Fertilization in a paludarium setting

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Hello,

I'm just wondering if anyone who keeps a paludarium can let me know of their method for fertilization- ideally I'm hoping to be able to add fertilizer to the main body of water within the tank which pumps to a drip wall which waters the epiphytes along the back. The tank is not stocked in any way.

Has anyone had any experience with this? I've been trying to read up on methods of aquarium nutrient dosing as well as that for terrestrial/epiphytic plants, and I have to say I can't tell up from down at this point.

My primary concerns are algae and anything else that might stem from a body of fertilized water sitting under a 55W power compact- any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Aaron


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[viva la viv]

I think you may be asking for trouble witha fertilized body of water I would say if the water has a quality substrate which contains all the needed goodies for healthy water plants and the drip is constant over the back wall they should be good like that constant fertilizing may be to much. Myself I never put any fertilzer in the tank If the plant looks sad I take it out and add fertilizer then leave it for a day or two rinse it and put it back, But i have fish and a lizard in mine so thats a sensitve issue others will have there way it would be good to know what methods are being used by others but i bet they will not be adding it to the water. The only thing that i will put in the water is clay balls at the base of some plants and they area very slow to release nutrients. good luck to ya

[RecycledAgain]

I am such a layman at plants , but they interest me so much.
I was under the impression that epiphytes mainly use their roots just to hang on to a suitable host or a suitable spot. I was also of the thought that most epiphytes had cavities or cups that trapped waste (leaves, insects ,things) that as they rotted away provided most all of the needed nutrients for the plants.
I suppose my question is do epiphytes use roots aswell to absorb nutrients as in your purposed drip wall?

Dan

[viva la viv]

I would have to say you are right from what i've read in a natural setting the ephitites would be in a crutch or divot on a tree so rain would wash dirt, leaves and such down the tree and would collect around the plant giving it its nutrients.

[brp4e.]

Usually aquarium water works well for a natural fertilizer. You could add some of that Nutrafin cycle to your tank, also probably add some liquid plant fertilizer that they use for aquarium plants, but I'm not sure if that would work or not.

[viva la viv]

seems i just read something where someone said if your water contains enough nitrogen to feed your plants then your fish are probably suffering. I don't know though...

[brp4e.]

hmm.. I doubt that because the plants are constantly taking nitrogen.

[Epiphile]

I'd posted this originally on The Orchid Board to try and get people's opinions there, as the primary inhabitants are orchids. I'm hoping someone there (or here) has a similar experience, but no bites yet, I guess. I'm thinking now that if I plant the aquatic area heavily and fertilize as I would for a planted aquarium I should probably be fine, but I just wanted to hear some more opinions.

RecycledAgain, both are correct- bromeliads living epiphytically often use their roots as an anchoring structure only and take nutrament through their leaves. Orchids certainly take nutrients through their roots (though I think there's some evidence that there is nutrient uptake through the leaves as well, especially the undersides), as would most other epiphytes, I would think.

And viva la viv, you're right as well about the crotches of tree branches, etc. being common places for epiphytes for that reason- also, a lot of plants take on a "bird's nest" form with an open crown of leaves that catches leaf litter and the like. I have to say, though, that you're incorrect about clay balls releasing nutrients- they're completely inert; more like really round rocks. And note that most people who keep planted aquariums (with fish and other stock) dose the water column directly with fertilizer to no ill effect to the inhabitants. In fact I know that there are people on this forum who do this.

[viva la viv]

I was not talking about ragular clay hydroponic balls I mean clay balls for spot feeding you have to make them yourself It is fertilizer incased in clay then you stick them at the roots of your plant under water Type in "aquarium clay ball fertilizer" you will get lots of reciepies. sorry guess i should have said more about them i assumed people would know what they are! I guess more info is the key to getting problems solved because for some strange reason i was assuming they wanted to put terestrial plant fertilizer in the water to water her plants on the wall. My brain fart i guess Yeah if you have a nice planted water area then you add approved fertilizer with the water changes depending on how heavy the plants are feeding.

[Epiphile]

Sorry, that was my fault- I jumped to conclusions there. There is a lot of strange misinformation floating around, and wouldn't have been surprised if someone had tried to fertilize plants with LECA, I guess. I apologize- I've never heard of those before. Certainly worth looking into- thanks.

I am thinking of concocting a fertilizer with a ratio deemed optimal for terrestrial/epiphytic plants (I've posted this already, but you can find the reasoning for it here: Plant Nutrition), but with a PPM acceptable for aquariums, and with a dosing schedule/water changes similar to that for aquariums.