Pond Water Recycling As Fish Fertilizer

There are pros and cons to pond water recycling this nutrient-rich water as a home brew of fish fertilizer. Unlike commercially available fish emulsion and hydrolysate fertilizers, your recycled pond and aquarium water has not gone through a process to preserve nutrients while removing impurities and contaminants. ‘Pond water is less than ideal for vegetable gardens,” according to Simplify Gardening. ‘The water can host microbes and potentially harmful pests that can make your plants sick, so it is imperative to check it before watering your plants. There are some advantages of using pond water, including nitrogen high water.’
The safest way to recycle pond water is to avoid using it on fruits and vegetables intended for consumption and use it instead on non-fruit-bearing trees, tropicals, ornamentals, and flowering annuals and perennials.
Commercially available Fish emulsion is an older process that relies on heat and creates a smelly product. In contrast, Fish Hydrolysate is a newer process involving the cold processing of fresh fish and fish byproducts.
‘Our unique cold process protects heat sensitive nutrients naturally found in fish, providing you with the best fertilizer available,’ according to Neptune’s Harvest. ‘Unlike fish emulsions, Neptune’s Harvest doesn’t remove the proteins or oils during processing and has no unpleasant odor.’ Earth Works Gardens shop stocks Neptunes’ Harvest Hydrolyzed Fertilizer.

Additional advantages of the hydrolyzed fish fertilizer over recycled water or fish emulsion, according to Laid Back Gardener include:
– It quickly corrects nutrient deficiencies;
– It encourages the proliferation of bacteria that are beneficial to the ecosystem;
– It stimulates rooting and flowering;
– It nourishes the soil with its rich nutrients;
– It increases the Brix (amount of sugar) in fruits and vegetables.

Earth Works constructed ponds are designed with sufficient filtration not to require water changes when the fish load is ideal. However, this can change as clients’ fish grow in number and size. The amount of waste a koi releases as it ages from small fry to full-grown fish is not a linear increase based on length but exponential based on fish weight. The circumference, more so than the length of your koi, accounts for this dramatic increase in fish waste. Pond water recycling affords you some fertilization benefits that we recommend supplementing with Neptune’s Harvest Fish Hydrolysate.

Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions. Stop by our retail center or contact us online or by phone at 904-996-0712.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.