Chuckie Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 what is the soil-less culture!!? Sounds interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 I found this: 2. Soilless method These types of bedding include open cell foam blocks, such as that sold for use with aquarium filters, and green scrubber pads, or even filter floss. I have recently begun an open cell foam culture and a green scrubber pad culture. Both are proceeding nicely. http://aquarimax.com/shop/grindal-worms-2/grindal-worms/ :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubbskm Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 To do a soil-less culture you need the following: * container with a fitted lid * a sheet of polyester batting or filter material or a soapless scrub pad for the bottom of the container to create at least 2-3 layers. * cover this with 2-3 layers of plastic needle point. * opaque plastic to cover the food From there you add enough water to cover the bottom layer, food and worms are added to the plastic needle point. Feed as normal but do water changes every month or so. Food still needs to be moisten and moldy food removed. To harvest rinse worms from plastic. Added bonus is the water at the base is loaded with infusorians and young worms which make great food for young fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJ Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Doesn't need to be that techo. Pretty much any inert open sponge will do (I used an old kids matress we were throwing out) and the plastic doesn't need to be opaque (I use overhead transparencies). Nowhere near as many pest problems in the soil free cultures - mites and fungus gnats always find their way ino the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reserverat Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Unfortunately what we still all need is a source of grindal worms so we can try out these methods! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted January 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 ;) We can always order them form Pisces or somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Hi all! I have enough grindals now to try this method, but a little unclear about it. I have available polyester batting, green scrub pads, a un-used car washing type sponge and filter fibre, which one do you find easiest to use? Are the layers of plastic canvas necessary? Do they make it easier to harvest? Or do the worms still mostly end up on the cover plastic? How large a culture do you keep? At the moment mine are in deep takeaway containers, but happy to experiment, how big do you find a practical size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted June 14, 2009 Report Share Posted June 14, 2009 Yes, I'm not quite following why you need the plastic canvas either. Is it to stop the food clogging up the sponge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninoid12 Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 thinking of starting one of these cultures... anyone having any luck??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 I haven't tried the soil-less but reading over it again I'm thinking I might give it a try. I have strange little plants sprouting in my gindal cultures. Well in the peat and shell grit mix anyway. Nothing in the regular seed raising mix only. Both cultures are doing really well though, and I haven't needed to harvest them at all so I think by the time I do have fry to feed them to the culture will really be going nuts. I've got a feeling though that I'll end up accidently killing them off. I know they need to be subcultured but don't know when to do so. Oh well, trial and error Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 My soil-less culture is chugging along nicely. I haven't had any babies to feed, so I haven't worked out how best to harvest, still not sure about how to use the plastic mesh. This culture seems to survive neglect a little better than the soil ones, and you can see when the water level is right, so there is not as much guess work involved. I put the food under the top layer of green scrubby pads ( I used four layers) at the moment, so to subculture I can just lift out a pad and put it in the new container. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killimike Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Awesome! Can you post some pics?? I am doing some soil-less cultures soon, would love to see how you've set it up and had success How deep is the water, in particular, and how big is the box? Would be the most interesting answers for me, barring pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 <_< Let myself in for that one! I'm working on it, can't find my usb cable, but hubby should know where it is so will get to it tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Ok, here goes, I'm a bit foggy this morning, so feel free to ask any questions on stuff I forgot to put in. I haven't found my usb cable yet so these are emailed from my phone and not the best quality, but hopefully will do. First pic is the container I use, measurements are 34x26x13cm. The lid is hard to get on and is not air tight, which works well for grindals as they need a little air, but you don't want outsiders getting in. Next is what you see when you open the lid This one shows the four layers, it's a little hard to see but the water comes just to the top of the bottom scrubby pad. Here is what it looks like when you lift the top layer up. I've just increased the number of cat food pieces and as you can see they didn't find the new one straight away. I haven't had any cat food go moldy, so it doesn't worry me to leave it for another day. And last, a close up of one of the worm patches. They get a lot thicker thicker than this, but I've been quite neglectful of them recently, and there has been up to a week between feeds at times. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Thanks for the pics Is the sponge porous enough for the worms to go through layers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Yes, I think so. If you click on the second picture to see it enlarged, you can actually see them right at the top. They are through all the layers and crawl up and down to feed, so I think they are ok. I'd love to trial some other mediums, but getting ready to move again soon, so trying not to create more experiments for the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Thanks So only the first few layers are submerged? Do the upper layers stay moist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Yes, only the bottom layer is submerged. The water travels through it surprisingly well. The very top layer looks a little too dry, but if you pick it up you can feel it is wet, and the water will drip out if you hold it on its side for a while. The layers in between are obviously damp/wet, they look darker and feel wet if you touch them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terribletegs Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 This is fantastic info, thanks! Will try it out with my next subculture... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Your welcome! Oh, i should probably add, when you take your first culture just collect the woms on the glass like for harvesting and put it on th top layer of scrubing pads with some food placed on the second layer. The worms migrate down and leave any soil and muck behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Awesome, thanks Do you need to change the water? I wouldn't think that's a good idea as it would remove the babies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 I took out about 100ml today, it looked a little mulmy in my turkey baster so I replaced it with aged water, but I wouldn't think it would need changing. I'll run my test kit on it in a few days just to see what it's doing, I suppose the nitrate and amonia levels will give me a clearer idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted September 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 could make a good addition to the fry tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 (edited) That's not a bad idea Lisa! Thanks to Darrennkj I have a hord of little guppies that are very happy to eat grindals now, so I thought I'd try work out the plastic mesh thing. I put two layers down about midnight in a soiled culture and one in my soil-less, with food on top and wet the food with my spray bottle. The soil-less has some grindals on it this morning, but I think I may have to remove the top layer of sponges for it to work well. The soil culture looks like this. I must say I like this mesh! I lifted of the cat food and just dipped the top layer of mesh into the water, only about 5mm into where the worms were was enough. If I were going to collect them all I'd dip them in a container of water and use a baster to serve. I suppose you could just tip the un-wanted ones back into the culture once you'd used them. I'm convinced, I'll never use glass again! EDIT: Just a quick note, the mesh in the soil-less culture works fine now without removing any scrubbing pads, it just took a bit longer for them to find it the first time. Edited September 18, 2009 by Bender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilchard Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 i set up a soil less culture last week and it seems to be growing slowly. iv put glass over the food and the wormes ctick to it loke glue. seems like a lot cleaner way of doing things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts