Is old freshwater aquarium water good for houseplants?

Deneen asked:

I have an established freshwater aquarium. When I do water changes, I want to be frugal and use the water to water my plants. Is this a good idea?

The old aquarium water has nitrates and some nitrites and is Ph balanced. There is also some diluted salts in it.


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5 Responses to “Is old freshwater aquarium water good for houseplants?”

  1. This is to appreciate the good habit of being frugal in using water.

    On the face of it , there seems to be no harm in using that water to household plants . Could be beneficial !!

  2. michael971 Says:

    Yes it contains ammonia and nitrates from fish waste.

  3. I don’t see why not. You have to think, plants that grow by lakes, etc. deal with ammonia, and salts, especially if there is a large fish population.

  4. I don’t think I would take that chance with my houseplants. They are house plants. Wild animals raised in captivity can’t live in the wild. I would not expect my plants to adjust either.

  5. Sure, as long as you don’t have copper or zinc salts… those tend to be pretty tough on plants at low concentrations.