How many aquarium pumps would you need to brew 5 gallons of tea. Sent from my LGL34C using Grasscity Forum mobile app
From Tim Wilson's website... http://microbeorganics.com/ First of all I'd like to make it clear that most aquarium air pumps don't produce enough air to use in a container larger than 1 gallon when considering making an aerated brewer. So don't even try the 5 gallon pail with the aquarium pump idea everybody is passing around. You need a minimum 0.05 CFM (cubic feet per minute), open flow of air and an optimum 0.08 CFM per gallon (US) or higher to make aerated compost tea (ACT). ACT should have the DO2 sustained at or above 6 PPM. Generally, aquarium pumps produce around 0.02 to 0.16 CFM. Another generality is that 25 watts of power usually produces 0.75 to 1.0 CFM in diaphragm air pumps. The wattage is usually marked on the pump which will help you figure out the approximate output. I'll cover more on air pumps later.
So then I would need 4 or 5 aquarium air pumps for 5gallons? Sent from my LGL34C using Grasscity Forum mobile app
no I think for 5gal you need like 50 lol but you can get a real air pump eBay sells em cheap need something closer to like 60gal
if that's way over your head you need to get your head back in the books and do more reading. Don't spend any money until you know what you're doing so you don't end up buying the wrong stuff. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I have three dual outlet aquarium pumps but I have never looked at my AACT under a microscope. The peppers seemed to do well on it when I used it exclusively last season but who knows?
Hello everyone. Whats shakin'? I just purchased a 38 lpm air pump and I am going to make a 5 gallon "Vortex" brewer today=) I have a couple questions that I hope someone can help me with. I need to know what kind of airstones I can use. I need the long thin type to fit into the PVC tubing. I need to know 2 things. 1. Are 4, 4 inch long airstones enough to keep my pump from having any back pressure. and 2. Is 3/4 inch tubing okay to use. The brewer will have 4 return tubes. I just want to be sure 3/4 inch tubing is not too big. Some people dont even put airstones on the end of their hoses. I would think that you need smaller air bubbles for better saturation, no? anyways, any help would be appreciated! PlaidBee's Indoor/OrganicThread
the one i made, which works very well, was from Tim's design and utilizes no air stones. i pipe the air line in the "T" at the side of the return tube. i have the traditional drain going down into and "L" then it goes straight out to a drain valve. just before the drain out valve i have a 1 1/2 " PVC "T" that goes up the side of the bucket as my return, it goes down to a 1" PVC size on the line. aside from the noise, the bubbling makes quite a sound when circulating properly, it has been flawless since i made it several years ago.
Okay cool. Thanks for the reply @[member="Al Swearengen"]. I think I saw that one when I was looking at designs. So you use only 1 return tube. (And) no airstone. I guess the bubbles aerate the water pretty good when as it pushed it up the return tube. 1 return tube would be a lot easier for sure. I suppose that would cut down on having to be so precise in measuring everything exactly the same so as to avoid only 1 or 2 tubes working properly. Thanks again man. Is there anything else I should know before I Get into it? What size pump do you have. In LPM. PlaidBee's Indoor/OrganicThread
yes only one return tube as seen here at Tim's site MicrobeOrganics.com, although i can't get Tim's site open this morning for some reason. i use the EcoPlus 3 which pushes about 65-lpm or 17 gallons per minute, which is over rated for a 5 gallon unit but more air is always better in this situation. the air supply goes into a 1inch T on the side return tube. i used a couple reducing fittings on the T so i could use a 3/8 inch hose barb fitting into the 1 inch T. if you can picture that and as you can see this will give you plenty of oxygen for growing microbes. the massive amounts of air will mix plenty of oxygen into the water without an air stone so no worries there and the pump is priced nice at around 40-50 dollars US. i also do not use a cone shaped container but it is better to do so, i just used an old 7 gallon plastic bucket but with the 1.5 inch PVC drain, i do not have any circulation nor build up problems in my bucket. HTH
Has anyone tried adding biochar to their brew? It seems like a bunch of great habitation for our friends to cling onto and hump, would be appreciated!
i do bro dont kno of its good but every now and again i do "I LOVE THIS LIFE" http://forum.grasscity.com/unknown/1334958-jays-organic-adventures-experiments.html#entry20682338
So i have a thought, maybe someone can help me out in telling me if it is something doable or if it wont work. I don't have much experience with ACTs but i do got some, and I don't go all pro on it looking at the final brew under a microscope because i don't own one sadly, but still i find it to be something I want do know more about and use in grows. The thing is that I have very limited space so I grow in a closet and basically it is in a one room apartment, so all sounds and light that comes with the grow will bother me when spending time in the room with other things besides the grow, like sleeping. Therefore I have tried to find methods to minimize both sound and light escaping from the grow. The little experience i have with ACT came to an end because i couldn't sleep with the sound of a pump in the same room and putting it in the bathroom, the only other space besides my room that i have, wouldn't let me sleep either. As it is a closet grow it is a very small grow, i brew 1,5 liters with help of an aquarium air pump. Besides the noise it worked grate. The noise was not only from the pump but also from the bubbles, I've tried different pumps that are supposed to be quiet but they are never so quiet that you can sleep with them on in the same room. I saw a youtube clip of a DIY magnetic stirrer (here is one version there are more, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LviLZToPx1c), it builds from a computer fan so sound levels would be greatly reduced. There would be no bubbling sound as it doesn't create any bubbles but a vortex. So the question really is if this vortex would aerate the brew sufficiently? (i have seen some ACT brewer models with vortexes but they usually also pump the brew) Remember that I am brewing small brews of maybe 1-2 liter at the time. As i understand the size of the vortex depends on the rpm (voltage) of the fan and the size of the stirring rod.
Hi I'm subbed...I'm trying to make my own soil and feed my other plants in ocean Forrest act and SST but so far I have a 20 gallon mixture made up of 1/3 Dr earth soil 1/3 earth worm castings 1/3 perilite and 4 cups kelp meal...what else is necessary to add to the soil and after I put my plants in it what will I need to give them? Does anyone know of some type of feed schedule for them? Thanks so much!!
Hey guys, I have my ingredients from about a year ago for my ACT (Fish Hydrolysate, Molasses, and EWC) - these have been stored almost a year now, would they all still be good to use or should I buy fresh stuff again? I would hate to throw any of it away as I really didn't use much. I am about to make another tea to get my soil going again and wasn't sure if any of it expires. Thanks!