Hey all, After doing a good bit of reading and research it seems like everyone has come to the conclusion that yiu just can't sufficiently aerate you => 5 gallon teas using the fish tank air pumps and air stones. I've seen people say that you coukd if you kept it well below 5 gals (ie 1 maybe 2 gallons). I was just wondering if anyone has had success doing the smaller brews. If so what kind of setup did you go with? Also, would simply scaling the recipes down be good enough to do the smaller batches or would some tweaking be necessary for the smaller size?
Perfect. That's what I'm thinking. I've got a few small buckets in my brew room from all my beer and wine homebrew.
From 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.
Wakto, thanks for pulling the quote up. I've read threw there a few times when looking things up. Everything I see on there is in generalities about the size and output of the pump, which is a great place to start. The dissolved 02 level needs to be 6 ppm, is there any way to know if a systems is doing that or pretty much just following the few guidelines in the above article should be plenty?
Well, you can get a rough idea as to how much air volume the pump you intend to use produces by looking at the spec's and doing a little math. The only way you can know for sure exactly how much DO is in your water is to buy a DO test kit, or meter (which are very expensive). Follow the guidelines and you should be just fine. Also keep in mind that many gardeners just throw the stuff in a bucket and stir it every once in a while, with no use of an air pump whatsoever, with no "ill effects". Remember that the cooler your brew water is, the more DO it is able to hold...
I took microbe mans advice and did 1-2 gallons after 6+ years of 5 gallon setups. Switched back after a month. No difference in growth whatsoever or plant health. You want something unique, look into SSTs.
I'm one of those gardeners I make sure to stir it as often as I can, though, and usually undercut the low-end on the brewing time.
Perfect thanks for all the info. Looks like I'll be able to just pick up pretty decent hardware and should be good to go then. Well that is very good to hear. I my seeds just broke ground yesterday so I'll start getting a tea or two going. Thanks for all the info guys
No problem, happy to offer insight. If you dont notice a difference, dont trip at all, thats all i was saying Good luck! And have fun! ~ poke
This'll be my first time brewing any kind of act, so if it comes out amazing or absolutely horrible I wouldn't know either way