Thanks MM, appreciate it!
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10 min $10 DIY aerated compost tea ACT brewer
- Thread starter heady blunts
- Start date
Just brought the new 300 gallon cone bottom tank home^^
Came with a really nice plastic stand. My 30g brewer I made the stand from wood, and rushed it. This plastic stand is durable and light.
300 gallons looks like a lot of tea... although when I picked the tank up I saw the exact same cone bottom with stand, but it was 2,500 gallons!
The 2500 gallon tank was just shy of 4k USD. I have to double check MM's equations for inputs needed. I think for the 300 gallon tank its around 20 liters of compost. If it increases linearly which I cant recall, the 2500 gallon brewer would need 160 liters of compost per brew.
Enough rambling, was excited about the new tank. Gonna look for a regenerative blower, then plum it in. Have a couple ideas with the plumbing I may try. Have to double check, but I think the tanks output is at 2", so will try a 2" airlift. Worried that if I throttle down the size, the compost may clog the lower elbow. My 30g will clog if you put to much compost in it. I am suspect that the full drain I put on the 30g might be the culprit to the clogging, so I will stick with the stock drain on the 300g for the time being. Might add a couple more minutes to the clean time, but if it prevents the clogging its worth it. Nothing worst to go up to check on the tea and find a clogged air lift, then end up shoulder deep in compost tea trying to unclog it!
Mr^^
Came with a really nice plastic stand. My 30g brewer I made the stand from wood, and rushed it. This plastic stand is durable and light.
300 gallons looks like a lot of tea... although when I picked the tank up I saw the exact same cone bottom with stand, but it was 2,500 gallons!
The 2500 gallon tank was just shy of 4k USD. I have to double check MM's equations for inputs needed. I think for the 300 gallon tank its around 20 liters of compost. If it increases linearly which I cant recall, the 2500 gallon brewer would need 160 liters of compost per brew.
Enough rambling, was excited about the new tank. Gonna look for a regenerative blower, then plum it in. Have a couple ideas with the plumbing I may try. Have to double check, but I think the tanks output is at 2", so will try a 2" airlift. Worried that if I throttle down the size, the compost may clog the lower elbow. My 30g will clog if you put to much compost in it. I am suspect that the full drain I put on the 30g might be the culprit to the clogging, so I will stick with the stock drain on the 300g for the time being. Might add a couple more minutes to the clean time, but if it prevents the clogging its worth it. Nothing worst to go up to check on the tea and find a clogged air lift, then end up shoulder deep in compost tea trying to unclog it!
Mr^^
Leaning towards the Gast regen blower. They look a lot more simple compared to the Sweetwater.
MM, you recommended 24-30 CFM. Would you mind elaborating a little on that. The website I am looking at, claims the Gast R1 is 27 CFM and the R2 is 42.
So initially I thought the R2 would work well, better to have a little extra air than not enough. Then I started looking deeper at some of the graphs showing the blowers power. It looked like the CFM changes depending on how much back pressure from the water. So now I am a bit lost at what size I actually need. Hard to say how much back pressure a 2" OD by 5' air lift has.
The noise or electrical consumption is non factor, just want to ensure enough DO.
Any thoughts on which model? Would rather er on the side of caution and go with the extra CFM. Maybe a R3 or R4?
Thanks a ton,
Mr^^
MM, you recommended 24-30 CFM. Would you mind elaborating a little on that. The website I am looking at, claims the Gast R1 is 27 CFM and the R2 is 42.
So initially I thought the R2 would work well, better to have a little extra air than not enough. Then I started looking deeper at some of the graphs showing the blowers power. It looked like the CFM changes depending on how much back pressure from the water. So now I am a bit lost at what size I actually need. Hard to say how much back pressure a 2" OD by 5' air lift has.
The noise or electrical consumption is non factor, just want to ensure enough DO.
Any thoughts on which model? Would rather er on the side of caution and go with the extra CFM. Maybe a R3 or R4?
Thanks a ton,
Mr^^
I worked out a formula illustrating that in regards to an airlift the back pressure is nullified. The only weight to worry about is the weight of the water in the riser pipe representative of the distance from the surface of the water in the tank to the height of the riser where it returns the water to the tank.
The CFMs are based on a book full of measurements taken during research with bioreactors ranging from 1 to 1200 gallons. If you get a higher output pump, you may end up needing to bleed some air off.
I designed a 1000 gallon double airlift system for a farmer who decided on the back pressure ratings and got a higher CFM pump. It worked but the returns were like a fire hose and they had 2 feet of foam on the floor of the shop in the morning.
i have a question. lately ive been using so much tea that i havent been shutting down my brewing area. just keep adding molasses every other day, an or refreshing ingredients an ro etc..
yesterday i grabbed some out of it an i was surprised to see how thick it became. like snot. i will usually get the snot building up on the airstone itself, but never turn 2-3 gallons to snot. i use a larger air pump with 3 stones, 18 gallon rubermaid garbage pail. easily a 80l air pump. in the ro goes.....ancient forest,earth worm castings,roots excell, recharge, ogbiowar, sp90 fulvic, Quantum Growth Quantum VSC an unsulphed molasses. dash of vegetable oil
smells good, not rancid, never had so much tea turn to snot. thick heavy. huge air bubbles in it. airstones boil the water nice. i dont think its bad bacteria, becasue it doenst smell. it almost smells like semen.
.. big heaping pile of semen
yesterday i grabbed some out of it an i was surprised to see how thick it became. like snot. i will usually get the snot building up on the airstone itself, but never turn 2-3 gallons to snot. i use a larger air pump with 3 stones, 18 gallon rubermaid garbage pail. easily a 80l air pump. in the ro goes.....ancient forest,earth worm castings,roots excell, recharge, ogbiowar, sp90 fulvic, Quantum Growth Quantum VSC an unsulphed molasses. dash of vegetable oil
smells good, not rancid, never had so much tea turn to snot. thick heavy. huge air bubbles in it. airstones boil the water nice. i dont think its bad bacteria, becasue it doenst smell. it almost smells like semen.
.. big heaping pile of semen Hah, good story. Thanks for the reply as well.
So almost no back pressure at all when the tank is full. The plan is to empty the 300g cone bottom into a 300 gallon tank mounted in the back of a truck and off to the races with it. So I think most of the time it will be full, or empty getting cleaned, not half full.
So think the R2 at 42 CFM should be more than enough?
Also had a question in regards to attaching the pumps outlet to the airlift manifold, if you don't mind. Curious what you thought about hard plumbing it versus a flexible hose. As well, as mounting it flat on top of the tank and making a 90 degree bend down to the manifold versus mounting it 90 degrees so the outlet flows straight to the manifold.
Guess if I save a little on a smaller pump I can splurge for the inlet filter so I don't have to worry about tea splashing up into the pump.
Stumbled on a brewer online. Same exact cone bottom with a Gast, flexible air hose to the bottom, no air lift. Was marked up over 250% of cost. Plumbing looked like it probably took an hour at most.
Thanks,
Mr^^
So almost no back pressure at all when the tank is full. The plan is to empty the 300g cone bottom into a 300 gallon tank mounted in the back of a truck and off to the races with it. So I think most of the time it will be full, or empty getting cleaned, not half full.
So think the R2 at 42 CFM should be more than enough?
Also had a question in regards to attaching the pumps outlet to the airlift manifold, if you don't mind. Curious what you thought about hard plumbing it versus a flexible hose. As well, as mounting it flat on top of the tank and making a 90 degree bend down to the manifold versus mounting it 90 degrees so the outlet flows straight to the manifold.
Guess if I save a little on a smaller pump I can splurge for the inlet filter so I don't have to worry about tea splashing up into the pump.
Stumbled on a brewer online. Same exact cone bottom with a Gast, flexible air hose to the bottom, no air lift. Was marked up over 250% of cost. Plumbing looked like it probably took an hour at most.
Thanks,
Mr^^
You cannot run an airlift bioreactor at half full. Only full works at all.
I tried uploading a PDF of a basic sketch of the 1000 gallon design but it is too large (I think) for this site. It shows hard plumbed fixtures. You can view it through my information forum which you can find through my webpage.
What inlet filter are you talking about?
The unit you described sounds like the dirt simple design. A questionable engineering feat in my opinion.
Here is that foam I mentioned.
Great picture, that is a lot of foam!
Gonna search your site for that PDF. Your picture is the exact same tank and tank stand just ours is only 300 gallons. Looks like a nice brewer, any reason you decided on 2 air lifts versus 1 larger one?
Inlet I was referring to, was the air inlet on the Gast blower. Maybe a filter isn't needed but would hate to splash some tea in it, or even suck up some dust. Keep a good amount of amendments fairly close to where we brew, just moving a bag can send a lot of dust in the air.
Think I did see the Dirt simple design. Seems like the same design Vital Earth uses as well, maybe they have a fancy diffuser but it looked fairly simple from the picture.
Thanks,
Mr^^
Gonna search your site for that PDF. Your picture is the exact same tank and tank stand just ours is only 300 gallons. Looks like a nice brewer, any reason you decided on 2 air lifts versus 1 larger one?
Inlet I was referring to, was the air inlet on the Gast blower. Maybe a filter isn't needed but would hate to splash some tea in it, or even suck up some dust. Keep a good amount of amendments fairly close to where we brew, just moving a bag can send a lot of dust in the air.
Think I did see the Dirt simple design. Seems like the same design Vital Earth uses as well, maybe they have a fancy diffuser but it looked fairly simple from the picture.
Thanks,
Mr^^
I thought 2 airlifts better for dispersing DO in 1000 gallons. In my first 1200 gallon, I used 8 airlifts. That was overkill. For the filter I use a lady's nylon sock. You could use a small automotive air filter on 3 to 4 inch PVC reduced down to fit. Or just use cardboard and duct tape.
I'm going to do a 600 gallon one for a friend soon. No cone bottom and we have 4 inch pipe we might use. He's using my old Gast 95 CFM. Will probably need to bleed off some air.
I'm going to do a 600 gallon one for a friend soon. No cone bottom and we have 4 inch pipe we might use. He's using my old Gast 95 CFM. Will probably need to bleed off some air.
Smart, thanks for the tips and all the help.
From the picture sort of looks like one of the air lifts enters the tank through a custom hole. I really like that idea, I bet it helps prevent splashing leaving the tank.
So busy lately have to squeeze in time to work on the build. I am sure once I make some progress and get stuck again, I may come running for more help!
Thanks,
Mr^^
From the picture sort of looks like one of the air lifts enters the tank through a custom hole. I really like that idea, I bet it helps prevent splashing leaving the tank.
So busy lately have to squeeze in time to work on the build. I am sure once I make some progress and get stuck again, I may come running for more help!
Thanks,
Mr^^
Never ending 12 hour work days... but I have almost gotten to the new brewer and tea delivery system!
Ended up getting a Gast R3, looks like a nice pump. The wiring threw me for a loop so I haven't hooked it up yet until I can get a little confirmation on the correct wiring.
I have been scouring the information forum for that PDF file with no luck. Tons of interesting information. Was hoping you could point me towards the general direction of the PDF.
Also, after reading as much as I could handle I noticed you mentioned a second airlift on larger brewers might increase DO. So now I have another decision to make! The simplicity and ease of cleaning of 1 airlift is nice, although more DO sounds nice as well!
Thanks,
Mr^^
Ended up getting a Gast R3, looks like a nice pump. The wiring threw me for a loop so I haven't hooked it up yet until I can get a little confirmation on the correct wiring.
I have been scouring the information forum for that PDF file with no luck. Tons of interesting information. Was hoping you could point me towards the general direction of the PDF.
Also, after reading as much as I could handle I noticed you mentioned a second airlift on larger brewers might increase DO. So now I have another decision to make! The simplicity and ease of cleaning of 1 airlift is nice, although more DO sounds nice as well!
Thanks,
Mr^^
No help on the wiring, sorry. I just got one that plugs in.
These files could help although I'm not sure which model you selected.
http://gastmfg.com/uploads/data-sheets/LTD169.pdf
Has wiring info in decent detail.
http://gastmfg.com/uploads/manuals/70-6000-L.pdf
http://gastmfg.com/uploads/catalogs/Regenair_Blower_F2-10_Revisions_Mar08-2012_lo-res.pdf
http://gastmfg.com/uploads/data-sheets/LTD169.pdf
Has wiring info in decent detail.
http://gastmfg.com/uploads/manuals/70-6000-L.pdf
http://gastmfg.com/uploads/catalogs/Regenair_Blower_F2-10_Revisions_Mar08-2012_lo-res.pdf
So no thoughts on my teas turning so thick? it almost reminds me when you just add in flour or corn starch to make a gravy.
it seems to be working....
on another note. trying out the azos from extreme gardening. Azospirillum brasilense .
can anyone chime in on brewing Azospirillum brasilense. im sure it will multiply. but is there any microbes it will not blend well with? ph specific? is it a microbe that could easily die off when specific minerals are present from later salt nutrients? phosphorous etc??
found alot of info on the spore itself but nothing on brewing behaviors etc...
it seems to be working....
on another note. trying out the azos from extreme gardening. Azospirillum brasilense .
can anyone chime in on brewing Azospirillum brasilense. im sure it will multiply. but is there any microbes it will not blend well with? ph specific? is it a microbe that could easily die off when specific minerals are present from later salt nutrients? phosphorous etc??
found alot of info on the spore itself but nothing on brewing behaviors etc...
Your concoction and method are far removed from typical ACT so I really cannot venture a guess.
BlackMarketMic
Member
Thanks for all the great info in this thread, I will have to take the time to read through the 80+ pages. I started making my own act a few weeks ago and I immediately noticed overall positive effects on all the plants I have tried it on. The first time I heard about aerated compost tea was after watching a you tube episode of growing your greens with jon and he had the boogie brew guy on his show for a few episodes and I started reading into it. After reading your info on microbeorganics I felt like your info was much more logical and well described unlike other act experts who aren't as accurate in explaining the reasons for telling you to do this or not to do that without explaining the facts and details behind the recipe and method of brewing.
I am wondering about the recipe's from boogie brew? I know you don't need to use all that extra stuff they recommend but most of those amendments/ingredients will fertilize at the same time but wouldn't that also over saturate the compost tea mix? I want to try making different teas from natural amendments and plants that I would soak in another aerated bucket to have a more varied organic diet for my cannabis and veggies. So far I use act and occasionally homemade bat guano tea and occasionally fish emulsion but that stinks and I won't use it inside anymore. Looking for proven herbal soaked teas to compliment the act.. Any recommendations?
I am wondering about the recipe's from boogie brew? I know you don't need to use all that extra stuff they recommend but most of those amendments/ingredients will fertilize at the same time but wouldn't that also over saturate the compost tea mix? I want to try making different teas from natural amendments and plants that I would soak in another aerated bucket to have a more varied organic diet for my cannabis and veggies. So far I use act and occasionally homemade bat guano tea and occasionally fish emulsion but that stinks and I won't use it inside anymore. Looking for proven herbal soaked teas to compliment the act.. Any recommendations?
A soaked tea? like an anaerobic?
Haven't used the exact boogie brew recipes I found on their site but I've used most of those ingredients in different capacities. Greensand or Oyster I don't use until mid-flower. And if I recall, microbeman has indicated that too much kelp can actually inhibit growth of hyphae for an extra day. Not that it wouldn't be beneficial but it would just take longer. About 2% kelp instead of Boogie Brew's recommended 10%.
As far as over saturation, I think we need to look at it in a different way. No matter the amount of ingredients your PPM or EC will typically be fairly low. But we don't care about that. We care about the variety and amount of bacteria/fungus we introduce. Instead of using a pen or a meter to measure our brews 'intensity', we throw it under a microscope. There are plenty of youtube videos demonstrating what to look for, some from the microbeman himself. So just because we have a 'saturated' (read: chock full of beneficials) tea, it's just more chance for inoculation or arbuscular growth on our roots. A saturated tea with well developed roots sounds heavenly. You have to judge the stage of your plant to determine if they can take a hot mix or if it needs to be diluted but more or less ingredients shouldn't be a factor as long as all the beneficials receive oxygen.
Haven't used the exact boogie brew recipes I found on their site but I've used most of those ingredients in different capacities. Greensand or Oyster I don't use until mid-flower. And if I recall, microbeman has indicated that too much kelp can actually inhibit growth of hyphae for an extra day. Not that it wouldn't be beneficial but it would just take longer. About 2% kelp instead of Boogie Brew's recommended 10%.
As far as over saturation, I think we need to look at it in a different way. No matter the amount of ingredients your PPM or EC will typically be fairly low. But we don't care about that. We care about the variety and amount of bacteria/fungus we introduce. Instead of using a pen or a meter to measure our brews 'intensity', we throw it under a microscope. There are plenty of youtube videos demonstrating what to look for, some from the microbeman himself. So just because we have a 'saturated' (read: chock full of beneficials) tea, it's just more chance for inoculation or arbuscular growth on our roots. A saturated tea with well developed roots sounds heavenly. You have to judge the stage of your plant to determine if they can take a hot mix or if it needs to be diluted but more or less ingredients shouldn't be a factor as long as all the beneficials receive oxygen.
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Using a whole bunch of stuff like boogie brew does only serves to suppress microbial division and growth. In all of boogie brew's propaganda do you see one single instance of data showing the microbial populations? This is what I have endeavored to do from the very beginning through video of my microscopy.
Plain and simple, if any company does not present data, then they do not even know the efficacy of their product.
The purpose for making ACT is to extract and multiply microorganisms from compost or vermicompost which cycle nutrients (to plants) and/or provide pathogen resistance.
NOT to provide direct nutrients.
If you wish to use ingredients which benefit the plants then there is no point going through the effort of putting them into an ACT maker. Just mix them into water or topdress them.
I and others have posted numerous botanical tea formulations on this forum.
On the subject of John from growing greens, I've reached out to him several times over the past 4 or 5 years to help him understand what compost tea is really about. He has 100% ignored me. I guess there is no money in it for him.
