Tea Brewing Kit Start-Up: Suggestions On Where to Start

Heys guys ready to jump in here....

Would I be ok with just going to the local hydro store and buying their kit ? I think there is a 5 and a 3 gallon size...What size do I need for a maybe a dozen or so plants ? I think it comes with a pump and a bubbler ?

Or is there somewhere like Home Depot or Wally World where I can build a better/cheaper tea brewing kit ?

thanks, SC

Im just getting into compost teas too. Have myself a 5g bucket with a cheap aquarium air pump and some stones. I got all that for 25 bucks on amazon.

I should mention 5g bucket feeds 9 7g pots perfectly. So maybe go for a cheap 10g rubbermaid tote instead.

I bought the biggest aquarium pump wally world had, not in front of me atm but think it for like a 40g tank, 8ft tubing and 2 stones for less than 30 bucks. The pump has 2 outlets and with both stones in 5g bucket it rolls the water really good.

Menard's 5g buckets were like $3 each.

JSJ said:

I bought the biggest aquarium pump wally world had, not in front of me atm but think it for like a 40g tank, 8ft tubing and 2 stones for less than 30 bucks. The pump has 2 outlets and with both stones in 5g bucket it rolls the water really good.

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How many gallons is the bucket you brew in ?

It was to my understanding aquarium pumps just dont cut it when brewing ACT. I have a air pump thats rated for a 700gallon aquarium and I think it is barely adequate for a 5g brew. Now you will still get some benefits from making almost any kind of areated tea but you wont get the full benefits of having a tea that is full of aerobic microbial life.

Banana444 said:

It was to my understanding aquarium pumps just dont cut it when brewing ACT. I have a air pump thats rated for a 700gallon aquarium and I think it is barely adequate for a 5g brew. Now you will still get some benefits from making almost any kind of areated tea but you wont get the full benefits of having a tea that is full of aerobic microbial life.

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maybe I'll just buy the one from the local hydro store....I usually pick of some nice tidbits of info when I buy stuff there anyways....That way I know I'll be getting a pump that is right for the job.

I bought this pump a few months ago..was skeptical based on price, but it turns out this thing kicks! And only as loud as my last commercial air pump which was HALF the wattage. That being said...it IS a commercial style pump, and isn't silent.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Elemental-O2-Commercial-Air-Pump-951-gph-aquarium-pond-aquaponics-hydroponics-/221365577698?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item338a6aa7e2

Nice, im gonna buy that pump^^^^. The pump I have now is the fusion 700 5.6l per minute, so 88.74gallons per hour.

Banana444 said:

Nice, im gonna buy that pump^^^^. The pump I have now is the fusion 700 5.6l per minute, so 88.74gallons per hour.

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Yeah, that Fusion is a crap pump. When I first started working with water, I used aquarium pumps...I still use three ActiveAir dual outlet pumps, but I have to put them all in the same rez to do anything...

Where as the commercial pump I listed powers 3 separate reservoirs by itself.

Look into building a diy vortex.
And aquarium pumps at wall-e mart wont cut it.
Commerical grade pumps will get numerous teas brewing.

Banana444 said:

It was to my understanding aquarium pumps just dont cut it when brewing ACT. I have a air pump thats rated for a 700gallon aquarium and I think it is barely adequate for a 5g brew. Now you will still get some benefits from making almost any kind of areated tea but you wont get the full benefits of having a tea that is full of aerobic microbial life.

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I have the same air pump as the OP and my 5g brewer has foamed over and smelled great every time i've run a batch. it DOES work. Look at any non-mmj site that talks about compost teas they mostly point you to aquarium pumps for starter kits.

Foam has nothing to do with the effectiveness of your tea.

Aquarium pumps are a waste of money when you can get a good pump off amazon for $50(cheaper in the USA) that is no louder then your pet store pump. I have a pump rated for 100 gallon tank thing cost me like $35 and was supposed to be good. It can be heard in my basement when it's bubbling a bucket on the top floor. My commercial pump is quieter and moves about 1000x more air. 5 gallon bucket and it will make water jump out, like a large quantity, my pumps a little over powered for my needs but I won't have to buy another if I upgrade for now I hook it up to a speed controller and it still moves more air turned down to 25% and can't be heard outside of the spare room door let alone in my basement.

Pet store pumps are low quality over priced garbage. Get a commercial pump for a few dollars, or even less then a pet store pump depending on how much your petstore mark up is. You will spend the money replacing petstore pumps, or just buying more to get enough air in your bucket, spend the money once on a good one and don't fill landfills with plastic garbage that doesn't last a year.

Cannabidude bubble your tea for over 24 hours with one of those shit pet store pumps I bet it gets real nasty smelling.

There is no way JSJ's pump is moving enough air.

Get one like Metasynth linked they are the tits. I got a hydrofarm one works great.

Mr.Head said:

Cannabidude bubble your tea for over 24 hours with one of those shit pet store pumps I bet it gets real nasty smelling.
.

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me aact brews for 3 days and smells exaclty like good compost, like it should.

Mr.Head said:

Foam has nothing to do with the effectiveness of your tea.

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and while this is true its not about effectiveness, foam is an indicator of microbial activity, the teas "effectiveness" is irrelevant, if my tea foams and smells good i can guarantee it has enough microbes in it for my needs, also foam usually indicates there are proteins present. Have you read Teaming with Microbes? it explains this better than i.

Cannabidude said:

and while this is true its not about effectiveness, foam is an indicator of microbial activity, the teas "effectiveness" is irrelevant, if my tea foams and smells good i can guarantee it has enough microbes in it for my needs, also foam usually indicates there are proteins present. Have you read Teaming with Microbes? it explains this better than i.

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What pump do you have? I bought the most expensive pump my petstore had and it didn't work for shit, I may have got 1-2 good uses out of it before it went nutz. My teas smelled horrible after a 24 hour brew let alone from 48.

This is what I was going off for foam copied from http://www.microbeorganics.com/#What_is_Compost_Tea_

7/ You can tell that your ACT is finished or ready to use when it forms a head of foam.

More bunk! But this does have a bit of foundational truth. Foam can be formed by proteins in the water created by microbial activity, however this is not a reliable indicator. Foam can also be created by saponins (aloe vera, alfalfa, yucca) or just by adding molasses or by worms which might have made it in there. I have examined very foamy ACT microscopically which was practically devoid of microbes and ACT with no foam at all which has been swarming with microbial activity.

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No I have been meaning to read that damn book for a long time, it takes me to be in the right mood to be able to read a book. I'll sit on here and read all day but there's something about page turning Just can't do it. Think I got the Ebook downloaded somewhere, I think I got the nutrients one too. I should really get too those everyone speaks highly of his books.

I watched a youtubes of his.

this is the one i use, to be fair in my 5 gallon brewer i usually only run ~3.5 gallons, but i find i get the best results if i dilute it 3:1 foliar and 2:1 for soil drench. My teas are comprised of only my own home made compost + a little of my soil mix, its a mix of LW & FFOF (~1:1 no extra perlite), this is mainly for the ewc in them, they have other beneficial components, but in very small amounts. I've been running this way for 3 months now, but i have no problems with it so far and the plants ive flushed and switched from nutes (2 mother plants) have responded very well.

Ill watch the video here soon i haven't seen it yet, thanks!