Vermiponics School Project

[magneta]

I had a choice of presenting an innovative idea for my biotechnology class, so I decided to go with a vermiponics system. I have the schematics and the worms, and all I need is some constructive criticism, so that I don't have a Red Wiggler massacre.

Materials:

4X 200 gallon barrels- Two of these barrels will be cut in half longitudinally and inverted to create 3 grow beds and one water tank. These grow beds will be filled with 3/4 inch gravel (or whatever is close that I can find at the nearby park).
The other two will be used as rain barrels. One should suffice for this system though, so the other barrel is for expansion later on.

12X yogurt containers- these will have 1/2 inch holes drilled all over it- these containers will be filled up with organic waste (paper, banana peels, stuff you'd normally throw away in the green bin). All this waste will be ground using a grinder, and the mixture will be poured onto the yogurt containers. I kinda don't get how the worms are going to get to the food, but I've read that worms don't actually eat the decomposing matter itself, but the bacteria that grows from it. That being said, would it be a bad idea to have a slow fill, fast drain recirculation system? Would the worms have a chance at eatin' the bacteria before they get flushed away from the fast drain?

Red Wiggler Worms- Got these from an elementary school who was doin' a vermicomposting project. Maybe they missed their little buddies, but a $40 pizza party later, they don't seem to care one bit. Right now the worms are raised in a conventional peat moss/newspaper/banana peel composting bin. Most will be transplanted when the system is finished, leaving a few for a nursery/feed cushion (better to underfeed than overfeed).

5X magnetic drive 400GPH pumps- you only need 2 to run the basic system (1 if you get kinky with the bell siphon), but a good deal- and a desire to get this to work as easy as possible before this assig is due, made me use 5. 3 goes for the grow beds (1 for each growbed), and one will be used to water conventional soil based potted plants (pots = ice cream containers; supplier=my diabetic dad). The last one will be added to the rain barrel, to pump water to the vermiponic tank when water runs too low. Of course, these pumps will be hooked onto dollar shop timers, so no over watering.

0.75 inch tubing + screw in pipe clamps- to create a tight network for 'worm tea' and water transport.

Plants- Easy fast growers; I'm going to cover half the planting area with seeds, and the other with seedlings- I only have one month's growing time. This isn't so as much to set food on the table as to get an A on this presentation- but I do want to keep this system for years to come, and that's when I'll start experimenting with harder crops.

I will upload my schematics after I'm done drawing and scanning them. But please comment on the general idea; what are the holes? What can be done to improve this system? What would you do differently to ensure success of the system?

I'm going to make a video presentation of everything (to present to the class), including the benefits of the system, and how to build it, step by step. It will also be posted on youtube once its done, along with updates.

So stay tuned.

[urbanfarmer]

Yea, it's hard to comment because I'm not sure what exactly you are doing. A few things stick out at me. You have half a barrel as the water tank, but it's supposed to flood 3 barrels somehow? That doesn't seem to add up.

Where are you putting the cups filled with ground up food waste? I hope on the top where it doesn't get much action with the water in the flood/drain cycles.

I don't think you should bother with so many pumps, but how the heck are you going to manage all the pumps even if you do??

You need to fix some problems in the design phase because it sounds like you may have quite a few.

[magneta]

Yea, it's hard to comment because I'm not sure what exactly you are doing. A few things stick out at me. You have half a barrel as the water tank, but it's supposed to flood 3 barrels somehow? That doesn't seem to add up.

Where are you putting the cups filled with ground up food waste? I hope on the top where it doesn't get much action with the water in the flood/drain cycles.

I don't think you should bother with so many pumps, but how the heck are you going to manage all the pumps even if you do??

You need to fix some problems in the design phase because it sounds like you may have quite a few.

I guess everything will be clarified once I post the schematics.

Those three grow bed half barrels will be filled with 3/4 inch gravel, so the space between the rocks should leave about 1/3 to be filled with water, which is why the 3:1 growbed to water tank ratio, which is also employed in aquaponics.

The cups will be added near the top. I may stick to cream cheese containers instead of yogurt containers if the yogurt containers reach the bottom. Thanks for the heads up.

The pumps are 400gph magnetic drive- ie. low maintenance. They also operate via. timer, and so, by using the timer settings, I can get the water to circulate to where its needed, without over flooding.
Wattage is a problem though, so if anything, I will use T couplings and one pump to water the growbeds, and with the rainbarrel and potting soil pump, I will have only 3 pumps.

Again, thanks for your points- I really appreciate it.

[keith_r]

interesting idea..
maybe go up to 1" pvc instead of tubing

[magneta]

interesting idea..
maybe go up to 1" pvc instead of tubing

I'll probably do that for the solid system (pumps in the water tank), as 1'' pvc would increase flow rate of solid sediments such as worm castings. The bends in the tubing may clog up the system. The rain barrel pump will use regular tubing, as no sediment will be transported.

I've also decided to downsize to 2 growbeds instead of 3, and use a smaller water storage tank, due to space constraints, and the number of worms I have available to start the growbeds, and meanwhile, grow the worm population in the regular compost bin. In due time, once I have amassed enough worms, I will expand to 3 growbeds.

Only thing I worry about now is the stability of the system. Less water volume in the system = more pH and temperature fluctuations. However, the frequent addition of water from the rain barrel will add to a bit more stability, and worms are known to survive a variety of conditions- large pH and temperature ranges.

I have also cut down the number of pumps I need to 3.
I'll be using two of these pumps (one to water the plants, and one to transfer water to growbeds):

http://cgi.ebay.com/580-GPH-AQUARIUM-PO ... 43a6dd4bd0 (http://cgi.ebay.com/580-GPH-AQUARIUM-POND-WATER-PUMP-POWERHEAD-SUBMERSIBLE-/290562329552?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a6dd4bd0)

540gph each, magnetic drive and a low number of moving parts to ensure reliability and unhampered flow of solid sediment.

And one $25 240 gph regular pump that will pump water from the rain barrel to the water tank.
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-accesso ... Z280168673 (http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-accessories-Brand-new-Pond-pool-Pump-845-Gallon-Hour-and-Powerhead-240-Gallo-W0QQAdIdZ280168673)

[urbanfarmer]

Looks okay

[magneta]

I decided to use the growbeds to grow fruits and fruit bearing vegetables: melons, strawberries, blueberries, bell peppers, and okra. I will use the soil pots to grow a variety of herbs, green beans, okra, and eggplants.

I want to take advantage of the nutrient profile of worm castings, which easily allows trace mineral intense crops such as blueberries to grow. http://www.pollardworms.com/where_to_buy_worm_castings/

An aquaponics based vermiponics system also provides optimal drainage, preventing plants with soft fibrous roots such as blueberries from developing root rot.

The indoor environment will also provide protection for more delicate plants, such as melons.

I also want to have a chance to eat my berries and veggies before the insects do.

I am also stumped as to what to do once winter hits. Temperatures can get below zero in my sun room, and my folks aren't too keen about bringing the system indoors. I'm not planning on growing crops during the winter, but I do want my worms to survive. Installing a water heater to the system, and lining the outsides of the barrels with insulating material such as old sweaters and blankets should do the trick, correct?

[urbanfarmer]

Old sweaters and blankets will help (depends on what kind of blanket too), but you better pile them on to get some really good insulation!

Having the system indoors shouldn't pose a problem, and it might make the sun room a lot more fun and interesting. If I had a sun room, I would definitely fill it with plants in an aquaponic system!!!

[rfeiller]

only as long as the fabrics are dry and they maintain the air spaces within the fabrics.

[magneta]

The sun room is also my bike workshop- pretty neat place if only it had enough insulation.

UPDATE

- I decided to scrap the bell siphon mechanism, and go with timers, mainly because in Toronto, timers are cheaper than PVC pipes. That, and the system is indoors- not subject to the rigors of outside weather. It also me to not run the pump continuously, therefore allowing for savings in power. Only problems I can think of is the worm castings not being expelled from the system effectively, which could pose a threat for the worms. Of course, the plants above will be using the nutrients, so that might offset the toxicity, but is it still enough? Clogging of the drain hole will also screw up timing, which would therefore require periodic cleaning of said hole, as well as employing a long drain interval to ensure nearly all the water gets drained.

I'm also wondering if it is really important in a vermiponics system like this, to not have the top layer of rocks get wet? Would I risk an algal bloom if the top layer of rocks were wet? Cyanobacteria, which is mainly responsible for algal blooms, do reside in any conceivable environment, but are mostly situated in aquatic environments involving fish. Hence, with a system dealing only with worms, the risk of algal blooms is negligible, right?

Anyhoos, I got everything I needed except for the 3/4 inch gravel and plants, and I will be posting up vids on Monday hopefully.

[rfeiller]

looking forward to seeing your set-up.
i am playing with vermiponics although it really isn't vermiponics. i have (29) 5-gal plastic buckets, each is a worm bed, each has a plant in the bucket. once a day it receives water from the 600gal bio-vat, and the excess runoff goes back into the bio-vat. the bio-vat contains 150 feeder size goldfish. there are 3-100 gal grow beds and two 120 gal grow beds are under construction to add to it, with a probable another 100 gal grow bed coming later.

i don't see how the run-off can be recirculated contineously. i do not know yet how much of the nutrient rich run-off will be utilized by the grow beds. this system of course is outside.

i'm interested in how your project is going to go. :?:

[magneta]

Finally got updates and pics- had to do a full redesign on the system due to space constraints.
I instead opted for a 'worm tea' production center, which pumps worm tea to 6 large potted plants. Basically, one 200L barrel is cut in 6/10s and 4/10s- the smaller barrel, with a bunch of holes drilled inside is flipped upside down and added on top of the larger barrel. The larger barrel will be a water tank that will store the worm tea (run off from the smaller bin on top). The top bin will be filled with gravel + cardboard 3/4 of the way. 3 yogurt containers drilled with holes will be buried on top. Water will be pumped from the bottom to the top of the bin with a single pump hooked onto 1 timer and a water control switch, the water level rising until it barely passes the buried yogurt container level. The moisture from the compost waste will provide the rest of the needed moisture to the top part of the bin. The water will pull a small portion of the ground veggies to the rocks where the worms will have a field day.

If space allows (I will have 3 yogurt containers in the top part for compost), I may have one or two plants with high drainage requirements (blueberries).

Water will be added every 6 hours on 15 minute intervals. There is a larger "safety" hole in the bottom to prevent overflow in case the wire mesh gets clogged, although I may need to add a few more, just for the piece of mind. I may even add a pseudo "bell siphon", where the water will flow over the pipe and into the tank in case the system starts to overflow, giving me enough time to regulate the water level (ie. 2 weeks later when I feed the worms).

The water tank in the bottom meanwhile will collect the 'worm tea' and distribute it to the plants.
The 'worm tea' that collects to the bottom of the bin will be distributed to the plants via a second pump, hooked onto two timers (to bypass the 15 minute minimum 'on time' digital dollarshop timers have- I need to pump water to the plants in 4-5 minute intervals- and since sediments will be pumped, I can't use the water control switch, since it may get clogged.
The water level will obviously decrease as a result, so I have a pump in a rain barrel connected to a float switch inside the tank, that will pump water into the tank when the water level gets too low.

I posted 2 pics of the system in progress. Gonna take a few more once everything is done.
I just finished everything today at 3AM, except for adding gravel + worms. Sanding holes for yogurt containers is really tedious. The system overflowed too due to water transfer from the rainbarrel to the bottom tank, even though the pump was off. Two holes drilled to the pipe nearest to the rain barrel fixed the problem. I gotta add more of these 'pressure relieving holes to the other pipes.

Also, working with the water made me realize one thing- the importance of a water heater.

Tis pricy to be Epimethius. You figure out your ideal system AFTER you spend so much $$ on things you never really needed after all.
Ie. 840gph pumps for $65 as opposed to the 240gph pumps for $25 which works perfectly.


looking forward to seeing your set-up.
i am playing with vermiponics although it really isn't vermiponics. i have (29) 5-gal plastic buckets, each is a worm bed, each has a plant in the bucket. once a day it receives water from the 600gal bio-vat, and the excess runoff goes back into the bio-vat. the bio-vat contains 150 feeder size goldfish. there are 3-100 gal grow beds and two 120 gal grow beds are under construction to add to it, with a probable another 100 gal grow bed coming later.
i don't see how the run-off can be recirculated contineously. i do not know yet how much of the nutrient rich run-off will be utilized by the grow beds. this system of course is outside.
i'm interested in how your project is going to go. :?:

I believe the water shouldn't be recirculated continuously. Worms like it damp, but too much water and they drown. My water recirculation cycle is therefore once every 6 hours or longer. As long as the rocks are damp for the most part, they will be fine.

So the worms will work in tandem with the plants to remove the fish waste, and the worm castings produced from the worms eating the fish poop will fertilize the plants. Sweet.

Again, you can try routing the run off from the worm waste bin to one or two plant growbeds before moving it to the biovat, to ensure that the fish gets clean water (or is that what you're already doing). Malnourished plants are a lot better than dying fish, no?

It should work really well, keep us updated on the progress.

[larsmith217]

I'm new to Aqua / VermiPonics.
Have one worm bin started and hope to move the worms / contents over to a vermiponic system.
I have IBC Totes, as well as 2 wooded rectangular "box" style grow beds. Only have a liner for 1 so far.
Plan on cleaning up the tanks ( totes ) and cutting them up to hold the water and perhaps to hold fish.
I've got my eye on this thread, awaiting more information / success stories.
Could any of the worm tea be used to feed fish ?
I've learned it CAN be used to spray on any garden plants, to fend off other insects.

[urbanfarmer]

I'm new to Aqua / VermiPonics.
Have one worm bin started and hope to move the worms / contents over to a vermiponic system.
I have IBC Totes, as well as 2 wooded rectangular "box" style grow beds. Only have a liner for 1 so far.
Plan on cleaning up the tanks ( totes ) and cutting them up to hold the water and perhaps to hold fish.
I've got my eye on this thread, awaiting more information / success stories.
Could any of the worm tea be used to feed fish ?
I've learned it CAN be used to spray on any garden plants, to fend off other insects.
Fish don't eat the same things plants do (excluding insectivores); so, the worm tea would do nothing to the fish. The worms however make great fish food!

[magneta]

The heart of the project is finally done! All that's left is to let the worms reproduce and let the worm castings accumulate into the system. Filled up the bed halfway with gravel, added half my wormbin material with worms, and topped it off with more gravel.
I'll have more pics once I get a hold of my cameraman.

Problems I'm seeing from the get go is the infestation of white mites. 8 or so visible mites on the yogurt containers isn't much of an infestation, but as to what direction it goes from there, who knows? Of course, these mites merely act as competitors for bacteria for the worms- they don't harm em directly, so if I'm overfeeding the worms, well, the white mites will be a sign. Either that, or the worms haven't even accessed the food yet (they accessed one container so far- the second remains untouched except by white mites).

The system also drains out a little too fast, despite the two layers of wire mesh. I believe this will be remedied after a while, through the accumulation of worm castings and other debris in the bottom.

The worms are alive and well, and its been 4 days, so that's something to celebrate, no?
On another note, I probably will have to add more worms- I think I added less than 100 into the system.

[urbanfarmer]

100 worms isn't a lot, but if you have time, they will reproduce. I threw in barely a dozen worms in my worm bin and several months later it is full of thousands and thousands of worms. If you want to speed things up, you can always add more worms, of course.

The white mites should not be a problem. I have noticed that outdoors in the gravel beds the white mites just are not present. I have snails in my worm bed and many other critters. Perhaps one of them eats these mites or the conditions are not favorable to the white mites?

You sound like you are off to a great start. Keep it up, and keep us posted!

[magneta]

Alright... I finally finished the project. Actually, I finished up a while back, but so many changes to the protocol made it not a true aquaponics or vermiponics project in the end at all- its now much more like a worm tea manufacturing system- a proper one, not one that just uses leachate that amplifies anaerobic bacteria.

The old design will work. Magnificiently actually. The worms convert the kitchen scraps within a few days, and the worms were sure multiplying fast! Well, I dunno how fast is fast, because I have yet to see how well they grow in the regular bins. Problem is... What am I going to do in the winter? A water heater may sustain the little guys, but it will cost extra power...
By separating the worms into regular worm composting bins, the system can be placed outside indefinitely (so that it can automatically water and fertilize a backyard garden- and I don't have to do anything special during the winter except remove the water pumps).
The worms will be producing their worm castings in a regular vermicomposting container- 2 for now, but excepted to grow to 5- I find that very little kitchen wastes can sustain these little guys to full capacity, so this can be easily upscaled. There is also the added benefits of not having to grind the kitchen wastes (it helps though- but I'm lazy)... so no need for a garburator or anything special like that.

The worm castings gets dumped on the top portion of the worm tea production center, and aquarium pumps will pump water to the top bin, which has wire mesh and 3/4 inch gravel to filter the solid chunks of worm castings to the bottom of the container. Molassas can be added to the system to multiply the beneficial aerobic bacteria, because it doesn't matter if the system gets overheated- there aren't any worms in the system anymore- they're separated to the vermicomposting bins. The bottom tank holds the main reservoir of water, and several pumps are in the system- one to pump water to the top portion, and the other to pump water to the plants. A float switch is connected to a pump in a rain barrel, which will top up the water in the bottom portion of the worm tea facility when water levels get too low (when 'worm tea' is used up for watering the plants). The environment is aerobic, due to the trickle effect of the top portion of the bin to the bottom portion, and its a small facility so it holds a comparatively small amount of water (100 liters).

The main step right now is to prep the land for planting crops, so that I can test the efficacy of this facility. Worm tea has the added benefits of acting not only as a potent fertilizer, but also as an insect repellent. I will test the efficacy of this system... after July 22, when exams are finally done.

Bottom line- the old system will work if you live in a warm climate, and you protect the facility from rain, which may add excess water to the system. But I live in Canada, so the cold winter weather must be considered when implementing my design.

Right now, I'm focused on multiplying the worm bins to produce enough castings, and prepping some land to test out the worm tea facility.

Here is a link to my video for more info- its a megaupload file though. I need a youtube account...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PN910ALF

I hope I can get a lot done after the 22nd- I dunno if this is acceptable for the DIYaquaponics magazine. Its not an aquaponics system persae...