pepelepew098
Member
do you or could you make your ACT directly in your resevoir?
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hydro teas
- Thread starter pepelepew098
- Start date
osirica420
Active member
I grow in a dwc with nothing but compost teas, not sure if thats exactly what u mean?
you can do that in a 1/2 full res. brew(24h), then add more RO. and nutes, PH and use.
good idea actualy.
check out my tea brewer in my sig.
C
CT Guy
I have to disagree, you're not going to get sufficient aeration, plus it would be difficult to remove any biofilm if it's directly in your resevoir, which could lead to anaerobic growth and possible plant damage.
pepelepew098
Member
what if you bubbled you're resevoir?
C
CT Guy
Are you getting .08 cfm/gal.? I doubt people put that much O2 into their resevoir.
osirica420
Active member
i got 35 watts of air running into my tank and my buds are larger then a Louisville slugger..
This ACT setup is very much possible...
They are almost 5 weeks in and very large this pic is almost a week old!!!!
No Chems just Guano, Seaweed & Himalayan Sea Salt....
This ACT setup is very much possible...
They are almost 5 weeks in and very large this pic is almost a week old!!!!
No Chems just Guano, Seaweed & Himalayan Sea Salt....
C
CT Guy
i got 35 watts of air running into my tank and my buds are larger then a Louisville slugger..
This ACT setup is very much possible...
They are almost 5 weeks in and very large this pic is almost a week old!!!!
No Chems just Guano, Seaweed & Himalayan Sea Salt....
I'm glad that your plants are healthy....congratulations! However, I don't really accept that as evidence that you can properly make ACT in your resevoir.
How do you get sufficient aeration? Can you be certain there are no dead spots in the water where the compost would collect and go anaerobic? How are you stripping the microbes off of the soil particulate? And most importantly, how do you address cleaning or the issue of bio-film buildup?
C
coconaut
Hi everyone, I'm a coco grower that's trying to do something similar. My thoughts are, I'm going to use a fluval canister filter, I will use the spongy filter media to collect particulate. and filter has trays to load additional filter media, I will use those trays to house my organic nutrients in filter bags. Aeration will happen directly within the reservoir. The filter intake will be mounted near the bottom of the res, while water returning from the filter will be mounted at or above the waterline.
It's kinda like a fish tank, but without fish.
It's kinda like a fish tank, but without fish.
C
CT Guy
coconaut,
this is something different. The original post was concerning aerated compost tea, where you're attempting to extract and replicate/grow the beneficial soil organisms in the compost.
If you're adding soluble organic nutrients, not biology, it's a different case altogether.
this is something different. The original post was concerning aerated compost tea, where you're attempting to extract and replicate/grow the beneficial soil organisms in the compost.
If you're adding soluble organic nutrients, not biology, it's a different case altogether.
C
coconaut
Actually my plan is to add insoluble organic nutrients directly into the filter.
EWC, bone meal, guanos, kelp. The guanos might not hold in my filter bags, but the sponge filter media should pick it up.
How is this so different?
EWC, bone meal, guanos, kelp. The guanos might not hold in my filter bags, but the sponge filter media should pick it up.
How is this so different?
C
CT Guy
it's not, based on your ingredient list.
Here's the issue though. The EWC and the guano contain biology (bacteria/archea, fungi, protists, nematodes, amobae, etc...)
The only biology you want would be aerobic microbes, hence the aeration. Plus, I can pretty much guarantee that you're not going to have sufficient aeration to maintain appropriate dissolved oxygen levels. Also, over time you will get monocultures and bio-film buildup. These can both upset the natural balance of microbes in the rhizosphere.
It would be much better to brew the tea in a brewer and then apply it as a foliar to the plants or run it through the resevoir and then flush well afterwards.
Here's the issue though. The EWC and the guano contain biology (bacteria/archea, fungi, protists, nematodes, amobae, etc...)
The only biology you want would be aerobic microbes, hence the aeration. Plus, I can pretty much guarantee that you're not going to have sufficient aeration to maintain appropriate dissolved oxygen levels. Also, over time you will get monocultures and bio-film buildup. These can both upset the natural balance of microbes in the rhizosphere.
It would be much better to brew the tea in a brewer and then apply it as a foliar to the plants or run it through the resevoir and then flush well afterwards.
osirica420
Active member
I use seaweed, guano, and sea minerals in my rez its all 100% organic and is technically a aerated compost tea.... is it not?
full of minerals and bacteria just like soil..
I change the water every 5 days..
There is no slime/foam that builds up only if i put molasses it does that, no smell either..
full of minerals and bacteria just like soil..
I change the water every 5 days..
There is no slime/foam that builds up only if i put molasses it does that, no smell either..
C
CT Guy
That means either:
a) There's not enough bacteria in the guano to overwhelm the system
or
b) You're not adding more foods than your air pump can sustain.
Personally, I wouldn't do it this way, but that's my opinion. It's not an aerated compost tea, because you're not using any compost. Guano is not a compost. It is going to primarily contain bacteria and anaerobic bacteria at that.
If you're looking to add BIOLOGY (AND I'm not talking about soluble nutrients), then you really should make it separately.
I use a microscope to look at teas regularly and have done extensive testing on aeration, designs, and ingredients. If you want to maximize your grow and truly add the full complement of soil biology, this is the way to go.
a) There's not enough bacteria in the guano to overwhelm the system
or
b) You're not adding more foods than your air pump can sustain.
Personally, I wouldn't do it this way, but that's my opinion. It's not an aerated compost tea, because you're not using any compost. Guano is not a compost. It is going to primarily contain bacteria and anaerobic bacteria at that.
If you're looking to add BIOLOGY (AND I'm not talking about soluble nutrients), then you really should make it separately.
I use a microscope to look at teas regularly and have done extensive testing on aeration, designs, and ingredients. If you want to maximize your grow and truly add the full complement of soil biology, this is the way to go.
osirica420
Active member
I was under the assumption that to compost something was to change it from its organic to inorganic state...
if that is in fact the definition of it then i do have a aerated compost tea...
or else my plants would not have fat buds and would of died a while ago..
how else would my plants be growing unless beneficial bacteria was breaking down the seaweed and guano..
Sea minerals are already composted in the largest aerated compost tea known to man "The OCEAN"..
Sea minerals are lacking N and P almost every other element is available from the sea mineral mix alone...
if that is in fact the definition of it then i do have a aerated compost tea...
or else my plants would not have fat buds and would of died a while ago..
how else would my plants be growing unless beneficial bacteria was breaking down the seaweed and guano..
Sea minerals are already composted in the largest aerated compost tea known to man "The OCEAN"..
Sea minerals are lacking N and P almost every other element is available from the sea mineral mix alone...
airation comes from an airstone and a airpump.
eco-air5 (80liters) and a dwi ceramic stone.
your kidding right??
eco-air5 (80liters) and a dwi ceramic stone.
your kidding right??
osirica420
Active member
I'm with digital on this one..
Our ACT's may not be 100% perfect but they sure as hell do the job very well..
And IMO they are most certainly Aerated Compost Teas...
I am sure if we collaborate we can come up with something everyone can use...
Our ACT's may not be 100% perfect but they sure as hell do the job very well..
And IMO they are most certainly Aerated Compost Teas...
I am sure if we collaborate we can come up with something everyone can use...
C
coconaut
CT Guy - It sounds like you think you know what you're talking about, but I find no logic in your statements. What is .08cfm/gal? Other than 0.08 cubic feet per minute per gallon. Where is that number coming from? What does bubbling at a rate of 0.08cfm/gal do?
I have a big problem with the things you claim because these things obviously are not true, I've kept aquarium fish for years, the principals are all the same, just instead of microscopic organisms eating fish poop they're eating bat poop and worm poop. And why would aerobic bacteria need more dissolved O2 than fish? Fish swim, have more biomass, therefor need more oxygen to survive. And the bacteria and fish coexist, using the same oxygen supply. I'm certainly no scientist though, these are all just simple observations made without a microscope.
I have a big problem with the things you claim because these things obviously are not true, I've kept aquarium fish for years, the principals are all the same, just instead of microscopic organisms eating fish poop they're eating bat poop and worm poop. And why would aerobic bacteria need more dissolved O2 than fish? Fish swim, have more biomass, therefor need more oxygen to survive. And the bacteria and fish coexist, using the same oxygen supply. I'm certainly no scientist though, these are all just simple observations made without a microscope.
pepelepew098
Member
thats my idea, lets collaborate
C
CT Guy
Guano is a manure, you're making MANURE TEA!
As for you guys, you can do whatever you want, I was just trying to help. The science is there, whether you choose to believe it or not.
When I say .08 cfm per gallon, I mean .08 cfm per gallon of water you use. That means if you're brewing 5 gallons of tea, you need a pump that is at least .40 cfm. Make sense?
My 5 gal. brewer pushes 51 liters/min and I would consider that near a minimum. It works though because I use a coil system in my design.
Can you make "compost tea" your way? Yes. Are you maximizing your results? I can emphatically say "No."
I've spent about 100K with our company on testing aerated compost teas. I'm not making this stuff up. You can read my article in the Organic Soil section in the library section of the Sticky section.
I don't mean to rub anyone the wrong way, but I'm not just making this stuff #s either.
I wish you guys all the best, just trying to lend my experience to the conversation. You can also read the posts by MicrobeMan over in the Organic Soil section as well for a microscope perspective on aerated compost teas.
Here's some good online resources:
www.soilfoodweb.com click on the About Us section and then click "sustainable approach" Read the section on compost teas.
www.microbeorganics.com
Or get a copy of "Teaming with Microbes" by Jeff Lowenfels.
