Hi,
Can worms be used for a secondary filtration system. If the runoff from a septic tank led to a vermicomposting bin, would the secondary wastewater provide enough nutrient for the worms to feed? If so, what would be the ideal mix for it to be in?
Thanks and apologies for my lack of understanding. Just trying (and struggling) to get my head around everything
Nico
Hi Nico
Yes you can use a worm ecosystem to clean septic tank effluent. If it's in an uncontained filter bed, then the worm population will adjust itself, along with the microbial population, to be the optimum balance for the amount of nutrient available in your unique situation. That's the advantage of working with natural systems. They're self-maintaining and self-correcting. So provided the conditions remain within what's tolerable for the health of the ecosystem as a whole, it will regulate itself. (Just as the Earth has done for billions of years until humans thought they knew better ...) So if you set up a greenfilter bed as per the Design & construction page and just add worms, the ecosystem will start to establish and then do what it does best.
Worms have been used in many bioremediation projects to clean up all manner of pollutants. Most of these projects have been based on an inorganic substrate (see the scientific studies linked on the Why worms? page) but work so much better with organic material which is the ecosystem's natural habitat.