# poor FF production



## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

With the cold weather we're having here in the Northeast I'm getting poor FF production. When I'm working during the day & sleeping at night the house is at 64. Unfortunately there just isn't a spot in the house that stays even in the low 70's. Any suggestions on a set up to keep the flies at a constant cozy temp in the mid to high 70's?

Thanks.


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## JoshKaptur (Feb 17, 2004)

Short of a heated cabinet? You'd want some way to ensure they aren't over-heated, or you have just as much of a problem. If we're talking just a few cultures, you could probably heat a pan of water using an aquarium thermometer, and float the cutlures in there. You may need to adjust the amount of water you use in your cutlures, however, based on the added humidity. You'll have to play that by ear.

You'll need to make sure the water doesn't evaporate without being replaced, exposing your heater... or it will crack.

Josh


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

try placing them atop the tanks....

or fill a large plastic storage box with all the culture containers and cover it....keep in the 'body heat'....

for me, low humidity in the winter also slows my production...

S


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

> try placing them atop the tanks....


That's what I do. Usually I'm concerned they're getting too much heat, but never had a problem.



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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Well, I guess nobody else has this problem. But, in case there is during these cold winter nights, here's what worked for me.

I first thought of a heat pad. Two problems though, you can't control the temp and it's always on. The only thing I could think of that I could control the temp and that would cycle on & off as needed was an aquarium heater. I put the heater in the bottom of a 10 gallon tank, filled the tank with water to cover the heater, and cut a piece of polycarbonate plastic to fit as closely as I could to the exact inside dimensions of the tank so no moisture would get through.










This actually worked pretty well. Altough when I put a top on the 10 gallon tank to try and keep more of the heat in I got a lot of condensation on the inside of the culture cups. Moisture was getting through which really didn't surprise me. Without the top it worked OK.

Plan B was the same idea without the possibilty of moisture getting to where the culture cups are. I simply placed the 10 gallon tank inside a 20 gallon high tank. The 10 gallon tank actually floats a little on top of the water.










The blue insulation top is on the 10 gallon tank. No top on the 20 gallon. The 10 gallon tank is tall enough for two layers of cups so it will hold 16 altogether.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

I can only imagine what it smells like when you take the lid off :roll: .
Looks like a good fix though...


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

Gary
That set up looks good and I would figure it would work well.
I have 60+ FF containers going at once so.....wont work for me, but it is an excellent idea if you only have 4-8 or so. Perhaps larger tuberware containers would house a lot more cx.
Humidity and heat have definately been an issue in the winter in the NE...I find I need to wet the cultures every few days to keep them from drying out.

FYI: since using the sourdough starter my FF production has increase which is a nice improvement despite the low temps and humidity in winter.

S


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Dancing frogs said:


> I can only imagine what it smells like when you take the lid off :roll: .
> Looks like a good fix though...


So far no smell. But, I have just started using it. I made up a batch of the Power mix to use to culture the flies. We'll see what happens once I try that 

Sports_Doc - I am trying your suggestion of putting the cultures on top of the tanks as well. We'll see which ones do better.


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## Auhsoj27 (Jun 3, 2005)

After experiencing very slow production, presumedly from low temps, I fished an old 10 gallon aquarium out of my basement, put the cultures inside the tank, put a screen lid on and put a shop light on top of the tank with a 60 watt bulb on a timer. 12 hours of the day the flies get bathed in light and warmth. My production took a huge turn toward the high end since I tried this.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Auhsoj27 said:


> After experiencing very slow production, presumedly from low temps, I fished an old 10 gallon aquarium out of my basement, put the cultures inside the tank, put a screen lid on and put a shop light on top of the tank with a 60 watt bulb on a timer. 12 hours of the day the flies get bathed in light and warmth. My production took a huge turn toward the high end since I tried this.


I tried this as well but found it difficult to get the temp just right. Especially with a 60 watt bulb it's easy for the temps to get into the 90's.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

My biggest loss in production has always been because of old bakers yeast. The time difference for production and total production difference has been staggering. I started some melans on 1-27 and they're just now really starting to produce, that was with 6 month old yeast I had kept refrigerated. I made another batch on 2-25 and they're ready to explode any day now. I'm seriously considering just using the yeast for two months and going to a new packet.



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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

Mike,
Bakers? Really...I was under the impression the bakers is simply to cut down on surface bacterial blooms and that the mixed in brewers yeast was the key to production. Are you using fresh brewers yeast as well?

There has been some past discussions on the fact that not all brewers seems to be created equal, with some going for the more expensive GNC/Twin Lab stuff for better production.

S


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2006)

although i dont see it being a huge problem, everyone who's talking about having their FF's sealed in a tank, isnt there a risk of suffocation for the cultures?


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## ChrisMc (Mar 7, 2004)

In my experience low temps, low moisture(dry winter), and mites cause a drastic drop in production.


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