Composting

[DJDrZ]

I have been putting the trimmings from my tank in my regular compost pile also. I feel much better that I am not the only crazy composter.

@rock I do not want a lush, thick tank of plants with a few fish...I want plants to accent my fish. I am doing the CO2 to simply maintain a nice level of CO2 with my lights. I may add my second bank of lights (right now they have my old 50/50 CF in them), so if I do that I may crank up the CO2 to cope with that.

 

[rockhoe14er]

you can always increase your co2 without increasing your lights. However if your happy with their growth rate no sense in changing something that isn't broken.

 

[platytudes]

Whoa, next time you're doing a major trim like that, PM me! I'd be happy to take some...and would gladly trade you for some mini water lettuce if you like.

I do compost any plants I have to throw out, recently I decimated my 5 gallon hex because Cyano had covered most of my Crypt wendtii

 

[DJDrZ]

Threadjacking my own thread...
What are these plants? I thought Rotala indica...but now I am not so sure.

 

[fishorama]

I only compost in the "non-snow" weather, but it's all good. Doesn't really look like R. indica but I'm not sure...ludwegia? 1 of those bigger leaved stems...

 

[platytudes]

Looks more like some kind of Hygrophila sp to me, but I am no expert...it could very well be Rotala sp.

 

[drunkenmastera]

can anyone confirm, i would like to get some from him ........
is it Ludwigia repens

 

[msjinkzd]

i can always take it for trade or for credit, espeically if they are decent sized parts as I really llike having a bunch of potted/bunches plantss in my import tanks to provide security for the imports.

 

[sorberj]

I compost my trimmings too! I do recommend though that it if you have a stream or a body of water nearby that you microwave or do something else to make sure that they're good and dead first so they can't get loose.

 

[MoonstruckMuse]

I compost all my trimmings! Or well, more specifically, I offer it to my herbivorous fish first, and then take the shreds and put it in my worm bin, where it decomposes rapidly.

Someone mentioned that their compost smells awful... composting usually needs to be AEROBIC unless you're doing it with specific bacteria. As in, it's not composting so much as rotting if you just keep it in anaerobic (sealed, no flow) conditions. I know that sounds nit-picky, but basically you're composting either way, but cultivating different bacteria... and the bacteria in the anaerobic condition are gonna smell like rot. Haha.