how well do they travel? kauai would have to be the destination. I could look around for some over here too probably.

on the plane they would be ok
not sure about mailing, but the eggs would still be there if the worms died
pm me if you want to follow through

easiest way to get worms is go to a pasture and dig under horse/cow dung
next easiest way would be to bury a few days to a weeks worth of vegetable/fruit scraps from your kitchen, and then dig it up a week or two later
malaysian blues/red wigglers are not a native species, but are introduced and common throughout the islands
you are not supposed to import from another country or the mainland due to the possibility of introducing organisms in their guts

on the plane they would be ok
not sure about mailing, but the eggs would still be there if the worms died
pm me if you want to follow through

easiest way to get worms is go to a pasture and dig under horse/cow dung
next easiest way would be to bury a few days to a weeks worth of vegetable/fruit scraps from your kitchen, and then dig it up a week or two later
malaysian blues/red wigglers are not a native species, but are introduced and common throughout the islands
you are not supposed to import from another country or the mainland due to the possibility of introducing organisms in their guts

Lucky for me my back yard is a cattle pasture. I will hunt cow pies tomorrow and see what I can find

Lucky for me my back yard is a cattle pasture. I will hunt cow pies tomorrow and see what I can find

wear gloves
 

Yes. Ammonia, which is the byproduct of the fish in your tank, is toxic to those same fish. There are natural bacteria that convert the ammonia into nitrites which are also toxic. Alas, there is another natural bacteria that converts the nitrites into nitrates; the food for your grow beds. Basically you are creating an ecosystem that thrives on its own. I think it is pretty cool.

My problem, I am having problems getting all that stuff I just typed above to get started. Normally this process should take several weeks to complete.

Anybody got tips?

Imho and experience, the best way to establish beneficial bacteria is through water from a stable disease free system or from a Used biofilter run in reverse. 

Think im gonna go with 2 or 3 beds.  Ebb and flow style for the first two, which will be vegetables, and constant flow for the last, which will have duckweed or azolia as fish food.
Thinking of using cement mixer plastic tubs as grow beds
Probably looking for a Danner 1200 or Danner 700 as a pump.
Not sure about going solar for the moment.  Still considering it as im unsure about the effect on my electric bill. Probably save up and convert later or possibly wait till I have all the parts.

One thing im unsure of is if I need a sump tank? How do you know if you need one in your design?
Im thinking if I do add one, I can drain/flow the tub to a small tank to remove solid wastes from the bottom and then have that flow to the sump.  Then I would need a second pump to get the sump water back to the fish tank correct?

Thanks for all the help. It has been greatly appreciated.  Still in the research and design phase.  Not sure how much im gonna put into this project at the moment since I got a few others that would be priority.

danners are great pumps and what I use and recommend.  Your pumps appear to be over powered for your system.  consider-  you have about 60 gallons of growbed and most will be displaced by grow media. Ft approx 100 gallons.  A 350 or 500 danner should be good. 
As far as electric bill change, my best guess is about 3-5 buck increase for a danner 500, and 8-10 for a 950.  I run a modified "CHIFT PIST" now.  with a 100 gal sump.  I would say if you push your fish to plant ratio up and have many fish, a sump is useful, it also helps with evaporation as the sump acts as a reserve tank and actually a second FT for small fry come breedinbreeding season.  You do not need a secondary pump to run a sump.  Goodluck

Need some help guys. My Ph is very low. My test kit only checks down to 6 so I assume it could even be lower than that. Is it possible to recover from such a low Ph in my aquaponic system? So far I have been unable to establish the good bacteria during cycling, I have read that very low Ph can inhibit or eliminate the ability of nitrifying bacteria to develop; thusly I wish to bring it up.

I have no fish in yet so I plan to go with 'PH up' to push the Ph toward 6.5-6.8 or so. Any tips please fire away.

.

Need some help guys. My Ph is very low. My test kit only checks down to 6 so I assume it could even be lower than that. Is it possible to recover from such a low Ph in my aquaponic system? So far I have been unable to establish the good bacteria during cycling, I have read that very low Ph can inhibit or eliminate the ability of nitrifying bacteria to develop; thusly I wish to bring it up.

I have no fish in yet so I plan to go with 'PH up' to push the Ph toward 6.5-6.8 or so. Any tips please fire away.

waimanalo feed has some nitrifying solution. it's called organic digester.

Low pH means acidic; hit it with a base and bring it up to 6.

I don't do aquaponics, but for my gardening system I just use ag-lime if I need a base to counter acidic soil

calcium carbonate=ag lime? found some at home depot.

calcium carbonate=ag lime? found some at home depot.

i use garden lime/dolomite! in my worm bins if i am concerned they are too acidic
available at home stores and garden centers

i use garden lime/dolomite! in my worm bins if i am concerned they are too acidic
available at home stores and garden centers

Thanks dr. macsak I will check on the lime/dolomite to to try a raise my Ph.

I found a guy on Kauai that sells red wigglers by the way. He had the most unreal worm farm set up in his back yard. Something like 30, maybe more, barrels full of the most rich worm castings. Glad I found a clean source for worms over here.

Need some help guys. My Ph is very low. My test kit only checks down to 6 so I assume it could even be lower than that. Is it possible to recover from such a low Ph in my aquaponic system? So far I have been unable to establish the good bacteria during cycling, I have read that very low Ph can inhibit or eliminate the ability of nitrifying bacteria to develop; thusly I wish to bring it up.

I have no fish in yet so I plan to go with 'PH up' to push the Ph toward 6.5-6.8 or so. Any tips please fire away.

I have little mesh bags of tiny oyster shells in my gb.  They naturally up the ph.  Available at waimanalo aq +

.

Don't use dolomite; it is not calcium carbonate and will be toxic to your fish.

Oops
Sorry  kekoa

Thanks q

Don't use dolomite; it is not calcium carbonate and will be toxic to your fish.

  calcium carbonate roger that...

Oops
Sorry  kekoa

Thanks q

No worries macsak