What's new
  • Please note members who been with us for more than 10 years have been upgraded to "Veteran" status and will receive exclusive benefits. If you wish to find out more about this or support IcMag and get same benefits, check this thread here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

10 min $10 DIY aerated compost tea ACT brewer

heady blunts

prescription blunts
Veteran
alright people this is a little tutorial i'm putting together to show how to easily build an airlift for brewing aerated compost tea (ACT).

picture.php


if you wanna learn about compost tea and/or compost tea brewing systems, i suggest you check out microbeorganics.com. after reading through that site and the sticky: tea article thread in the organic soil forum, i designed this simple system.

first, i decided the airlift style brewer had several advantages, most notably, breaking the water's surface tension. you can read the details on microbeorganics.com, but basically it increases the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, which is the aim in an ACT system. another good reason is that the vortex and the microbulator, two of the cooler commercially available systems, both use airlifts to drive their brewers.

the great thing about this is that it's entirely scalable. i'm making one for a two gallon container, because that's enough for my small garden. if you want to brew larger batches, you'll want a higher flow rate, so you'll need something stronger than any of the petco aquarium pumps. check microbeorganics.com for a comprehensive guide for selecting the right air pump for your system.

picture.php


the materials are cheap and simple. the ten dollar cost does not include an air pump by the way. i had a petco "60+ gal tank" aquarium pump [5 watt], and that seems to work okay for my two gallon brews. for the pipe i used 1 1/4" pvc. you should make sure your pipe is long enough to reach near (but not sitting on) the bottom. you'll need a 180* turn, so you can use two elbows, or get a "p-trap" set like i'm using. it's for kitchen sinks, and has the advantage of an adjustable joint with a silicone o-ring that makes cleaning really easy. you'll also need fasteners like rubber bands and velcro, or whatever you've got.

one assemble the p-trap. two bundle the air hose from the pump together and loop the bottom 8 - 12", securing it with a rubber band 1.5 - 2" from the ends.

picture.php


three fasten the loop near the bottom of your pipe and the hose once or twice more up the length of the pipe.

picture.php


four slip the ends of the air tubes inside the end of the pipe. use the tension from the rubber band to pinch the edge of the pipe so the air tubes will stay in place. you want to get the ends of the tubes as close to the bottom of the pipe as possible while staying securely inside.

picture.php


that's it! now rig up a way to secure it in your bucket, fill up to 2-3" under your spout, and mix up your tea!

picture.php


i made a brace. i took an extra length of pvc and cut a slit in either end. the slits fit over the sides of my bucket. i used heavy duty velcro to fasten the airlift to the brace.

picture.php
picture.php


this brewer is designed for use without a bag. just add your compost directly to the water. edit: the term is free suspention

for your reference, here's the basic recipe as perscribed by microbeman in the sticky: tea article.

1 gallon = 16 cups = 256 tablespoons

2.38% by volume compost or vermicompost (EWC) per gallon = .38 cups or around half a cup max or about 2 cups in 5 gallons max.

0.5 to 0.75% molasses by volume per gallon = 1.28 to 1.92 tablespoons per gallon. 0.75% is the maximum I use. It is a good bacterial and fungal food.

0.063% fish hydrolysate by volume per gallon = 0.16 tablespoon = 0.479 teaspoons or half a teaspoon

0.25% (max) kelpmeal by volume per gallon = 0.64 tablespoon or half a tablespoon

happy brewing! stay green! :plant grow:

HB

EDIT: I'VE UPDATED MY DESIGN. TWO AIR PUMPS. DRILLED HOLES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIFT TO HOLD LINES, CUT OUTS BETWEEN AIR HOLES TO ALLOW WATER IN ABOVE THE BUBBLES.


upgrade!

thanks to rip van weed for the clever idea. it really improves the flow (and hopefully circulation)!

picture.php


plus i fashioned a much better brace to keep the air lift upright.

picture.php
 
D

dirtstyle

Clever, but still looks like too much work for my lazy ass :)
 
D

DHF

Could you show a pic of the pump and manifold that feeds the 4 tubes for the p-trap ?......

Thanks for the show and tell....Killer job for KISS...

Peace....DHF.......:ying:.....
 
I

Iron_Lion

Looks sweet, looks like a bitch to clean tho. I use a 5 gallon water cooler jug and an aquarium air pump with a split in the line and 2 airstones. I brew strong then dilute so 5 gallons of tea dilutes to 10 gallons of water.
 

heady blunts

prescription blunts
Veteran
thanks everyone for stoppin by!

DHF here ya go:

picture.php


like i said it's the largest capacity pump they sell at petco, rated as big enough for a "60+ gal tank" whatever that means. it is definitely already at its limit with this application, and a more powerful pump would absolutely get better results. i don't use any manifold, or siphon valves (DON'T FORGET TO PUT YOUR PUMP ABOVE THE WATER LEVEL!).

clean up is super easy, only takes a couple minutes. the whole thing easily fits in a kitchen sink too which helps.
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I don't like the goofy shit they pull with the vortex website where you hafta fill in their form to get information - we promise not to sell your info - honest! I hope the recipient of the money from the sales of that brewer is Steven Storch because that is his design plain and simple.
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
so its the same principle as a waterfarm?? very nice

Do you mean an air lift water tower for aerating a fish tank/pond? This type of system has been used for years for that purpose and air lifts were first used (as far as I know) by Egyptians. I just came up with an idea to simplify Storche's design. I've got one 1000 gallon version operating on a farm in Texas which uses the cone bottom.

Edit: Okay, just looked up waterfarm; ya similar
 

CannaExists

Paint Your DreamStrain
Veteran
Looks awesome man, thanks for the inspiration. Anyone and everyone can benefit from the addition of some well-brewed compost teas.
 

Aardwolf

Member
Nice work k+.

Sometimes you can over-complicate things.

I use 9" flat air-stones. I have used a ceramic and metal diffusers before.

Anyone taking a look under a microscope at tea?
 

mad librettist

Active member
Veteran
Nice work, I think you can overcomplicate things I use 9" flat air-stones in a bin/water-but I have used a ceramic/metal defuse-er before but I like the build up on the stones its just life!!

Anyone test the strength of there tea? How? Do you brew different for different things?

Heya Aardwolf.

Testing a tea for "strength" would be a waste of time, but observing it under a microscope tells you what you need to know.

What you look for under the scope is diversity, integrity, balance, and activity.

Your average aquarium pump with airstones can only brew about half a quart with any kind of consistency.
 

heady blunts

prescription blunts
Veteran
ya i found the airstones worked well for the first run, i got a great brew, but they got real gunked up real fast, and even scrubbing the shit outta them didn't help. they were killing the output of my already wimpy air pump, so they had to go.

also i really wanted a set up where i could add loose medium, rather than bag it up.

you can add a bag to this set up, but you'll need to get another pump and plumb it into your tea bag to agitate from within.
 

mad librettist

Active member
Veteran
If you always keep it going, (clean between brews), a half quart milk jug, a small pump, and tubing with no airstone is all you need for a large personal/small medical grow. I keep mine in the kitchen next to my worm bin bag.. I can brew up to 3 quarts a week like this, which I dilute 1:1 for a gallon and a half of tea weekly, enough to hit all my plants including ornamentals every other week. I hit the foliage, then I just moisten the top few layers using a sprayer, and finish watering with straight water. Plants that look off get a full soaking with undiluted tea.

I have yet to make a bad brew like this (i check my work with a microscope).
 

heady blunts

prescription blunts
Veteran
second brew finished up today. damn i wish i had a microscope!

after 36 hours

picture.php


this is after a few minutes of settling after i took out the apparatus

picture.php
 
S

Stankie

I know this is a big request, but I was wondering if you could include a video of your design in action. I would like to see the 'motion of the ocean' so to speak.

I have a fairly well built 5 gallon design, IMO, but was thinking of down-scaling a design for winter brewing. I usually don't grow cannabis during the summer months, and firing up the 5 gallon brewer during the winter is a hassle. So is trying to keep the tea at proper brewing temp when it is 35 degrees in my garage. The 'commercial' pump I have literally shakes my house, so that's why I confine it to the garage.
 
Top