ACT.. Simple as possible but will I benefit??

[planter]

I understand anaerobic VS. aerobic but I had always thought I was adding enough O2 for my buckets to get some air and not really stagnate like I have implied in the past.

My question is sorta simple... With the small pump and this beauty of a barrel with a big old bait bag of compost, seaweed, and "pretty old" turkey doo will I improve or speed up the process. Frankly with this hot weather all my 5 gallon buckets have been cooking like a witches caldron.

I am gonna sawzall the top off the barrel for access and just cover with a screen or a half size old glass windowand see what happens... I'm guessing I won't even notice a difference but you folks have clearly sucked me into an idea of a value I just don't see yet but as an warped/overactive gardener I will try any thing.

Do I need to add honey or molasses or anything else? I don't want to buy anything if possible and what do I have to add to achieve a specific goal? If someone gives me fresh honey it's NOT going in the compost!!

PS.. Do I have to buy a bubble stone or is there Micky Mouse way to make one or can I even go with out?



[img]https://i402.photobucket.com/albums/pp102/planter_01/P1060132.jpg[/img][/img]

It really would be nice to see a side by side comparison of plants with and without this special approach and I may do just that next spring or even try it with some Climbing H., Acuba, and Nishiki (sp) (willow) cutting that are are taking well.

[garden5]

Here's a post on pump size from the ACT sticky thread:

this is from tim wilsons site. There are competing figures out there, but something tell me to go with Tim.

Quote:
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.

In the following I will outline some simple methods of building a variety of compost tea makers. I am not going to discuss anaerobic methods at this time. Later on I may add some sketches.

1/ Stir Method: The cheapest way to make compost tea is the old fashioned way. Just add compost to clean, non-chlorinated, water (above 65 degrees F. recommended) and stir like mad with a clean stick or whathaveyou. I'd recommend using about 3 to 5% compost by volume of water and stir it up as often as you can over an 8 to 12 hour period. Some people do it over a 24 hour period and also add some foodstock like molasses, fish hydrolysate and kelp. You can experiment with different times and ingredients and decide for yourself. If you have a microscope, check it out. When you feel that you have a completed compost tea (CT) you can remove it in several ways. If you have just used a 5 gallon pail you can simply let the particulate matter settle and pour the clearer CT off into watering cans or your sprayer.

[The Helpful Gardener]

The real idea of the air is to stir the pot; most aeration and gas exchange takes place on the surface. So even an open line will get things done in that respect. But the increased surface area of the smaller bubbles the stone produces helps to push more water around. I'd use a stone rather than not...

I have seen good air manifolds made by drilling pipe; varying the hole size from smaller near the supply end to larger at the far end keeps air supply even and varies the flow rate from side to side. Stones aren't the only answer...

Just stirring with a stick is just asking for trouble...

HG

[top_dollar_bread]

if I was u, id work with slurrys (Tims site) intill u get a better pump.
or u can make smaller batches in the gallon milk jugs if it is a simple fish pump ur using.
HTH

[buddy110]

I use an aquarium pump with four feeds to make 55 gallons. I have no problems that I know of. The tea smells slightly sweet which I think is good

[blah1234]

I just set up my ACT station.

I have 8 five gallon buckets running.

I managed to find this pump at a local hydroponic store.

Active Aqua Commercial 60 Watt Air Pump

[img]https://www.seedsetc.com/images/ACTIVEAQUA60WATTCOMPUMP.jpg[/img]

It comes with an 8-outlet attachment.

Theoretically, it pumps 70 liters/min, which translates to 1111 gallons per hour. Divide by 8 and you get about 139 gallons/hr per bucket.

By itself, it should be good for your big barrel.

You can buy it online for about $53 + shipping (shipped from Seattle)

[url]https://hydroponics.seedsetc.com/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=PU45L[/url]

[jakrustle]

Blah's air pump looks like exactly what I have heard is needed for these teas. Though certain aquarium pumps will work to some extent, what the aeration does in addition to keeping the tea aerated is break loose the fungi from the ingredients of your teas. What you are looking for is something that can move about 1.5 gal O2/min/gal of H2O. A 1200 cc/min rated aquarium pump is = to about 1.2L/min. This is barely 20% of what you are looking for to make the most viable teas. These bacteria can eat up a lot of oxygen quickly when they start to increase, so a significant amount of O2 must be in supply throughout your brewing.

Bacteria can be increased/grown in teas, but only the lengths of existing fungi grow. Fungi need to be "knocked off" your ingredients and sent floating in your teas so you can get them onto your plants and into your soil.

This is what I have read and understood from much of what others have read as well. Check out the book teaming with Microbes and the SoilFoodweb site. Both have excellent information.

Frankly, I think you could get the right size aquarium pump to work for a gallon size tea brewing and I am currently working on that. A couple $10 Walmart aquarium pumps made for a 20 gallon aquarium can get a gallon milk jug bubbling pretty darn well. I have made a couple brews but without the proper testing I have no idea whether they are beneficial teas. I am sure they were to some extent.

Hope that helps.

JaK

[rainbowgardener]

Re whether the compost tea actually does anything, here's a thread that talks about some research

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=141332&highlight=compost+tea#141332

And here:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=95782&highlight=compost+tea#95782

are stella's amazingly convincing photos from last year, pre-ACT peppers and the same plants 8 wks later!