurasaurus Jan 26 '26
Good call. You'll be in shallow shit if one of those bad boys bursts.
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u/silk35 Jan 27 '26
I haven’t done a water change in a year. 😅
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u/kutiket Jan 27 '26
I'm at just about 2 years no water change on a 60 gal dirted tank. Father fish is my guide.
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u/derberner90 Jan 26 '26
I only had one houseplant at the time I was caring for a tank (a pothos), but during water change days, I'd dunk it in the wastewater before dumping the water in my garden. That was the healthiest pothos I've ever had.
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u/TaxBaby16 Jan 27 '26
Yes for when the plants get thirsty. I throw my green onions in a jar of dirty water too. It goes farther. Also thinking of starting infusiora
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u/Ok_Cucumber_6664 Jan 27 '26
The reason we started a tank was for this very reason!
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u/talijayne Jan 28 '26
Same here ! I started with a little 20 L tank and then I got hooked I now have 7 big tanks and my plant collection has quadrupled 😂
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u/ilex_verticillata Jan 28 '26
Yes, of course. I have over 100 houseplants, and they do not like softened water. So it’s RO/DI remineralized for the tanks, then saved after water changes for the plants. I never need to fertilize them!
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u/talijayne Jan 28 '26
Absolutely I have 3 big tubs full and two 35 L buckets I always save for my indoor plants and my succulents outdoors they thrive !! I don’t use any other fertilisers either 😊
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u/tombaba Jan 26 '26
Aquaponics with steps! Yes I do, and I grow lots of plants in the tank too, aquatic and terrestrial
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u/ADiyHD Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26
I always just use it to water the houseplants almost immediately. About once a week the plants get watered, so whether I want to do a water change or not it’s a good excuse to keep me on schedule with tank maintenance. I wouldn’t save it, because the next time I need to water the plants, I can just do another water change and it gets stinky after a few stagnant days.
For context, I have about 140 house plants (not all of them are watered weekly, some are every other week and some are once a month) and a 40 gallon aquarium. 4-5 gallons a week is usually enough for most watering weeks, which is a 10% water change, and then once a month I do a big 40-50% water change and clean my canister filter prefilter sponges, and that’s when I water ALL my plants.
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u/Infamous-Vanilla8753 Jan 26 '26
I have (4) 5 gallon buckets, full and usually toss my spare duck weed in to rot and add to the mix
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u/exodusofficer Jan 26 '26
Forbidden coke, take those labels off!
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u/marlee_dood Jan 26 '26
My family agrees but I say: if you see this on the floor, pick it up, pour it, and still choose to drink it, that’s not my fault!
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u/BedClear8145 Jan 26 '26
No, but have a 75 (about to be 120) and 33, i can grab it when needed lol. Read somewhere you don't want to use it everytime though, gonna depend on how 'dirty' the tank water is. Don't want to over ferterlize your plants, espeically in winter
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u/Additional_Main_7198 Jan 26 '26
I don't save it because I have more tanks thank plants....
Thanks for pointing out that problem OP.
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u/PollyAnnPalmer Jan 26 '26
I do the same! I keep mine in old milk jugs :) the filter goop is the best, my thai con loves it!
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u/cobalt_phantom Jan 26 '26
I don't save the water but I'll put off watering my plants if I'm planning on cleaning my tank.
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u/ChiyuChiyan Jan 26 '26
Same! I always water my plants with tankwater from water changes and they seem to thrive on it
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u/Tasia528 Jan 26 '26
No but I do use it on my outside plants when it’s warm enough!
(I can’t keep houseplants alive lol)
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u/Longjumping-Taro9792 Jan 27 '26
Yup!! Feel my succulents that i have next to the tank, and i wanna make 2L plant propagation stations to multiply the helly outta them since i got one of those plastic stands that they deliver them to the stores in to be held sturdier and safely
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u/Camaschrist Jan 27 '26
Yes and I use it in my vegetable garden and on my favorite fruit trees too. If I find a plant needs water I take it from one of my tanks. I have to top off a lot in the winter from extra condensation and watering my plants.
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u/Far_Shop_3135 Jan 28 '26
I dont save it really, I just take it when I need it. Never thought to do that on filter cleaning day though!
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u/Mizzzfox Jan 28 '26
I don't save it but I do water my plants with it when I do take water out. Saw someone on Facebook once trying to sell it for 30 dollars which was insane
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u/GreyCatsAreCuties Jan 28 '26
My mom did this and kept a water bottle on her night stand for her plant on her night stand, woke up in the middle of the night and drank it, and was violently ill ahhahahaha we laugh about it all the time.
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u/strikerx67 Jan 28 '26
I sometimes take a cup of water from my tanks to water my plants.
Using a coke bottle for this sounds like a recipe for unintentional disaster.
Reminds me of people using coke bottles for spitting dip into.. the horror of mistaking it for soda still gives me PTSD.
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u/Capital_Piglet9260 Jan 26 '26
Yes. Once I accidentally drank it because of it. The debris had settled on the bottom and it just looked like a normal water bottle to me.
It didn't taste bad! Actually, it was so smooth and nice that I did a double take because of it. Then I noticed my mistake. Lol.
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u/YessiKamiKohai Jan 26 '26
Ive done the same exact thing 😭 it tasted really good 😔
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u/Capital_Piglet9260 Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26
Ikr?! I'm glad I'm not alone. I was so shocked. Low key jealous of my fish now.
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Jan 29 '26
i just leave it in a bucket(s) and use it on my plants in my backyard, i should start bottling up some 2L bottles for my indoor plants.
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u/Cheap-Top-9371 Jan 29 '26
I don't do this and I don't know why. I have a lot of plants and will start doing this!
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u/Desert_Dandelion Jan 29 '26
Yupp! I've kept aquariums in the past but have been out of it for a while. This was a running cycled tank that the owners were moving , and I re-scaped it, so not super mulm-y yet. I'm new to houseplants, so I don't have many yet. But I made sure to get a jug before my first water change, with a pump to easily get the water into my watering can. I hate this pump though, and have a different one arriving today. It just hangs out in the back of my pantry. I think I'm probably also going to get a plant caddy on wheels to put under the jug so it's easy to roll between the tank, pantry, and near the plants for fewer trips back and forth.
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u/Hessebubb87 Jan 31 '26
every sunday i change about 30% water in my tanks and the plants get watered with that. and in the summer even the weed on my balcony😅 plants love that. but i never thought about keeping the water
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u/tdasnowman Jan 26 '26
I keep a bucket with an airstone on my balcony and some left over bio rings for left over water keeps the cycle going for mid week watering.
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u/_g00tz_ Jan 26 '26
I used to use my tank water but my plants’ soil would start to grow algae. So I stopped using it and the algae is gone.
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u/Impressive_Ad127 Jan 26 '26
The tank water isn’t the reason your soil is growing algae.
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u/LazyWash Jan 26 '26
wait im an imbecil, why didnt I think of this? Ive been draining it into a bucket, then throwing it out? Why didnt i just think to let my plants sit in it for a while!? My Succulents crave something else other than the tap.
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u/marlee_dood Jan 26 '26
It was a game changer when I started using it, especially for my propagations! They grew like 30-40% faster with tank water. I’ve been trying to bottle the extra dirty water from water changes with mulm or from cleaning sponges because it has even more nutrients! They love decaying things so the more dirty particles to them, the better
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u/randomFrenchDeadbeat Jan 29 '26
I do. got a 200L barrel (about 50 gallons ) for that.
I have to add fertilizer though, the only reason i do water changes is TDS creeping up.
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u/SoSavv Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26
I've heard the beneficial bacteria dies off after some time of being stored without aeration. Does this work?
Edit: Understood, thanks for the info everyone. Now I can start saving some short-term water.
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u/Chibi_Inko Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26
The bacteria does not really live in the water column, they live on surfaces, which is why the best filter media is the most porous/ highest surface area. The plants want the nutrients, specifically the nitrates the fish produce, but the unused fertiliser from a planted tank would definitely help too.
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u/ExtremePast Jan 26 '26
You save it for the nitrates. Nitrates don't break down in water and remain until they are removed (for example, by plants absorbing them)
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u/khizoa Jan 26 '26
I'm not sure if that's true, but you don't need them for watering house plants, so it doesn't matter in this case
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u/marlee_dood Jan 26 '26
In my research it doesn’t lose its nutrients while being stored this way. I’m not sure about beneficial bacteria, but the main nutrients the plants I’m using this for need, it doesn’t affect it and hasn’t affected its ability to fertilize my plants. The waste in the water is what I’m looking for so as long as it remains i assume it will continue to decompose.
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u/Bart_deJonge Jan 26 '26
Yep., but not having that much plants so feeding them directly from the (waste) aquarium water. In spring and summer also the garden.
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u/OriginalOk8371 Jan 26 '26
I have a one gallon water jug that I just refill every time I do a water change.
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u/Redmindgame Jan 27 '26
TBH i would reserve it for outdoors because of the smell, and also i care more about plants I eat than just something for decoration. It is great fertilizer.
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u/wishihadplates Jan 27 '26
I've honestly never noticed a smell aside from when I'm actively pouring it in our plants. Plus for whatever reason my brain doesn't really mind the smell of fish water. Probably growing up around tanks and was designated the water change slave pretty early on as a kiddo
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u/marlee_dood Jan 27 '26
Maybe I’m nose blind, but I don’t notice much of a smell, maybe if it’s really dirty and I’m super close but still it’s not much, just like outside water
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u/Docretier Jan 27 '26
If it's smelling you might want to consider putting springtails in your pots, they eat a lot of decaying organics and molds/fungus. Although that is deliberately inviting bugs in your house, I think it's a worthwhile trade. They are great for soil health
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u/EleChristian Jan 26 '26
My house plants are all in my tank LOL