[smj]

I did a quick search and saw some threads on growing duckweed outdoors, but not with this wrinkle.

I've got two ~50G covered rain barrels. I've also got duckweed growing like crazy in two tanks. So I wondered about duckweed in the barrels, so I can remove it from the tanks until I need it to help start up a new one (or two).

Challenges:

• W/o the cover, duckweed may not be enough to prevent mosquitos (get a goldfish or mosquito fish)
• Barrels only get a few hours of direct sun now, ~8 hours in July, but I don't have a better place to put them
• At least one barrel will be drained over the summer - even less light for duckweed as water level falls
• LARGE neighborhood raccoons messing with the open barrels
• I might have to de-chloramine any greywater going into the rainbarrels
• Ha ha ha, he still thinks he can remove duckweed completely from his tanks!

Benefits:

• Unlimited duckweed w/o having it in my tanks!
• Green biomass for compost?
• Stuffing the bodies of door-to-door solicitors in the rain barrel works better when duckweed hides them from view...

If it seems like I'm struggling to convince myself this is worthwhile, I am. Anybody care to try and convince me one way or the other?

Thanks!

 

[theatermusic87]

A screen over the barrels should deter the raccoons

White clouds typically can do well in outdoor container pond, which effectively is what you're making

Barrel overflows from to much water can wash your duckweed away (you can possibly avoid this with a below water level non surface skimming overflow

Low water level would be problematic for fish, but not so much for the duckweed... It'll sort of grow emersed on very damp substrate

Great water typically is things water from sinks and showed and has soap, which is probably a bad idea

I say try it out

 

[smj]

Hmm... thanks for the input TM87. I could slap some screen over the overflow opening, inside the tank. I've got some white/mountain clouds already, that seems like a decent option if the county mosquito control board isn't giving away mosquito fish yet - and neither will eat the duckweed the way a goldfish probably would. And any effective raccoon screen would also keep birds or cats from harassing the fish...

That screen cover will have to be a little involved though. I have a drainage outflow next to the driveway, which has standing water from the downspouts right under the cover. The raccoons take the cover off to get into the water. They're big/smart enough to move a brick off of the cover.

I can avoid putting the soapy water into the barrels and just go with water from warming up the shower/tub - just means the barrels will drain faster, as there's no rain here half the year or more. And if I empty them both, so what? I'll rescue the fish first and and bring them inside in a bowl for a while.

Huh. Took four years or so for Multiple Tank Syndrome to get me. But now in just a few months, it's metastasized into Indoor/Outdoor Complex...