No more blackworms in the fridge

[lonlangione]

Here are pictures of my new blackworm system. I have heard of people keeping worms in containers out side and also in their fishrooms. I took a plastic container and put it into a 20 long. It fits perfectly. I them drilled holes all the way around this container so the water would run out of it. I took an old Hagen powerhead and made a spray bar with pvc tubing. I st it up and it ran great. I went to the fridge to get some blackworms to test it out and found out that my fridge crapped out and all I had was two pounds of bloody dead worms...... So I went and got another pound the next day and put them into the system. They have been in this system ever since and they are doing great. The temp in my fishroom is 78F. I change the water in the tank this morning. At 9:00 I put 5 sinking Hikari disks in with them and they ate them all by 1:00. This is the best thing I have done in a long time in my fishroom. Here are some pictures of the system. I can comfortable hold 3 pound of worms in this set-up.

 

[Charlutz]

Hey Lonny -

My wife would love this. My 4 y.o. still tells her favorite worm story even though this happened a year ago... See, I kept the worms in our second refrigerator in the basement storage room, near the tanks. Every morning, I'd rinse the worms, divide them into several plastic cups (one for each of my 6 tanks) and them dump them in one at a time. Because I was trying to manage a net, the 6 cups with the worms to be fed, and the original worm cup, I'd run out of hands and have to set something down. So this one time I went to work and didn't return the main supply of worms to the refrigerator. My mistake was discovered when my wife went to take some food out of the basement freezer. Turns out I'd left the worms on top of the freezer and when she opened the door, she got a half pound of worms on her head... My kids love that story! My wife? Not so much. She likes your DIY system!

 

[jonclark96]

Nice set up Lonny. I would love to do something like this if I had the room for it.

 

[danger_chicken]

I do something similar but with a 5g and just have the worms in the tank. They like dark so I painted the tank black including the top. my setup requires an airstone since I don't use a filter or powerhead like your's. room temp, dark, clean water and lots of protein and they will double every 3-4 weeks. Nice setup.

 

[twisted fisher]

and here i thought blackworms were so hard to raise

im a fool at times i swear

 

[Jumbie]

Great idea Lonny!!!! I think I am going to have to set one up myself.

 

[Pat Kelly]

Lonny, I like it. After the Kitchen is done..... next project.

 

[Pat Kelly]

But I must say I like Charlutz worm story better.........

 

[F8LBITE]

good idea Lonny. wish I had the room

 

[YSS]

I have a spare 20G tank and an AC50 I can use. Do the worms live in the water or do they need to be out in the air?

 

[lonlangione]

They are under water. They should be covered with at least 4" to 5" of water so the current created by the spray bar doesn't stir them up. If you look close I have the spray bar directed to the back of the "keeper box". This keeps them in front where I have easy access to them. I am amazed at how much they are eating. Naturally when you keep them in the fridge it slows their metabolic rate down so they live longer. In this case they need to eat or they will waste away. They are eating all the sinking food I am throwing at them. This in turn fills their stomachs with good nutritious food for the fish. Another thing I am doing is feeding the worms to my fish with a syringe. I have always done this but now it keeps the worms from getting stirred up and going into the overflow holes.

Lonny

 

[twisted fisher]

man next weekend im picking up a few tanks and im gonna have to set one of these up

now to tell the wife about my new worm farm hmmm

 

[Tony]

Nice setup, Lonny.

If I had more new world stuff, I'd be there in a second.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

I just keep mine in a 40 gallon tub in the sub basement. I don't filter them, but have two air lines in the pub. Once a month or so, I change the water.