Growing Herbs next to tank

[LucentFish]

Hi all, iv been thinking for awhile and will shortly start growing some herbs like basil, green onion etc on a shelf next to my tank. Figured might as well put the reef lights to grow them. Does anyone else do this, any tips to share?

 

[Argentum]

I guess it depends on what lighting you're using. Most coral-specific lights tend towards the bluer end of the spectrum (thinking 20K, actinics, etc) and omit some of the range that chlorophyll likes best. 6500k to 10k would probably be your best bet for growing veggies at the same time, though it might also spur an increase in algae.

Another thing to consider is possible salt spray/creep. Just be careful that your setup doesn't have the potential to get salt or saltwater into your growing media or you'll quickly find your plants starting to struggle.

Being in close proximity to your tank will likely raise the local humidity levels a bit (something that most herbs and veggies grown indoors struggle with because they tend to dry out in our homes), but the light spectrum and salt proximity might not be the best mix. You're talking about cheap plants though, so I'd say give it a shot and see how it goes.

 

[LucentFish]

They will be next to a hydra32 and I do have it more to the white spectrum, so not just blues during the day and with some red/green. Hopefully the consistent and longer photo period will make up for it. Also yup just doing herbs etc, nothing crazy or delicate. Will for sure need to keep an eye on salt creep as the shelf frame is metal. And yay putting some of that humidity to use, maybe lower CO2 a tiny bit and use some of the rodi waste water. Will compare some with tap some on waste water and see what happens.

 

[Argentum]

I'd probably stick to tap water for watering the herbs since straight RO/DI would likely deplete your soil of minerals over time. Maybe a 50/50 mix of the two would be good, depending on what your tap water is like. Good luck and good on you for trying something new!