Bagdis831
Non-member
So It seems like there has been a lot of interest in blackworms lately, I know that my interest was peaked and that I purchased some. All of my fish seem to love them, but I wanted to try and find another way to keep them that didnt require me running another fridge at home. I looked around and I saw that Paul B had made a keeper with a trough and a small tank and that is where I started.
The first step was to get the materials so I took a trip to Home Depot, where I got the following materials:
1 Section 10' PVC gutter
1 sheet of acrylic 12"x12" max
1 2x4 (i used 8 foot board)
1 roll 25' 1/2" ID tubing
2 90 Degree 1/2' ID fittings
1 T 1/2' ID fitting
Silicone for aquarium use
2 90 degree 1" PVC elbows
2' 1 inch PVC
PVC Cleaner and Cement
1 return pump
1 Ball valve (options I used b/c pump over powered)
Drill bit 1 -1/2"
Drill bit 5/8"
There may be more but this is what I can remember currently.
The first thing that I did after getting all of the parts and pieces together was that I tried to make a channel in the 2x4 to run the return line through so that I could have the trough sit directly on top of the 2x4 and be supported because the PVC gutter was rather flimsy.
I first tried to make this channel manually with a 1/2' chisel and a hammer, the end result was a piece of wood that looked like a beaver had a midnight snack. So I humbly tucked my tail between my legs and went to my parents house to ask my father for some help, mainly if I could use his router table and tools, he said no because he wanted to do it, so here is the end result.
You can see that I have a clean channel to run my return line in and this will allow the 2x4 to support to weight of the trough as well as keep it level from front to back. ( do have a slope of about 1" from the return line to the drain that keep the water moving in the trough.)
The next step in the build was to cut the PVC gutter down to the length that I chose to use for the project. I went a little over 6' forth length of the trough and there is no reason that I picked this length. Once the gutter section was cut to length I have make sure that both ends were flat and smooth so that I could attach acrylic panels to the trough to hold in the water and make sure there were not any leaks.
Before attaching the acrylic you need to decide where you want the drain hold to be as well as where the return line is going to come into the trough and through the 2x4. (This needs to be done before because once the acrylic is attached it will be harder to drill the gutter without damaging the seems you made to hold the acrylic in place) Once you determined where the drain and return lines are going to be you need to use the 1-1/2" drill bit to drill through the gutter and the 2x4 at the same time to make sure the hole align or there will be leaks later. Then determine where the return line is going to be and drill a hole only through the 2x4 that is centered in the channel that in in the 2x4 (this if for the return line). Finally determine where the return line will enter the trough and drill a 5/8" hole in the gutter centered over the channel. Once these hole are drill you can attach the acrylic to the PVC gutter.
You can see the acrylic attached to the gutter, I used left over silicone that I had from an older tank that I fixed a few months ago and this worked great to seal the acrylic to the gutter. (Make sure that you use enough so that there will not be any leaks). If you cannot tell leaks were a minor concern of mine, lol.
While waiting for the silicone to dry start working on the return line. First start by taking one of the 90 degree 1/2" ID nylon tubing and fitting a section of tubing over one end this piece should be about 6 inches. Then measure the length from the return line hole in the 2x4 to where the return will be in the trough and cut a piece of tubing that will fit this span exactly, remember to account for the length that is taken up by the hard plastic 90 degree elbows (approx. 1.5"). Now connect all of the pieces of tubing together and secure to help prevent leaks (i used wire ties). Make sure that everything tucks flush into the the channel so that the trough can sit level on top with no interference from the return line. (optional: my pump was over powered so I included a T section above my return pump that flows back into my tank and also through the return line, I have a ball valve on this that lets me control the flow through the trough up and down depending on my needs)
Next step is to build the drain for the trough, this is very simple. Just take 2 90 degree 1" PVC elbows and 3 straight section of 1" PVC pipe to make this. You will need 2 section about 6"-8" in length and 1 piece that is 1"-2". Have 1 90 degree elbow facing up then put in once section of the longer pipe, then the next 90 degree elbow facing down off the same pipe, then insert the other long section of PVC in the downward PVC elbow. The short section of pipe goes in the up-facing elbow. Feed the short end of the PCV through the drain hole and use wire tires to secure the drain pipe to the 2x4. This will keep the drain from moving and prevent leaks later.
Only shot of the drain I have
Now that the drain and return lines are in place it is time to put the trough on top of the 2x4 and and attach the drain and return lines. For this I just put the trough on top of the 2x4 and made sure that everything was properly aligned. Everything looked good so I then took extra silicone and sealed around the drain and return line. I probably used too much silicone for this but i really don't care as this isn't my display blackwork trough (that is in the works, lol).
I started the tank cycle last night with some ground up flake food that i got from California Blackworms as a sample and I did put in about 20 worms (yes they will probably die but this will help with the cycle). I need to get a taller container for under my drain as this one has been losing the worms into the tank but this is it for now. I also lined the trough with screen that I had from an old algae scrubber that I had laying around. The worms seem to like it, I just need to get some lead from KCA in auburn to weight the pieces down as them like to float.
Please let me know what you have for feedback and thoughts.
Thanks for the read,
Greg
The first step was to get the materials so I took a trip to Home Depot, where I got the following materials:
1 Section 10' PVC gutter
1 sheet of acrylic 12"x12" max
1 2x4 (i used 8 foot board)
1 roll 25' 1/2" ID tubing
2 90 Degree 1/2' ID fittings
1 T 1/2' ID fitting
Silicone for aquarium use
2 90 degree 1" PVC elbows
2' 1 inch PVC
PVC Cleaner and Cement
1 return pump
1 Ball valve (options I used b/c pump over powered)
Drill bit 1 -1/2"
Drill bit 5/8"
There may be more but this is what I can remember currently.
The first thing that I did after getting all of the parts and pieces together was that I tried to make a channel in the 2x4 to run the return line through so that I could have the trough sit directly on top of the 2x4 and be supported because the PVC gutter was rather flimsy.
I first tried to make this channel manually with a 1/2' chisel and a hammer, the end result was a piece of wood that looked like a beaver had a midnight snack. So I humbly tucked my tail between my legs and went to my parents house to ask my father for some help, mainly if I could use his router table and tools, he said no because he wanted to do it, so here is the end result.
You can see that I have a clean channel to run my return line in and this will allow the 2x4 to support to weight of the trough as well as keep it level from front to back. ( do have a slope of about 1" from the return line to the drain that keep the water moving in the trough.)
The next step in the build was to cut the PVC gutter down to the length that I chose to use for the project. I went a little over 6' forth length of the trough and there is no reason that I picked this length. Once the gutter section was cut to length I have make sure that both ends were flat and smooth so that I could attach acrylic panels to the trough to hold in the water and make sure there were not any leaks.
Before attaching the acrylic you need to decide where you want the drain hold to be as well as where the return line is going to come into the trough and through the 2x4. (This needs to be done before because once the acrylic is attached it will be harder to drill the gutter without damaging the seems you made to hold the acrylic in place) Once you determined where the drain and return lines are going to be you need to use the 1-1/2" drill bit to drill through the gutter and the 2x4 at the same time to make sure the hole align or there will be leaks later. Then determine where the return line is going to be and drill a hole only through the 2x4 that is centered in the channel that in in the 2x4 (this if for the return line). Finally determine where the return line will enter the trough and drill a 5/8" hole in the gutter centered over the channel. Once these hole are drill you can attach the acrylic to the PVC gutter.
You can see the acrylic attached to the gutter, I used left over silicone that I had from an older tank that I fixed a few months ago and this worked great to seal the acrylic to the gutter. (Make sure that you use enough so that there will not be any leaks). If you cannot tell leaks were a minor concern of mine, lol.
While waiting for the silicone to dry start working on the return line. First start by taking one of the 90 degree 1/2" ID nylon tubing and fitting a section of tubing over one end this piece should be about 6 inches. Then measure the length from the return line hole in the 2x4 to where the return will be in the trough and cut a piece of tubing that will fit this span exactly, remember to account for the length that is taken up by the hard plastic 90 degree elbows (approx. 1.5"). Now connect all of the pieces of tubing together and secure to help prevent leaks (i used wire ties). Make sure that everything tucks flush into the the channel so that the trough can sit level on top with no interference from the return line. (optional: my pump was over powered so I included a T section above my return pump that flows back into my tank and also through the return line, I have a ball valve on this that lets me control the flow through the trough up and down depending on my needs)
Next step is to build the drain for the trough, this is very simple. Just take 2 90 degree 1" PVC elbows and 3 straight section of 1" PVC pipe to make this. You will need 2 section about 6"-8" in length and 1 piece that is 1"-2". Have 1 90 degree elbow facing up then put in once section of the longer pipe, then the next 90 degree elbow facing down off the same pipe, then insert the other long section of PVC in the downward PVC elbow. The short section of pipe goes in the up-facing elbow. Feed the short end of the PCV through the drain hole and use wire tires to secure the drain pipe to the 2x4. This will keep the drain from moving and prevent leaks later.
Only shot of the drain I have
Now that the drain and return lines are in place it is time to put the trough on top of the 2x4 and and attach the drain and return lines. For this I just put the trough on top of the 2x4 and made sure that everything was properly aligned. Everything looked good so I then took extra silicone and sealed around the drain and return line. I probably used too much silicone for this but i really don't care as this isn't my display blackwork trough (that is in the works, lol).
I started the tank cycle last night with some ground up flake food that i got from California Blackworms as a sample and I did put in about 20 worms (yes they will probably die but this will help with the cycle). I need to get a taller container for under my drain as this one has been losing the worms into the tank but this is it for now. I also lined the trough with screen that I had from an old algae scrubber that I had laying around. The worms seem to like it, I just need to get some lead from KCA in auburn to weight the pieces down as them like to float.
Please let me know what you have for feedback and thoughts.
Thanks for the read,
Greg
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