This is an ongoing discussion between Jeff Lowenfels (Teaming with Microbes) and a detractor, Dr. Jeff Gillman. I sense a normal collaboration between them for the purpose of peddling books, both being authors published by the same publishing company, but this exchange offers a distinct definition of benefits derived from AACT (actively aerated compost tea) and ACT (aerated compost tea). I'm reading (on forums) a lot of confusion between the two. Since marketing gurus decided every advertised cannabis nutrient company needs a 'tea' product, which appears to be repackaged 'nutes', and hydro stores now selling fresh brewed ACT products, here come the brand names and outrageous claims.
Nice read. Thanks madodah. I might try to source a local college that could analyze a batch of tea. It would be good to know that my homemade brewer can do the job.
Yes, nice read. I'm disappointed on the part about the compost tea. Seems at minimum there would be some nutrient value in the lechate water. I'm sold on the use of the AACT based on what others have posted about them so. Can't wait to make myself a brewer. Thanks for the info!
There's a local worm farmer/seller that sells his lechate in 1/2 gallon sealed containers for $15.00. What a scam. The lechate in anaerobic and in many cased NOT good for your plants. AACT is the only way to go. Now I have to get an air pump for my 275 gallon brewer I've made out of a food grade tote. Any suggestions for a pump that will get me 6-9 PPMor more of O2 in a 275 gallon tote for a reasonable price? (sorry for the hijack)
From what I can gather most nutrient vendors have jumped on the 'tea' bandwagon, selling sealed containers of 'microorganisms' at some take your breath away prices. I suggest talking with a pump distributor to get the necessary specs and then shop it.
I agree, a lot of the junk vendors are trying to sell as "teas" are being called stuff like 'enzymatic concentrate'. Obviously B.S. to me but I bet to the people whom spending money makes them feel good about themselves, they would say that the stuff is "gonna take their grow to the next level." The scientific babble on the description is for the 95% of the people who will not have a clue what it mean but think, "Man, I have no idea what this shit means but it sounds like the good stuff. Dang, it's gotta sweet logo on it too, I'll take it!" People these days expect the stuff they buy to be an instant serum, some secret formula that will miraculously solve all of their horticultural problems. All you have to do is come up with the 120 dollars to buy a pint or two of it and voila!
I've never understood that mentality. A majority of weed forum posters seem to be fairly new indoor growers, not hydro pros with $30k setups in three clean rooms, and when I read their yields, usually in the grams or even a couple of ounces, my mind just can't justify the nutrient investment to return. Some post pictures of hundreds of dollars of high-end products stacked next to their plant. I have less than $100 in AACT ingredients and $120 in a brewer that will last me a long time. Though I must admit that before becoming an AACT convert I put everything but occasional cheap fish emulsion for veg and molasses for flowering in the grow medium and my yields were always sizable rock hard buds and in constant demand. I spent too long in the business community to be sucked in by marketing raves.
I feel like I've run into some of those younger indoor growers and it was like they had some insane loyalty to Fox Farms or Humbolt or any other brand name. They have the mentality that: "If I buy the best gear/nutes, I'll grow the best weed." Then usually they just end up feeding the plants too much and burning them.
MizzaFishKilla: Here is a website that deals specifically with compost teas (AACT's) and has a wealth of resources and links. There is also a website in the brewer building section that deals with pumps and/or you could email the guy that put the page together for additional info. His name is Tim, and be prepared to spend some quality time on his page, as there is so much info, that you wll feel like you are cramming for a biology exam in college Music_city Been there, done that....lol Madodah, thanks for the link........ take care y'all, chunk
good info in this thread. One thing I must disagree with is the aquarium pump thing in the article if you have a five gallon bucket with a 20-60 gallon tank capable air pump it seems to be effective enough getting air into the water in sufficient quantities I get the rolling bubble boil on the waters surface and it is throughout the bucket and you can also stir it up every couple hours which I do anyways just to get anything sitting at the bottom.
I use stocking hose to hold my ingredients and don't have anything on the bottom but a little sludge from worm castings. I do use PVC on the bottom to distribute bubbles and there are 1/16" holes all the way around the PVC sections including the bottom.
Very nice!! I actually modded a bubble wand and poked more holes in it with a pin. Works quite well. What kind of pump are you using???
Yeah I will definitely upgrade pumps in the future but for now this should do along with a little extra vigorous stirring once in awhile.
I figured that when it comes to agitation to bring microbes out of hibernation too much was preferable over not enough. I've read some pretty high lpm numbers being used by some of the gurus.
no doubt and that is why until I can get the proper equipment it will take a little extra work to get the same results as a stronger pump would give by itself.
Chuckdaddy, I was at his site and bookmarked it many months ago. In depth stuff fo' sure. I'm still a little lost as to how many cu ft/min of air I need diffused to be able to get 275 gallons to 6 - 8 ppm of O2. As luck would have it, I know a guy who runs a multi million, very fancy horse riding facility. He wants to go organic and wants a proposal to make him another tea brewer and supply the ingredients to brew and apply tea to his pastures. Luckily, I have unlimited amounts of worm castings, and all of the other ingredients for most tea recipes are here in town. I want to experiment with recreating this "vortex" air lift system tea brewer as seen here: YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. This is pretty bad-ass! Good thread!
8ppm of oxygen in fresh water is, I believe, considered the saturation point. I watched the vortex videos, he did state it was still in the experimentation stage, and with the exception of the bottom third of the brewer, never saw that many bubbles. I'd contact a pump manufacturer or distributor and seek their advice on your requirements. To me, the more bubbles the better. Five gallons of diluted brewed AACT tea will cover an acre, so with 275 gallons your customer must have some decent acreage.