Are you recycling the drip water through the bottom water? If so, filters will not rid you of the bacteria that water, droppings, and dead feeders will generate.
Nick
Nick
Photo of Miltons new home
- Thread starter Savage
- Start date
Jono
New Member
I think it rocks! Good on your for experimenting and trying something new. Only by challenging what is known will we discover better ways of doing things.
As mentioned before water within the system can be used very successfully to grow plants completely organically, its just a matter of getting the balance of bottom feeders Vs waste right. Until then dump waste water on your vegetable patch.
Mold is going to be your biggest issue as certain areas are never going to dry completely. This is going to become more of a problem the older the setup gets so I would try and eliminate these problem areas as they start to appear by replacing them other materials (mesh/perforated perspex etc.) and increasing ventilation. I would consider snails or algae eating fish to keep your phytoplankton in check. Something the crabs don't eat. Be weary of snails, they can take over very quickly.
I see no reason for this not to work well once you have tweaked it for a few months.
The name tag is the cherry on the top for me!
As mentioned before water within the system can be used very successfully to grow plants completely organically, its just a matter of getting the balance of bottom feeders Vs waste right. Until then dump waste water on your vegetable patch.
Mold is going to be your biggest issue as certain areas are never going to dry completely. This is going to become more of a problem the older the setup gets so I would try and eliminate these problem areas as they start to appear by replacing them other materials (mesh/perforated perspex etc.) and increasing ventilation. I would consider snails or algae eating fish to keep your phytoplankton in check. Something the crabs don't eat. Be weary of snails, they can take over very quickly.
I see no reason for this not to work well once you have tweaked it for a few months.
The name tag is the cherry on the top for me!
Savage
New Member
Mold is certainly something we all might have to deal with and in this setup you are right the potential is MUCH greater and I thank you for bringing that up. I have some fake plants now but will replace them as the live plants grow. The live plants have a natural defense against mold so the areas of greatest concern are the mesh and wood frame of the enclosure. Strangely the water area (due to drop in temp at night) doesn’t appear to contribute to nighttime humidity. So I think I should get a good deal of “dry out” at night. I think I might delay the first misting another 45min to an hour so give some additional “dry out” time since I have never seen him drink before getting warmed up in the morning. As long as I am good with maintenance I think I can keep any mold in check. My plans for the “water” area are a VERY low bio load. I mist about 3-7 gal a week and that gets siphoned and dumped on my garden. In response to an earlier post none of this water gets recycled to the mister.
My wife painted the name plate and kept it a secret till Milton was ready to move into his new home. I am sure if you asked her nicely she would paint one for you
My wife painted the name plate and kept it a secret till Milton was ready to move into his new home. I am sure if you asked her nicely she would paint one for you
