Worm Filter

Has anybody had any experience using some type of a worm bed for water filtration?

I found an interesting video in which the fishkeeper claims to maintain redworms in his aquaponics filter media.



The next thing you know, I was reading this masters thesis from VT. If interested, just skip to the graphs, otherwise take my word for it that the performance of the worm bed filters appears to be rather good.

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10162003-205902/unrestricted/Final_Submitted_Thesis1.01.pdf

So now I’m curious if there is a simple sustainable way to incorporated vermicomposting into an aquaponics system of perhaps 100-150 gallons.

We hosted an aquaponics speaker at our local club meeting last month. ( http://growdinner.com/ ) The Straw Hat Farmer is an excellent resource if you have any aquaponics questions.

Personally, I already do use live plants to remove nitrogen from my aquarium system, but I grow aquatic species instead of terrestrial. In a way, aquatic plants compete with terrestrial ones because they both eat the nitrogen that is a byproduct of feeding fish. The major difference between the two systems is that aquatic plants prefer to eat ammonium, while terrestrial plants prefer nitrate. Here is more information on ammonium versus nitrate uptake: http://www.theaquari...ical_Filtration

And in a way I sort of do have worm beds in my fish tanks; they're just aquatic worms instead of terrestrial ones.
Here's a video of my blackworms:

https://www.youtube....h?v=nauZG5MANQM
They often come with blackworm-eating-leeches mixed in their population, but if you could get a pure population, yeah, it'd look like any terrestrial worm bed. I have a tentatively leech-free population in a 10 gallon tank right now that I bred up from just a few dozen blackworms.

It's sort of odd to me to talk about aquaponics because I'm so used to the underwater version of the same thing. But there are some major benefits to moving the plants and worms above water, namely:
1. You can grow things you can eat, like mint and tomatoes
2. You can grow things that smell good, a major complaint from my spouse about my fish tanks

Either way, aquaponics and aquatic plant culture are really the same thing, which is: using plants to remove nitrogen from the fish tank. This results in cleaner water for the fish, less urgent need of water changes, and either beautiful verdant jungle-aquariums or valuable terrestrial food or herb plants. I haven't read the paper but my hunch is that the worm bed thing probably works. Try contacting Straw Hat and getting some recommendations for how to add a grow bed to your aquarium. Last month at the club meeting he outlined what parts to buy to add aquaponics to an aquarium for <$30. He's very knowledgeable.

I just noticed you're in the Roanoke, Virginia area. You might be interested in one of Straw Hat's hands on classes. He's in Statesville, North Carolina. Here is a link: http://growdinner.co...dsOnClasses.htm

It sounds interesting. Thanks.
What is your local club? An aquarium club?

What is your local club? An aquarium club?

Yup. We invite a speaker every month.
http://aquariumenthu...iadnc.webs.com/

I'm feeding them propaganda about native fishes half the time and they haven't seem to have noticed (minded?) yet.
For example earlier today someone asked "What eats snails?" I answered, "darters"

If anybody in the neighborhood wants to come talk about native fish sometime, we'd appreciate it. We've got a speaker opening at the July 11th meeting. And any Saturday in the summer would be great for a field trip.

Appreciate what you have. I wish we had a club in our neck of the woods. People around here mostly catch bass and hunt dear.

Appreciate what you have. I wish we had a club in our neck of the woods.

There actually wasn't one when I moved here three years ago. It was pretty unfeasible to drive two hours to the closest club (only ever did it twice in two years), so last spring I e-mailed and called around and found a place willing to host monthly meetings for a fish club for free. Schools and churches are the most reliable things-- places you're already a member. Then I just started inviting monthly speakers and telling people it existed, and pretty soon people showed up.
You can see how attendance has grown: http://aquacharlotte...p?p=77762#77762
One of our members got us a corporate sponsor, so this was the first month we've had prizes for our contests (I've just been printing out little award sheets up until now, lol)

It's good to have a place you can talk about fish with people. It gives the non-fish friends a break from what would otherwise be a stream of monotonous boring topics on their part. Elassoma babies! Yay! Who should I tell!?! Not the friends from work, lol. Time to take pictures of the fry and post on the nanfa forum For stuff like that, it's good to have this website and the local fish club If there isn't one, make one, and they will come.

Sort of on a different topic, the aquaponics classes really are worth the trip if you want to make a day of it. http://growdinner.co...dsOnClasses.htm If not, he is very accessible by e-mail and especially facebook.
https://www.facebook...nnerAquaponics/

Wow really neat. Thanks for the encouragement (drooling). Amazingly, I was just invited to a new facebook page for local aquarists in my area. The biggest topic was the disappearance of LFS in our area, and where to drive to for that sort of thing. Perhaps this will lead to something. But this is a thread about worm filters, and I don't think I'm ready to admit that to my new group.

For my other interest, aquaculture (and worms apparently), I'm still negotiating with my wife over use of the jacuzzi tub.