Adding Worms to Your Aquaponic Grow Beds
http://www.theaquaponicstore.com/1-LB-1000-Live-Red-Wiggler-Compost-Worms-p/lwruj001.htm What do the worms you order from us look like when you receive them?…
20 Responses to Adding Worms to Your Aquaponic Grow Beds
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The worms will eat the dead plant matter, like root parts and pieces, as well as the fish solids that are deposited into the grow bed. This further mineralizes the wastes and lets the water carry those nutrients to the plants. It’s like continuously treating your grow bed with worm tea.
Scott Baker
May 31, 2013 at 10:08 pm
It really depends on your setup. A swirl filter is a must if you’re doing a deep water culture (DWC) because the water should be as clean of solids as possible. If you have a growbed with hydroton/media, you could probably go either way — and if your fish are producing a ton of waste, using both a swirl and worms probably wouldn’t hurt.
Cody Rush
May 31, 2013 at 11:05 pm
Watch as many YouTube videos as you can — some of my favorites are by user web4deb and Murray Hallam. The process described above is also known as “nitrification” and is often referred to as system cycling. The creator of this video has published a handy book called “Aquaponic Gardening” (ISBN: 978-0865717015). I recommend it as a reference for any new aquaponic gardener. Cheers, good luck gardening.
Cody Rush
May 31, 2013 at 11:29 pm
so you dont need a swirl filter if you use worms? or would it be better to have both?
shazbot4u
May 31, 2013 at 11:35 pm
Oh, thanks, … I’ve been watching so many videos on aquaponics and have never heard this before. So, the worms eat the fish poop and tranform it into something useful, is that right? Do you know a good video, book or reference on how all this works, that’s very interesting. Thanks again.
justgivemethetruth
June 1, 2013 at 12:12 am
Oh, thanks, … I’ve been watching so many videos on aquaponics and have never heard this before. So, the worms eat the fish poop and tranform it into something useful, is that right? Do you know a good video, book or reference on how all this works, that’s very interesting. Thanks again.
justgivemethetruth
June 1, 2013 at 12:44 am
One bacteria (Nitrosomonas) converts ammonia produced by the fish into nitrites and the other bacteria (Nitrobacter) converts the nitrites into nitrates; the plants consume the nitrates. If you don’t remove the solid fish waste, either by adding a swirl filter or using a different method (ie, worms), you run the risk of creating anaerobic zones in your growbeds. Neither the plants nor the bacteria directly consume solid fish waste.
Cody Rush
June 1, 2013 at 12:56 am
I thought that was already done by the plants or the bacteria? Why the worms?
justgivemethetruth
June 1, 2013 at 1:19 am
That seems like worm abuse
justgivemethetruth
June 1, 2013 at 1:35 am
What is the point of putting worms in an aquaponic bed? Is there anything for them to eat, and where does their poop go – do fish like worm castings or dead worms? I thought the point of worms was to develop the soil, but you do not have any soil ?
justgivemethetruth
June 1, 2013 at 2:28 am
gorgeous?
justgivemethetruth
June 1, 2013 at 3:27 am
What exactly are the worms eating? I have a worm bed and they devour all my kitchen scraps.
jwlrymkr
June 1, 2013 at 4:10 am
I just plunge a hand full them in a bucket of water using in a fine metal sieve strainer and kind of swirl it at an angle. It lets the dirt either float off or slip through but not the worms… The worms get a nice bath and lets them know what there new home is going to be like… and it take 20 seconds to bath my little buddies and I just drop them in little clumps all over the beds under the plants
gwdaniels
June 1, 2013 at 4:54 am
Do the worm castings, fish solids, etc. ever clog up the grow bed? If so, how do you clean it out?
Thanks
porkfatrulers
June 1, 2013 at 4:58 am
Won’t the peat moss create blockages in the GB?
txdurk
June 1, 2013 at 5:16 am
Any fish waste or plant matter left behind will be consumed by the worms.
Cody Rush
June 1, 2013 at 5:57 am
why di u have add them as there us no food for them
Rohinton Irani
June 1, 2013 at 6:35 am
nice video, liked & sub’d to your channel ;)-
indoorharvestgardens
June 1, 2013 at 7:29 am
There really isn’t much of a rule of thumb there because they multiply so rapidly. I just added 2 lbs to 30 sq ft of grow bed space and it was probably more than I needed. I could have gotten away with just a pound.
aquaponicgardening
June 1, 2013 at 7:58 am
Great Video!, do you know how many Warms/ Ratio to Media please?
thanks
Tarik Chrigui
June 1, 2013 at 8:55 am