Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Does that stay vertical machineman, or do you tip it over on an angle ?

yes MM they need a ramp about 30 degrees, go back to beginning of thread and see photo's

Yes the ladder stays vertical. The reason it works is because the larva can squeeze between the bristles of the matting. A ramp of 30 deg is only needed in a totally dry environment, any moisture at all and they can climb vertically without any ramp. This is the lid it has coroplast discs on it like the commercial biopods. It does work some larva ended up in the collector. I cant tell how good it really is until I get a more active colony going. Even if I dont have it just right I think the principal is sound. Ladder vs ramp.

The idea here is if you look at one of these larvae they have small back facing hairs. These hairs give them grip and allow forward motion. I was considering using coarse fabric like burlap as a ladder because the hairs would allow the larvae to climb out easily. It would probably be best to use a synthetic fabric so it wouldn't rot.

Really - fantastic - these things continue to amaze me !

That's very interesting MM!

I have not tried the fabric idea, only the matting. I dont see why the fabric wouldent work.

Hmmmm... The ladder is very interesting!!

Had two trial 'pods' last year. Both did well, but I found the depth of the muck could never get more than about 6" deep... Much more than that and I would have anaerobic zones leading to stink and larvae trying to bail out of the bucket! The idea I had for this year was a large shallow bin with one end sloped to a gutter and a lid over head to keep it dark and to keep varmints out... The 'ladder idea just simplified the whole thing! I will use a masonry mixing tub with a ladder to planned entrapment on one end and rivet an inward facing lip on the remaining three sides so they can't escape...

Thanks!!

CB

I had the same problem with smell and muck depth. One idea I had was to cut the bottom out of my bucket so that it was just a tube. Then place the bucket on the surface of my worm bed. When the muck built up too much I would just lift it up a little and spread the already eaten material over the worm bed. The worms can break down the compost further than the BSF larvae. The problem with this will be that a lot of the larvae would crawl out the bottom as apposed to the ladder. You want some to crawl out to start the next generation but I'm not too sure how many would escape. Its all experiments at this point.

could you not chuck some worms in with the BSF ? or will tehy our compete one or the other ?

would be a super composting solution if it worked

personaly i cant get past the thought of keeping maggots, i used to be a shearer and its just makes me feel queasy

Cheers
pete

Hey Delgrade,
They are really cool. Do you love worms? Well if the answer is yes you can learn to love BSF, come to the shop and I'll show you how.
Faye
Yeah, I know, if you told me 2 years ago that I'd be breeding flies I would have thought you were crazy, but the truth is they are not that bad and they have some really good points. They are not at all like house flies and they are not pests. I promise.

MM,

I think the solution to potential anaerobic zones is a larger surface area... so I think I am going to try a feed/bunk tray that is 5' x 2.5' x 1' deep with a collection gutter on one end. Had planned to install a ramp, but the 'grass' ladder seems a quicker, easier solution. Still pondering whether I need to fabricate a cover or not. It will be under a roof/pole building, but not sure how these things like light. Last year they seemed to prefer dark, so I may make a simple cover that both gives them dark and keeps varmint out.

Page one of this pdf has a rough idea, though much more complex application for what I want to do.

More pics on page 6 of this excellent pdf.

BTW, have you guys seen the new BioPod Plus? Seems a few changes and ideas we can ste.., er, borrow!

CB

I like your idea. I think it will work well. I would try a coarse fabric as opposed to the grass mat if I made another. And if it doesn't work then try the mat. Surface area is good because the more you have the more waste you can process. I would put the bin on a slight slope so that the fluid would drain to one end where it could be collected. If you did it right you could add new waste at one end and remove it from the other. My problem with BSF bins has always been how to clean the old wast from an active bin.

Nockey, It appears that I have hijacked your thread a little. If this is a problem then we could move to a BSF bin designs thread. It may not be a bad idea any way. Easier to find that way.

This has been a BSFL bin design thread from the start... Lots of good ideas and thoughts on here.

I was wondering on coarse fabric... Would the BSFLs eat anything cotton or muslin?? Also, if they can't climb it, it will be easy enough to put a slanted board under it to offer a slight slope.

Was planning on a drain as well as a few boards in the bottom to provide raised areas with the juice finding its way through the generated troughs.

As far as removing waste, I had a second bin that I would shovel stuff into then let it sit for days while the BSFLs exited. Then, when most had become chicken feed, I'd dump the contents into my worm bin... Mmmmmm! Then, add another couple shovels full to start the cycle again. I LIKE the idea of adding waste at one end and collecting from the other. A slightly tilted 5' long bin will lend itself well to such a system.

CB