Hello AQ!

[boofeng]

Hi

I’ve been lurking as a registered member on the forum for a bit, learning stuff and getting inspired. Been keeping fish on and off since my teens, but always very casually, with a low tech, trial-and-error approach.

My current projects are:
1. A couple of low-tech planted nanotanks (up and running)
2. No-electricity garden soil HDB corridor tank (up and running – very happy to share pointers)
3. A couple of paludarium/vivarium things (under construction)
4. Vermicomposting (up and running - I can provide advice, and maybe some worms (though not much to spare right now - still starting new colonies), for anyone keen to get into this as well)

I dream of dabbling with CO2 and fertilisation regimes some day in future, but don’t really have the discipline for that sort of rigour at the moment.

BTW I have a couple handfuls of riccia trimmings to give away – but I can’t post on the market forum yet – so PM me if you want some. Collect either Bartley/Tai Seng area at office hours, or from Hougang after.

Bufeng

[zeus888]

Hello and Welcome!


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[antjoey1122]

Hey Bufeng... I'm doing the same as you having a setup at my corridor ....you can refer to my pictures... Would like to see your setup

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[antjoey1122]

And Welcome!

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[boofeng]

Hey Bufeng... I'm doing the same as you having a setup at my corridor ....you can refer to my pictures... Would like to see your setup

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Not sure if this pic works - but here goes. This is my most recent daytime pic.

Substrate is burnt earth + driftwood + Leca balls in stockings. Plants are a hodgepodge (echinodorus sp., vallisneria sp. anubias sp. ludwigia sp., and more) - I bought various species to see which would live and which would die (I have a Darwinist trial-and-error approach to fishkeeping). They ended up all living and it's overcrowded now. Choosing which to prune. The corner emergent plants are cyperus prolifer (dwarf papyrus I think).

The burnt earth ($3/4 a bag at nurseries) was messy - lots of construction debris inside - nails, bathroom tiles, plastic bits, etc. But I'm glad the lifestock seem okay so far.

The tank used to contain molly fry and boeseman's rainbowfish - but the rainbows kept jumping and the sole survivor has been moved. It now houses a pair of german rams (when I was young we called them Ramirez's Cichlid) - and I'm hoping to see breeding behaviour.

***

Hello zeus888!

[boofeng]

Hey Bufeng... I'm doing the same as you having a setup at my corridor ....you can refer to my pictures... Would like to see your setup

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Nice setup - good landscaping! The arrowheads are beautiful. I've got that plant but it's growing terrestrial - you're inspiring me to plant them for my next project.

I've been thinking of doing an aquaponics setup with a chain of plant growing tubs - kindof like what you did for filtration - but it's too big a project to take on now. Paludarium first!

Running electricity out is a challenge for me though! Kudos to you for doing that. A few blocks away from me a guy in a groundfloor unit has a fullblown fibreglass koi pond + neighbourhood garden going on - very impressive stuff.

Anyway, here are my office tank and red wigglers.

[gimhchng]

Very nice setup.

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[tetrakid]

Hi Bufeng. Good to see you here.

I am superficially into vermicomposting too, but have not done any real worm farm yet.
The only thing I learnt from a small-scale (non worm) composting effort is raising a small batch of BSF.
I do not know how they got to be in my compost, but they did grow to adult size, which I fed to my goldfishes.

Your red worms look good. Is there any chance to buy some from you to feed my goldfish? I know they are quite expensive.

[boofeng]

Hi Bufeng. Good to see you here.

I am superficially into vermicomposting too, but have not done any real worm farm yet.
The only thing I learnt from a small-scale (non worm) composting effort is raising a small batch of BSF.
I do not know how they got to be in my compost, but they did grow to adult size, which I fed to my goldfishes.

Your red worms look good. Is there any chance to buy some from you to feed my goldfish? I know they are quite expensive.

Hey good to see you too

Haha BSF larvae invaded my worm bin before too - the fish enjoy them crushed. What's worse is fruitflies in my deeper bin where it's a little harder to control moisture. Finding the right balance of moisture/food/bedding is key.

Um, if you want to start a bin I don't mind sharing some red wigglers for free (yes they are expensive from worm sellers at $25 for 100 grams). About selling as fish food - I would rather start more bins at this time. Once I max out my bins I would be happy to sell the surplus as fish food. I estimate maybe in 2-3 months?

My fish loved an earthworm I snipped up - but the worm flailed about when I cut it. So I don't do it now. I vaguely remember Norway research shows worms don't feel pain and so can be fed live and used as live bait for fishing, but that looks like a politically motivated decision (anglers and petkeepers are a big constituency after all). Maybe I'll chill them before cutting next time - I don't know.

I wish I could culture BSF. I've read they're very efficient composters. But the adult stage is hard to handle. I guess earthworms are fine for now.

Very nice setup.

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Thanks for the vote of confidence! Still got a lot to learn and do!

[tetrakid]

@Boofeng
Ya, I agree with you that the wrigglers are not easy to handle, especially when they will do the high-speed wriggle. It can be a bit scary to hurt the poor worms by cutting them up while they are wriggling wildly. I would prefer to feed them only to big goldfish, etc. Dero worms are more approptiate for smaller fishes.

Vermicomposting is good if one has a garden or ground floor space outside a maisonette. Otherwise, one is restricted to just small projects. Incidentally I am also keen to find an earthy place somewhere where I can dig for a few earthworms. Know of any place?

I have a liking for BSF grub culturing on a big scale too, for producing fish and poultry feed, but is lacking the experience and resources. One must need to develope a sustainable habitat for the mature flies to mate consistently. Without that, it would not be feasible.

[boofeng]

@Boofeng
Ya, I agree with you that the wrigglers are not easy to handle, especially when they will do the high-speed wriggle. It can be a bit scary to hurt the poor worms by cutting them up while they are wriggling wildly. I would prefer to feed them only to big goldfish, etc. Dero worms are more approptiate for smaller fishes.

Vermicomposting is good if one has a garden or ground floor space outside a maisonette. Otherwise, one is restricted to just small projects. Incidentally I am also keen to find an earthy place somewhere where I can dig for a few earthworms. Know of any place?

I have a liking for BSF grub culturing on a big scale too, for producing fish and poultry feed, but is lacking the experience and resources. One must need to develope a sustainable habitat for the mature flies to mate consistently. Without that, it would not be feasible.

Re: worms as food – well I keep the worms more to recycle food/paper waste and to get wormcast than to feed fish. Not really into culturing other live foods – worms are a special case because they are so synergetic – they recycle waste, produce good soil, and feed animals.

Re: vermicomposting, it’s okay indoors actually. Err on the dry side of things, feed more carbon foods and less nitrogen ones (more paper waste, less vegetable waste), use a food blender to make veggie waste fine so they decompose fast (worms use veg waste at a more advanced stage of decomposition – fruit flies use it anytime) and don’t expect high production speeds.

I’ve thought of setting up red wiggler colonies downstairs outdoors in big flower pots or planter boxes, but it’s a little iffy – your TC, RC, neighbours, and NEA inspectors must be okay with it. I’m starting by putting up some terrestrial plants in a row slowly (got 1 x 5 feet patch planted now with no problems). If that takes off without further complications worms will follow.

Anyway, if you want a starter culture feel free to pick one up from me. They’re not that hard to culture if you don’t expect to harvest intensely.

Re: wild collection – I have no idea - never done it before. I remember messing around in leaf litter and flipping over stones and finding earthworms (but also woodlice, centipedes, snails, etc), when I was a kid.

Re: BSF – wow you keep poultry?! Chicken or quail or what? Developing habitat for mature flies doesn’t sound do-able when you live in a box in the sky. KIV for now, for me.

[antjoey1122]

I'd tried the earth worms bought from Sea View as suggested by grand master UA. I used one of those toyogo shelving and drilled holes. [ https://sg.carousell.com/p/29878238/

Note: Link is not my shelf just an example

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[antjoey1122]

Hi

I’ve been lurking as a registered member on the forum for a bit, learning stuff and getting inspired. Been keeping fish on and off since my teens, but always very casually, with a low tech, trial-and-error approach.

My current projects are:
1. A couple of low-tech planted nanotanks (up and running)
2. No-electricity garden soil HDB corridor tank (up and running – very happy to share pointers)
3. A couple of paludarium/vivarium things (under construction)
4. Vermicomposting (up and running - I can provide advice, and maybe some worms (though not much to spare right now - still starting new colonies), for anyone keen to get into this as well)

I dream of dabbling with CO2 and fertilisation regimes some day in future, but don’t really have the discipline for that sort of rigour at the moment.

BTW I have a couple handfuls of riccia trimmings to give away – but I can’t post on the market forum yet – so PM me if you want some. Collect either Bartley/Tai Seng area at office hours, or from Hougang after.

Bufeng

Hi Bufeng,

I'm working around Tai Seng... Can I collect the riccia trimming from you?
Thank You!

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[tetrakid]

@Bufeng
Thanks. At this moment I am not starting any new worming project. Just thinking of giving my goldfish some wholesome food but not tubifex. With that in view, hopefully I can find some earthworms crawling out of the ground somewhere after a spell of heavy rainfall.

My interest in BSF is more an idea for commercial purpose. One will need to rent a place somewhere to set up a farm after acquiring the skills and knowledge.

[boofeng]

Hi Bufeng,

I'm working around Tai Seng... Can I collect the riccia trimming from you?
Thank You!

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Ah we're work neighbours then! :P

Sorry about the riccia I gave my clippings to a guy who gave me some plants. But based on past growth rates - would you want some in say, two to three weeks?

I'd tried the earth worms bought from Sea View as suggested by grand master UA. I used one of those toyogo shelving and drilled holes. [ https://sg.carousell.com/p/29878238/

Note: Link is not my shelf just an example

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Nice - did the shelf system work? Looks great as a flow-through setup. I'm using individual Ikea bins (can't recall the product name), shallow ones (approx 30L x 20W x 15H cm). No holes drilled so I don't add moisture much. I also use a deeper bin but aeration and moisture is more problematic in those so I stopped. I like your drawer system - I think I'll try it!

I'm no expert but Seaview's worms look like perionyx excavatus, known as blue worms, Himalayan blues, Indian blues, Malaysian blues, etc? I tried some from Seaview too - they never reproduced. For a whole month population was static. Not sure why - I keep my reds in similar conditions and they flourish.

@Bufeng
Thanks. At this moment I am not starting any new worming project. Just thinking of giving my goldfish some wholesome food but not tubifex. With that in view, hopefully I can find some earthworms crawling out of the ground somewhere after a spell of heavy rainfall.

My interest in BSF is more an idea for commercial purpose. One will need to rent a place somewhere to set up a farm after acquiring the skills and knowledge.

About collection, ever since NParks started mulching trees properly they've in some cases greatly reduced biodiversity around tree roots. Sometimes this helps the tree because it's only surrounded by grass, but sometimes the mulching replaces a rich and deep leaf litter, or it replaces mossy, mushroomy buttress roots, etc. I used to be able to find patches of leaf litter easily - and flipping leaves over would reveal woodlice and earthworms. Or maybe I just had more time as a kid to wander far and wide. I don't know.

About BSF commercial ops - I think there's a Singaporean company (Terracycle?) that does BSF here, but have expanded to Thailand/Malaysia to set up farm waste management systems. http://step929.wix.com/terracyclesg

[antjoey1122]

Hi Bufeng,

Thanks in advance.. PM me when you have the riccia. Cheers!

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[boofeng]

Hi antjoey1122

There's some riccia to give away now - I can't PM you because I have not enough privileges yet I think!

PM me your number and I'll reach you on phone.

Hi Bufeng,

Thanks in advance.. PM me when you have the riccia. Cheers!

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[antjoey1122]

Hi antjoey1122

There's some riccia to give away now - I can't PM you because I have not enough privileges yet I think!

PM me your number and I'll reach you on phone.

Hi Bufeng,

My number is 98209335.

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[wongce]

Hi BooFeng,

You have a nice an wild looking scape there... good job...

[boofeng]

Hi BooFeng,

You have a nice an wild looking scape there... good job...

Thank you for the kind words - it's very encouraging coming from experienced folks like yourself.

Here's a pic of my father ram with babies for you. They're three days old today (survival rate hasn't been good - you might say this was an "unplanned pregnancy"!)