Watering

[Greenpots]

Hi,

I have discus fish tank and change water often. I am curious, can i water my oncidium, cymbidium & cattleya from my fish tank?

Thank you,

Tony

[PaphMadMan]

Yes, assuming you know that the water quality is appropriate for the plants. Obviously it wouldn't be good with fish kept in hard or brackish water. Many people use fresh water aquarium water for orchids and other plants. The major exception would be if you have used any kind of algae inhibitor, or disease treatment for the fish.

With sensitive plants you might want take extra care to keep the water off the foliage and out of the crown of the plant. Probably not an issue with the ones you mentioned.

[MrHappyRotter]

I use fish tank water on my orchids pretty regularly. I don't keep my tanks as pristine as would be needed for discus, though. I usually do a quick check with the TDS meter and dilute the tank water with pure water if it's registering above 100 PPM equivalent.

In my tanks I use a mix of rain and tap water (except in my shrimp tank, which gets treated tap only). I don't use the shrimp water on my plants since the pH is higher and the water is harder. Most of my fish prefer soft, acidic water, which is perfect for orchids. And as an added bonus, there's a small amount of natural fertilizer built in.

[Greenpots]

Thank you both for your answers. Discus needs lot of attention and i already cut back. I don't mind to give orchid extra care at all. I want to make sure I m not wasting any drop of water.

[pipsxlch]

Discus are soft/acid water fish, so hardness shouldn't be a problem. I've used goldfish water on plants as well as discus, and they loved it. (used to hobby keep/breed discus, maybe again someday- and for what it's worth, my fish would successfully spawn and rear their young even though I've never been good at the meticulous cleaning most advocate)

[estación seca]

Discus as I recall need very low dissolved salts, low total hardness, somewhat acid water. This will be perfect for your orchids.