Do
you really need worms in your aquaponics system? Well, the
answer is yes. If you want a more balanced and maintenance free
system. Adding worms to your aquaponics system is a great way
to get rid of the waste that you don’t want in your system. Worms won’t hurt your plants or your fish in any way. All
they do is help your system to function more efficiently.
One
thing to keep in mind when adding worms to your aquaponics kit it
that you can’t just go to your backyard and dig up some worms. Nor can you buy just any old worms and expect them to live. The
recommended worms for your aquaponic system are red worms.
Otherwise known as the red worm, brandling worm, pinfish worm, trout
worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm or the red Californian earth
worm. If you use most any other type of earthworm, they will
die.
These
red worms will break down the solid waste from your fish, your plants
and anything else that produces solid waste and will make those solid
wastes more bio-available. This will prevent you from the
frequent cleaning and filtering of your system. For example:
a healthy 12 inch deep grow bed will only need to be cleansed
approximately every five years or so.
By
adding worms to your aquaponic grow beds, you will help to
prevent plant diseases, including tomato worms, mealy bugs, spider
mites and aphids, just to name a few. This occurs because
of the vermicompost and the “tea” that comes from soaking
vermicompost in a highly oxygenated moist environment.
Red worms thrive in environments that have high moisture content and
rich organic matter, which describes an aquaponics system perfectly.
Additionally,
studies have shown that vermicomposting can lower the levels of
pathogens in waste and help reduce the pathogens that could affect
the human body.
Now
you know that red worms are extremely beneficial to your aquaponics
garden, you probably want to know how many worms you will need.
Well, that depends on how large your system is of course. But
one pound of red worms should be able to process approximately
1/2 pound of food waste each day.
Red
worms are not expensive; however, you do need to take some
precautions when buying them. For example: red worms can
introduce diseases into your system. Therefore, you should
clean them off thoroughly before adding them to your aquaponics kit.
It’s best to put your worms into a separate moist environment for
about 24 hours and then wash them off again. The bacteria they
were carrying will be purged from their system and be completely safe
once the bacteria has passed through their system. A wetted
down corn meal mixture is great to use for the 24 hour purging
process.
Here
are a few other things you should know before you begin. Red
worms don’t require a deep area in order to survive. A large
surface area is more important than the depth. If you’re
using a light, a regular light will harm your worms but a red light
won’t. Therefore, it’s recommended that you use a red light
for your system. The red worm eggs look like small straw
colored lemons. So don’t panic if you see this in your
system.
Well
that’s about it for whether or not you should add worms to your
aquaponics systems. So keep that in mind whether your
purchasing an aquaponics kit for the first time or whether you
already have an established aquaponics system set up. Adding
worms is very beneficial to your plants and your fish and will save
you time and money in cleaning and maintenance costs.
