germinating seeds in an aquarium

[Auban]

for a while now, i have been putting all of my seeds into a two and a half or five gallon tank to germinate them. i started doing this because i keep fish and like to collect from the wild(i like native fish) and from time to time, i get seeds that contaminate my tanks. what i noticed is that they do really well. they germinate and grow quite a bit before the water finally drowns them.

so one day i decided to empty a packet of marigolds into a small tank, fill it with water, and see what happens. well, they rotted. i think three of them germinated and then died. after a lot of experimentation, i figured out what the problem was. i just tossed them in a brand new tank, with no light and no circulation. the water got stagnant and they all rotted. what i found out is that the light i had on my fish tanks, and the airstones i had circulating water, were necessary to keep the seeds from rotting. seems like common sense, but i had to figure it out by trial and error.

what i do now is set up a small tank with a small sponge filter and a light. i never turn either off. the constant light causes a HUGE amount of nasty green slimy algae to grow, and the sponge filter keeps the water clear. eventually the water will clear and the algae will start to fade away. when that happens, i pour my seeds in. i get incredible germination rates. much higher than what i get from putting them in soil. after the seeds produce two fully formed seed leaves, i transfer them to one of those convenient planters with the little peat pellets. since they are already growing and need to have their roots in something, i dunk the peat pellets into water so they break up. that way i can put half a pellet into the tray, lay the seedling on it, and cover the root with the rest, leaving just the seed leaves exposed.

i have gotten a lot of good results from this method. the key is to make sure that the tank is "cycled" first, before you put the seeds in. the water should be clear and the algae should be starting to recede. it also helps to have small snails, as they eat anything that starts to rot. and then, be gentle with the seedlings when they are ready to be transferred.

just figured i would share this in case anyone wanted to try it.

[Rick]

That seems like a lot of work to do something nature has already figured out. I've already sown lettuce, spinach and radishes even though nighttime temps are still around freezing and day time temps are low 50's. They'll germinate when they get ready.

[hunter63]

Waaaaay to much work for me......
Mother nature isn't easily fooled.

Thanks for posting, the true meaning of a gardener is "Hey, I wonder what would happen if I did this?

[1stimestar]

With some of my seeds I will soak them overnight in a small dish of water. It softens the outer shell.

[Auban]

The hard part is putting them in planters... eventually, I want to see if I can find a way to make that easier. One thing I already tried was growing a mat of thick hair algae on the surface of the water and putting a whOle bunch of short clippings on it. After the roots started growing, I pulled the mat out and cut it into sections and planted the clippings, and the algae served as a first substrate and later as fertilizer.

Worked pretty good for clippings but I haven't tried it yet with seeds.

[kyratshooter]

I am blessed to be in a part of the world where there are only three instructions for gardening;

till manure into soil

plant seed

pray for good weather

[Auban]

here are some pics of the algae im talking about. i manipulate it into growing into dense mats, which come out like sheets.

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i can cut it into shapes and use it like a sort of loose cloth:

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the algae itself is more useful for aquaculture than anything else because it pulls nitrogen out of the water faster than anything i have ever seen, but it also makes a great lattice to start cuttings in. clean moving water, and little critters to eat the dead tissue and keep the cutting clean... once the roots start showing through the bottom, i just cut the whole sheet up and plant them in the ground. using it, i can raise ten to twenty times the normal amount of fish in a tank without ever changing the water. it just sucks up nitrogen that fast...

while i had so much algae growing(about this much every week or so)
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i figured i might as well come up with some other uses for it. i was throwing a way quite a bit...

[Winnie]

Why don't you compost it?

[Auban]

Why don't you compost it?

i did to an extent, but i was living in military housing at the time when i was producing a lot of it, and i could only compost so much. it actually breaks down pretty slowly. i fed a lot of it to dubia roaches, and a lot of it to a worm culture, but they could only eat so much. algae grows pretty darned fast...

now that i am not going to be moving around anymore im starting up again and i will be composting all the excess. or selling it. a lot of people who breed fish use it to as spawning material and as a general fry saver.