Bit of a bump (felt that extra info wouldn't hurt): In response to the aquarium salt question, it is not necessary. It 'can' help with disease and some fish-keepers use it as general maintenance (1tbs per 5 gallons). I wouldn't bother, I've used it a few times for 'aiding in treatment' with no confirmed results. Certainly don't use a 1tbs/5gal mixture of aquarium water to water you plants. Most aquatic plants thrive on NitrAte, which is only present in an established (and HEALTHY) aquarium after it has become cycled. Fish waste (Ammonia) is eventually converted to NitrIte after beneficial bacteria has established in the filter. Both are poisonous to fish and some plants help in absorbing these harmful chemicals (java moss to name one). After a bit more time, another type of beneficial bacteria will establish itself in the filter converting NitrIte in NitrAte. Nitrate is what aquarium plants thrive on (as well as most common forms of algae). Given this, well established aquariums should ONLY have NitrAte present. As with aquarium plants, house plants tend to thrive off of this nutrient. I can only speak for aquarium plants, but I would suspect that some "easy to care for house plants" would only need aquarium water as a fertilizer if the nitrate levels are at a moderate level. As far as backing up the "propagating plants in fish tanks", I've started a few spider plants by floating the roots in my aquarium water with VERY accelerated results. The roots are present within 24 hours and within a couple of days the roots are around 2" long. Plant in soil watch em grow. I water all of my plants with aquarium water.

I tend to feel that just because aquarium water has some nutrients is not a good indicator it's necessarily good for your plants. Here's why: We know it's not complete and that it doesn't contain nutrients in a ratio that's favorable for plants. That means that using fish emulsion alone as a nutrient source will definitely limit growth (Liebig's Law of the Minimum). To prevent growth from being limited due to nutritional deficiencies, you'll need to supply either a soluble fertilizer or organic soil amendments, with the former being an easier and more reliable way of delivering nutrients. So here the aquarium water user is - wondering what nutrients he's supplied and what nutrients are lacking. With no way of knowing, he reaches for his fertilizer and applies it according to directions. This should deliver a dose of all the nutrients necessary for growth in a favorable ratio (if it doesn't you used the wrong fertilizer). This application makes the nutrients in the soil solution derived from the aquarium water redundant. They actually serve no purpose, and in fact, unnecessarily raise the the level of EC/TDS higher than if they were not present, making it more difficult (though marginally) for the plant to take up water and the nutrients dissolved in water, so you would have been better off w/o it - with sticking to a fertilizer plan you KNOW provides all the necessary nutrients at a favorable concentration and in a favorable ratio to each other. RG - your plant has obvious nutritional deficiencies. My guess, because of the interveinal chlorosis AND the cupping of the leaf margins is that it's short at least Mg, and very probably N and others. If you're willing to answer a few questions, I'm pretty sure we can narrow things down and get your tree back on track. Al

Dogma is holding firm to the belief that something could neither be a conceptually or practically superior practice because you believe something else seems to be satisfactory - 'works for me'. Old beliefs are like a pair of old shoes - we often value their comfort so much we tend to ignore the fact they're full of holes. Almost everyone prefers the relative comfort of belief to the exercise of reason because believing is easier than reasoning; which brings us full circle to why there are so many more believers than thinkers. My $.02 I'm pretty sure you're not suggesting that a haphazard approach (a little of this and a little of that, even though I know neither what the plant needs nor what I'm giving it) is a superior approach to a well-reasoned supplementation plan. Discounting all reason because we're satisfied with the status quo is self-limiting by default. BTW - if Punky's trees are in pots (don't think that was made clear), moving closer to how nature does things is an exercise fraught with obstacles. Growing in the ground and growing in pots are widely divergent cultures. On a scale of 1-10 with growing in the ground being a 1 and hydroponic growing a 10, conventional container culture is probably a 7 or 8. Al

In short, yes. Rainwater or melted snow is excellent for orchids, but if you have an area which is prone to acid rain, a ph test might be in order. Also, if you have a new roof, collecting water which has run off the roof may not be a good idea to use on orchids as you may pick up chemicals from the roof. Collecting a large amount of rain water can be achieved by placing a tarp or plastic sheet out in an open area and rigging it in such a way to drain into a bucket or other container. Water collected from dehumidifiers and air conditioning units is fine to use for orchids as it is the same as distilled water, however it does have dust etc. in it. Fine to use on orchids, don't use it on your contacts. Water from aquariums is also used by several growers on the forum to good effect. The water has fertilizer in it already! I would remind people who are using this, however, to NOT use it if you have treated your fish with medications recently...some treatments contain copper and other elements which may be in too high a concentration for some orchids.