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Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on July 19, 2012 at 12:46pm

Re; Worms: We bought ours at GroLots near Metro Center.

If you have to order them, I'd go with Converse. I've learned so much about worms, worm tea, etc. from Converse in these forums.

Converse, along those lines, I have a potted plant...well...now two...that are infested with scale. I've never dealt with it before, but what I'm reading is rather dismal. Do you know how effective is worm tea on well-established scale?

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on July 19, 2012 at 12:40pm

Aww, I'm so sorry, John!  I'd blame Jacques. [just kidding!!]

I hope you can find the cause.You definitely have something toxic going on in there. You might want to try a different kit, but do it before the water balance changes much. Have any pesticides been sprayed nearby, like a neighbor treating their yard or the city spraying for mosquitoes?  I'm grasping at anything that comes to mind..

Comment by John Malone on July 19, 2012 at 11:56am

He's dead, Jim!

Well,  that's about it for my first attempt at fish raising...

In fact, they're all dead.   I arrived home from vacation last night to have 2 remaining fish swimming, and since it was nearing midnight I thought I rescue them to a bucket in the morning.   I waited too long.

I don't know what killed them.   I'm wondering if my testing chemicals have been damaged in the heat.   I have been storing them under the grow bed.   Do test kits go bad?   I can only assume that the water quality wasn't what I thought it was.

I've been wanting to re-fold the fish tank liner, but couldn't do it with all the water and fish in there.  Now I've got a chance.  It's a very small silver lining...

I'm a bit glum now.

 

Comment by Converse on July 19, 2012 at 11:20am

Greetings Zach,

   I am all for buying local...so If you can...do...But if you cannot find any local source of redworms, you can get them from me.  I'm in Washington State..  I ship successfully all over the USA (except Hawaii)  all year round.  I run a Redworm Farm and do not use any chemicals on our farm.  I am a fellow AP enthusiast as well.

  If you are still looking for a source of redworms you can contact me privately if you wish.

- Converse

Comment by Zach Moler on July 19, 2012 at 10:35am

Sheri, Bob thanks for the advice, i only through a couple of the nightcrawlers in the growbeds figuring they would die, the rest into the soil garden under some dirt.

David, where are you ordering worms from? I couldnt find anywhere that would ship during the summer months here

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on July 19, 2012 at 9:14am

I much prefer the siphon to drilling because of all the reasons you mentioned, plus cost. :)

Comment by Bob Campbell on July 19, 2012 at 8:44am

@Sheri - Two overflows might be necessary if the siphon can't keep up with the pump, or if it is prone to clogging.  Kent and I both under built our siphons so my advice is to go large.  As I recall Kent added a priming pump at the top bend where it crosses the aquarium's side.   I did not do that, but that would make the initial prime a lot easier to attain.   I suppose over time air could build up inside that turn and slow or stop the siphon.  I believe that is why the pump is there.

You could have the tank drilled by a glass company, but you would probably have to bring the tank to them which is a hassle.  The other reason for going with the siphon is that some tanks are made of tempered glass and simply can not be drilled.

I've never drilled a tank mainly because I did not have the right type of hole saw, but it looks like it would not be too difficult if all the precautions where taken.

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on July 19, 2012 at 7:48am

Great information, Kent & Bob. I appreciate hearing about what you learned through your experiences.

Ours water would run from the main FT to the top of the duckweed trays. The flow would be controlled by a valve. From there it would run down through the trays and into the aquariums, just as it does now. The aquariums would be kept level with each other using a bridge siphon. The overflow siphon would take the water out of the tank nearest the main system and run it back down to the FT.

The video suggested two overflows in case one gets clogged or fails for some reason. What are your thoughts about that?

Loved the Red Green quote at the end of your blog, Kent. :)

Comment by Bob Campbell on July 19, 2012 at 12:51am

Kent your siphon is not the same.  You need to turn your pickup tube up again.  

If you want a bottom pickup then place an open Tee at the top and turn back down.  

That's what I did.  It stays primed, and does not drain the tank if the pump quits.  

Like you I too had to rebuild mine with larger pipe. There is quite a bit of friction with all those turns.

Comment by Kent Biswanger on July 19, 2012 at 12:31am

@ Sheri, I'm using overflows like this on my system works great but make sure to pick large enough pipe to keep up with the pump. Also get pumps to keep the overflow primed especially after a power outage. Here is my blog on the overflow http://projectlog2012.blogspot.com/

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