Air Pump for Tea Brewing

Hi I’m looking for a pump to make small batches of compost teas. I’m not sure what size will work and how many air stones needed? Thanks in advance. 5 gallon bucket is what I’ll be using.

shawn75can said:

Hi I’m looking for a pump to make small batches of compost teas. I’m not sure what size will work and how many air stones needed? Thanks in advance. 5 gallon bucket is what I’ll be using.

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I use one big air stone and my old active aqua air pump it puts out a ton of air.

Had one of these for 7 years had to pull it apart and replace the rubber swing points a couple times but other than that it works great.

JavaCo said:

Had one of these for 7 years had to pull it apart and replace the rubber swing points a couple times but other than that it works great.

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Active-Aqua-Pump-Outlets/dp/B002TCC46U/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Aquarium+Air+Pump+with+Dual+Outlet&qid=1578338342&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-3

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Thanks for the link. That’s what I forgot to ask for. A LINK. Lol

JavaCo said:

Had one of these for 7 years had to pull it apart and replace the rubber swing points a couple times but other than that it works great.

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Active-Aqua-Pump-Outlets/dp/B002TCC46U/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Aquarium+Air+Pump+with+Dual+Outlet&qid=1578338342&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-3

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Mine is overkill lol

So even a 3 watt pump will do. I’m wondering if I’ll get a big air stone or a couple smaller ones? I actually won a high end product on RIU. Destiny Organics which is a tea based super soil grow. Everything included for 4 plants. Courtesy of AquaTerra giveaway.

shawn75can said:

So even a 3 watt pump will do. I’m wondering if I’ll get a big air stone or a couple smaller ones? I actually won a high end product on RIU. Destiny Organics which is a tea based super soil grow. Everything included for 4 plants.

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Yeah that will work for a 5 gallon bucket You can get a 6 watt 4 port one if you want a extra boost or if noise bugs you. They have a pot you can adjust the output so lower with more stones would be quieter. Smaller stones are fine for this pump and a 5 gallon bucket. They dont have the ones I bought years ago but one to two inch ones would work well. When they get dirty you can soak them in 35% H2o2 for about a hour and they are good as new again https://www.amazon.com/Pawfly-Cylinder-Diffuser-Airstones-Aquarium/dp/B076SBR2FB/ref=sr_1_37?keywords=air+stones&qid=1578350667&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-37

JavaCo said:

Had one of these for 7 years had to pull it apart and replace the rubber swing points a couple times but other than that it works great.

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Active-Aqua-Pump-Outlets/dp/B002TCC46U/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Aquarium+Air+Pump+with+Dual+Outlet&qid=1578338342&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-3

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I had one of these for a few years and it started making too much noise even when set on its lowest setting. Was it the 'rubber swing point's that caused it to make that much noise?

Just Be said:

I had one of these for a few years and it started making too much noise even when set on its lowest setting. Was it the 'rubber swing point's that caused it to make that much noise?

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Yeah it is, that's what they do when they wear out, get really loud. They sell the replacement rubber pieces on ebay but I made my last set out of silicone so i shouldn't have anymore problems for a long time.

Damn, had I known that I'd have hung on to the one that I was using.

Just Be said:

Damn, had I known that I'd have hung on to the one that I was using.

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Yeah it is actually pretty slack of them to sell them with rubber grommets if they made them out of silicone these things can last 4 to 5 times longer but they want to sell you a new one every 2 or 3 years. You can even hot glue them back in place but making a grommet out of silicone lets it move easier pumps more air with them.

Any small fish tank air pump will work. I use one from Walmart that I think was like $7. Airstones are ok but get kinda nasty after a lot of use. I switched over to an air diffuser awhile back and it's easier to keep clean. It's pretty much just a metal tube with holes in it but makes a whole lot more bubbles than a stone every did. There's a few different ones out there but this is what I use:

I always read small air pumps suck and dont create enough microbes

Gemtree said:

I always read small air pumps suck and dont create enough microbes

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I agree. I get better results multiplying beneficial bacteria when using a stronger pump.

Lordhooha said:

Mine is overkill lol

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That looks like mine. Works awesome, but ain't quite.

As long as the solution has a good rolling boil and not a slow fizzle you will be ok.

I also remember hearing about too much agitation isn't as good for nematodes, but better to coax out microbes. I have a smaller pump that I've ran in a 5 gal bucket and noticed a lot more nematodes swimming around in it, but maybe it's just easier to see them in the bucket vs Rubbermaid. I do use the same stones as in the pic above, but in the small size. To clean them like new again, all I have to do is boil them.

PadawanWarrior said:

I also remember hearing about too much agitation isn't as good for nematodes, but better to coax out microbes. I have a smaller pump that I've ran in a 5 gal bucket and noticed a lot more nematodes swimming around in it, but maybe it's just easier to see them in the bucket vs Rubbermaid. I do use the same stones as in the pic above, but in the small size. To clean them like new again, all I have to do is boil them.

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Thats when it's nice to have a tub and the airstone on one end so there is a calmer side.

Renfro said:

Thats when it's nice to have a tub and the airstone on one end so there is a calmer side.

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That's great advice. I never thought about doing that. I've always spread my 6 stones out in the tub so it's all roaring. I'm gonna have to try that next time I make tea, and I'll look for extra nematodes.

PadawanWarrior said:

That's great advice. I never thought about doing that. I've always spread my 6 stones out in the tub so it's all roaring. I'm gonna have to try that next time I make tea, and I'll look for extra nematodes.

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Yeah, done well you can get micro climates in the tub sorta. One end favoring one set of creatures and the other end favoring the other, just like in a real lake...