Water from Aquarium Water Changes and Gardening

On May 20, 6:28 pm, "Alan Holmes" wrote:
"Rich" wrote in message

...

Hi,

I change 20% of the water in my 180L Tropical Freshwater Aquarium every
week.

Why, it is not neccesary!

I'm sure this year we're gonna get a hose pipe ban, and mindful of the

high Nitrate and Phosphate content of my aquarium water, I've been using
the old water for my garden, particularly tomatoes and strawberries.

Why waste good water which will do more good being left in the tank?



I was covinced this was a great idea until somkeone told me aquarium water
usually carries salmonella.

Is this true, and if so is it safe to recycle my water in this way ?

Salmonella can be in the tank but it rarely shows its presence. It is
not pathological to fish, but they will release it into the water if
they are carrying it and are stressed. Testing a tank will often show
detectable levels of Salmonella, but actual cases of it being
transferred to humans are rare and usually associated with a wave of
outbreaks linked to one contamination source.

Someone recommended that you should change your water 1/3 every two
weeks but I cannot see what effect this would have on Salmonella.
Then again, I have a heavily planted tank so I have low nitrates and
phosphorous. Changing the water just reduces my CO2. I add tap water
to counter evaporation and maintain carbonates. And I wash my hands
after playing in the tank and don't dunk sandwiches in it.

As for getting it from your garden, it's possible but not as likely as
E. coli. One survey showed that 1/3 of all commercial animal-derived
fertilizers contained Salmonella and yet cases of it from garden
veggies are relatively unknown. E. coli on the other hand usually
comes from one sick animal contaminating a field. E.coli is a serious
issue for gardens but I cannot even find any warnings for Salmonella
in gardens.