I have a question for all you green thumbs out there. I recently went to a garden store where they had numerous spider plants in goldfish bowls filled with water, all doing quite well. I talked to the owner and she said that she keeps them in the water and does not add any nutrients. I tried it out and my spider plants seems to be doing well in its aquatic home. My question is this. If they are not adding nutrients to the plant with its roots submerged entirely in water, where is it getting its nutrients? And likewise, how is it growing? Thanks!
there are nutrients in the water, thats why we drink it. If you really want them to grow inwater good use rain water.
Hmmmm makes sense, thanks for the reply. And I will definitely try the rain water. Its times like this I curse the fact that Vancouver is in an arid desert... oh wait, never mind.
Fish poop. Aquarium water contains significant levels of nitrates, and trace amounts of many other minerals. Whenever I do a partial water change in my aquarium I always pour the old water onto the lawn or garden, rather than down the drain, and it encourages lush, green growth. Too lush sometimes, it turns tomato plants into hulking green monsters. Some people grow plants in the water, or with just the roots in the water, specifically to remove nitrates and other waste products. Fish poop is fertilizer for plants, but if there are no plants and insufficient water changes, than nitrates will build up over time. If you don't do anything to reduce nitrates, you will probably get an algae bloom eventually. Algae blooms are harmless and some fish even like them, but nobody likes a fish tank where you can't see the fish because of all the algae. Now if your water is not inhabited by a fish, there won't be many nutrients, and in the long run most plants will not do very well. But spider plants are pretty forgiving, I've seen them survive in all kinds of crazy conditions. PS. If you are growing a plant in a small bowl, a Betta is better than a gold fish. Common gold fish need lots of water. They should live 20 years and get more than a foot long, the reason they usually die within a year or two in fishbowls is because they are "dirty" fish and really need gallons of water to thrive.