Water pump and air stone questions

I got a great air pump that pumps 45 litres/min, or 1.58 cfm and figure it would be great to make aerated teas with until I need it elsewhere. It has a much larger nozzle and airhole on it than the simpler aquarium pumps I've used in the past. Is there such a thing as a high volume stone/bubble wand/whatever? Seems like it pumps a crapload of air with nothing attached, but for a single line and stone (which is what I want) it's restricting the flow back down to a normal air hose size. I need a stone I can hook straight up to the large hose before the splitter.



Also, will a single pass through a small aquarium powerhead during watering be an issue for the organisms in the forementioned teas? Thanks.

just go without the airstones.

Isn't the point of airstones to add smaller bubbles, so there is more surface contact with the water, leading to higher DO rates? I use at least 3 large airstones for a 55 gallon reservoir ( i used the same pump you have) and had great aeration. Air pumps are also TONS louder without airstones, and will make very large bubbles in your res that aren't very efficient for adding DO.

Just my $.02

KISS... Thing is that pump is way overkill for bubbling some teas, no biggie I like over kill, I'd just let some air escape with a normal airstone because I think you'll be hard pressed to find any air stones that big, you could just zip tie 5 lines and 5 air stones together either way nothing critical about bubbling some tea

http://www.microbeorganics.com/#So_You_Wanna_Build_A_Compost_Tea_Brewer

“A Word About Diaphragm Air Pumps;
If you are going to buy a pump to run your aerated CT brewer, I can recommend the Eco Plus Commercial 5 (4 CFM max.) for up to 50 gallons and the Eco Plus Commercial 1 (1.75 CFM max.) for up to 10 gallons. I’m sorry but I cannot recommend a retailer for these pumps. I buy them wholesale and perhaps if you contact them, they can refer you to a retailer. http://www.nationalgardenwholesale.com
I can also recommend Hailea 9730 pumps (2 CFM max.) which you can purchase from www.aquaticeco.com and other places. These are solid, long lasting pumps and I know other commercial brewers use them for 50 gallons but I just can’t recommend them for more than 30 gallons. If you use one for a 5 gallon unit it will last virtually forever. All of these pumps come with a little threaded brass fitting for screwing into the air output. DO NOT USE THESE! Put them in your parts drawer. These constrict the air and reduce your CFM by at least 20%. Rather, find tubing which slides over the nipple into which the threads are tapped. In the case of the Eco Plus 5 and the Hailea, 5/8ths inside diameter works. Slide the air tubing over and secure with a gear clamp. The Eco Plus has a very short nipple so I score the metal with a couple of swipes with a hacksaw to create barbs for the tubing to grip. You can find tubing at a building supply like Home Depot or Rona in Canada. I use the braided reinforced stuff which does not kink. Always try to keep your pump at or above the surface of the water so it does not siphon back if the power fails.

Diffusers;
One could incorporate good quality glass bonded diffusers if one did not wish to mess with PVC pipes and making their own diffusers. These diffusers are resistant to break down by microbes and can be cleaned with muriatic acid (but are not environmentally friendly to clean). They are called Sweetwater medium bore diffusers and are available at http://www.aquaticeco.com . They are far superior to homemade PVC diffusers in terms of sustaining DO2 because they produce finer bubbles . There is no truth (that I have seen) to the statement that fine bubbles damage some microbes.”

ScrubNinja said:

I got a great air pump that pumps 45 litres/min, or 1.58 cfm and figure it would be great to make aerated teas with until I need it elsewhere. It has a much larger nozzle and airhole on it than the simpler aquarium pumps I've used in the past. Is there such a thing as a high volume stone/bubble wand/whatever? Seems like it pumps a crapload of air with nothing attached, but for a single line and stone (which is what I want) it's restricting the flow back down to a normal air hose size. I need a stone I can hook straight up to the large hose before the splitter.



Also, will a single pass through a small aquarium powerhead during watering be an issue for the organisms in the forementioned teas? Thanks.

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It looks like you are using an Eco Plus Comm #1 air pump or generic facsimile. I have measured the flow from these up to 1.75 CFM which could efficiently run a 15 to 20 gallon compost tea brewer if well designed. The Sweetwater quality diffuser is going to handle all the air you pump at it. They are machined from a solid block of glass-bonded silica so are not eaten up by microbes and can be cleaned. You can get them with barbed fittings or threaded for greater flow. Get rid of the little screw in brass fitting as per the link I posted and don't use the dum splitter. Make your own up with Tees and valves. Always pull your air apparatus from the liquid while air is still running to prevent backflow and microbial entry.


I don't know what 'a small aquarium powerhead' so cannot comment. But see;
http://www.microbeorganics.com/#Does_Microbial_Life_Survive_

http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/3881/Sweetwater-Air-Diffusers Sweetwater diffusers. I've even used them in a 1200 gallon brewer with a 1-1/4 inch diameter air line. Now I use 1-1/4" PVC pipe diffusers I designed. I get them machine slotted with 254 micron slots.

Is there a formula or rating recommended for liters of air or CFM per gallon? I don't have a way to measure DO but it would be nice.

It's all on my webpage

Microbeman, you rock. That's some awesome advice. Thanks everybody.

It's a Hailea ACO-208 but I noticed differences in the specs on the companies website, and the sticker on the machine itself, so I roll with the sticker. I should have mentioned that the biggest tea I'd ever make for now is 3 gallons. Is this overkill? I was under the impression you couldn't have too much. Here are some pics:



When I bought it I also picked up some of those plastic dismantleable diffusers and that's what's in the pic (I'm still using the factory splitter and tubes until I get parts organised). I suspect you wouldn't be too fond of these diffusers, microbeman? They sure are loud and free flowing.

In addition to that it was also helping some water dechlorinate in the sun:



Should I scrape the foam off at intervals and dispose?

http://www.hidhut.com/catalog/alita-sintered-air-stone-cylinder-p-122.html

Actually these have the hose attachment you are looking for. Wide orifice and they have a nipple that's an add on to step down to small air hose size. These are the same stones used in the UnderCurrent DWC setup (commercially available) I own 10 of them. INSANE bubbles.

--dh

scrub, I figured you didn't need huge quantities. Thought you started gardening for a minute.

for 3 gallons, it's impossible to fuck up. Surface area to volume ratio dictates that gases will exchange quickly in you setup, meaning you need only disturb the surface. You are doing it in spades.

I would like to see some tests (microbe?) to illustrate this phenomenon. Should show that DO2 is higher per cfm in smaller containers. If we could brew in 100 shot glasses, we would barely need forced air.

Hi mj, one day I'm hoping to get back on the land so I figure it's a great investment. I got it for obbt's originally but I quickly realised it's way too much for those needs. Very interesting idea you raise. Perhaps a large flat shallow pan?

Thanks a lot darkhollo they look great.

Is this overkill?

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No but you may as well use a 5 gallon pail.

Should I scrape the foam off at intervals and dispose?

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As you wish. If its not in the way it doesn't hurt.

Thanks dude. Hey one thing that confused me about your page - you demonstrate a single pass through a pump doesn't do significant damage, but it did seem to do some. You go on to mention venturis and such so you seem to condone the use of pumps for actually making the teas, but wouldn't it get considerably more damaged from multiple (many!) passes in a recirculating environment?

ScrubNinja said:

Thanks dude. Hey one thing that confused me about your page - you demonstrate a single pass through a pump doesn't do significant damage, but it did seem to do some. You go on to mention venturis and such so you seem to condone the use of pumps for actually making the teas, but wouldn't it get considerably more damaged from multiple (many!) passes in a recirculating environment?

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It is difficult to assess damage as you can never look at two identical samples but in my second (2008) test there was virtually no damage. You could even find damage from pouring if you look for it. You would need to be practiced at viewing samples to pick out damage. I did not say venturi's do not cause damage but bacteria/archaea do fine as well as protozoa and I always encourage people to use what they have laying about. If you only have a water pump, use it. Besides that, my friend transformed his whole farm (from chems to organic) using a 5000 gallon venturi operated brewer. Besides I put this into the venturi write-up on my webpage; "These systems are not great for extracting and growing fungal hyphae but they produce bacteria/archaea and protozoa just fine."

See, I don't miss much.