Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Responsible Reefkeeping
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 02/15/2015, 01:40 PM   #1
DaveRaz
Reef Rookie
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Memphis
Posts: 625
Protein skimmer waste

We compost for backyard garden and wondering if dumping this waste in the compost bin would be ok. Seems legit. Anyone else do this?

Edit to say. DOCs are obviously good for plants right? You see plush growth along streams and rivers and this is why, I premise. Obviously in addition to the water.



Last edited by DaveRaz; 02/15/2015 at 01:49 PM.
DaveRaz is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 05:06 PM   #2
viper12775
Registered Member
 
viper12775's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: clearwater fl
Posts: 1,151
I'm sure it would have a high salt content I'm not sure if it would hurt plants you use the compost on


viper12775 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 08:08 PM   #3
sreefs
Registered Member
 
sreefs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Pa
Posts: 754
The salt is not good for most plants. I would not use it for that.


__________________
Pat

Current Tank Info: 225 Coast To Coast SPS reef. T5 lighting
sreefs is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 08:19 PM   #4
kegogut
Registered Member
 
kegogut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: St.Louis
Posts: 5,052
Ive used it for fertilizer in my plants for years with no ill effects. Well,just the outside plants as the smell in the house should be considered an ill effect. At least it is in the wife's eyes!

The salt content can be high in it but if you dilute it with water when feeding plants or your dumping it in a compost pile the salt content is negligible.


__________________
Dave.

"I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them." --Nicomo Cosca.

Current Tank Info: 225 mixed w/ 225 sump 550 lbs live rock,3x MarinePure ceramic blocks,Skimz SM201,Geo 618 CR,Vectra L1,DOS automatic water changes,3x 250w MH w/ 4x actinic T5,All ran by Apex thru Fusion.--57 community tank w/ OR T-247,120 nem tank.
kegogut is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 09:08 PM   #5
sreefs
Registered Member
 
sreefs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Pa
Posts: 754
I know several people that use it to kill weeds and grass in there patio and drive ways. So I would not use it to feed plants. IMO
Many plants can not tolerate any salt in the soil or water.


__________________
Pat

Current Tank Info: 225 Coast To Coast SPS reef. T5 lighting
sreefs is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 10:07 PM   #6
sabo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 121
I dump all my waste water on the lawn. Was wondering if it would kill it. Hasn't done any harm at all.


sabo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/15/2015, 10:41 PM   #7
silverarrow27
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Banning, CA
Posts: 543
I use the skimmate on the lawn, plants, and flowers with no ill-effects either. Been doing it for a couple years now.


__________________
57 Gallon reef tank

Current Tank Info: None
silverarrow27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/16/2015, 04:00 AM   #8
kegogut
Registered Member
 
kegogut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: St.Louis
Posts: 5,052
Quote:
Originally Posted by sreefs View Post
I know several people that use it to kill weeds and grass in there patio and drive ways. So I would not use it to feed plants. IMO
Many plants can not tolerate any salt in the soil or water.
I dont think this is true.

Skimmate wont kill grass or weeds. Ive been dumping it into my plants for years and nothing has EVER died.


__________________
Dave.

"I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them." --Nicomo Cosca.

Current Tank Info: 225 mixed w/ 225 sump 550 lbs live rock,3x MarinePure ceramic blocks,Skimz SM201,Geo 618 CR,Vectra L1,DOS automatic water changes,3x 250w MH w/ 4x actinic T5,All ran by Apex thru Fusion.--57 community tank w/ OR T-247,120 nem tank.
kegogut is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/16/2015, 08:42 AM   #9
sreefs
Registered Member
 
sreefs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Pa
Posts: 754
I guess it has to do with the type of plant, but I know many plants can not take any salt in there water. Do as you please and if you see no negative results keep on.


__________________
Pat

Current Tank Info: 225 Coast To Coast SPS reef. T5 lighting
sreefs is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/18/2015, 02:00 PM   #10
Zooxanthus
Registered Member
 
Zooxanthus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Aurora, CO.
Posts: 60
plants do well with small amounts of salt. I was thinking of this same thing only to use on my hydroponic garden. I was going to wash it with fresh water and let the plankton settle and pour out the water, this should get most of the salt out.


__________________
May your passion and reason be the sail and rudder of your sea fairing soul.

Current Tank Info: 180 gal Reef 3x 250w HQI's w/T5's, Phosban reactor, Protein skimmer, UV. sterilizer, Trickle Filter
Zooxanthus is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/18/2015, 02:21 PM   #11
kegogut
Registered Member
 
kegogut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: St.Louis
Posts: 5,052
What I usually do is pour my skimmer cup into a 5g bucket and then fill up the bucket with 3 or so gallons of water and then water my pants with that. I've never had any problems with plants having negative effects.


__________________
Dave.

"I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them." --Nicomo Cosca.

Current Tank Info: 225 mixed w/ 225 sump 550 lbs live rock,3x MarinePure ceramic blocks,Skimz SM201,Geo 618 CR,Vectra L1,DOS automatic water changes,3x 250w MH w/ 4x actinic T5,All ran by Apex thru Fusion.--57 community tank w/ OR T-247,120 nem tank.
kegogut is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/18/2015, 02:29 PM   #12
Zooxanthus
Registered Member
 
Zooxanthus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Aurora, CO.
Posts: 60
Quote:
Originally Posted by kegogut View Post
What I usually do is pour my skimmer cup into a 5g bucket and then fill up the bucket with 3 or so gallons of water and then water my pants with that. I've never had any problems with plants having negative effects.
you actually water your pants? I have not tried that yet lol j/k


__________________
May your passion and reason be the sail and rudder of your sea fairing soul.

Current Tank Info: 180 gal Reef 3x 250w HQI's w/T5's, Phosban reactor, Protein skimmer, UV. sterilizer, Trickle Filter
Zooxanthus is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/19/2015, 07:00 PM   #13
dogface 13
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 64
i've put it in the same spot in the grass and don't notice anything dieing etc...


dogface 13 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/27/2015, 03:11 PM   #14
Mishri
Registered Member
 
Mishri's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Great Falls, MT
Posts: 1,404
Quote:
Originally Posted by sabo View Post
I dump all my waste water on the lawn. Was wondering if it would kill it. Hasn't done any harm at all.
Once it builds up and reaches the roots you'll see some serious issues with your lawn.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07227.html

You are likely within salt tolerance for the type of lawn you have, but eventually your grass wont be so green, then it will barely green up.. then it will just be dead. It can take awhile.


I wouldn't use it in composte. given enough salt build up you'll start having problems... now, it is a small fraction of your composte, so it's possible it wont be a problem. I just see no reason to risk it.


I actually ran into nitrate build up from emptying high nitrate water onto my lawn and fertilizing too much...a good lawn is difficult to maintain, especially once you screw it up.


__________________
300 gallon 8ft long, 2x xf250 gyre, reef octopus 250-int - work in progress
Aquarist since 1986
Mishri is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/27/2015, 05:20 PM   #15
g0rilla
Registered Member.
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Toronto
Posts: 98
maybe your plants have become salt tolerant after years of getting skimate dumped on them !


g0rilla is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:02 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.