Tea brewing how deep should we go? - Page 2 - LawnSite.com™

treegal1 · #11 02-10-2009, 06:27 PM

its called bioform brewing.....like 3 hearts.....

Mr. Nice · #12 02-10-2009, 06:37 PM

Dusty,

Buy the cheapo PIN POINT DO meter, like 220$? works well for this purpose. let me know if you get it in the future and I can give you some hints on how to care for it properly.

The directions it comes with are crap.. there's a right and wrong way to care for it. saves money not buying new membranes and replacement probes.

DUSTYCEDAR · #13 02-10-2009, 07:12 PM

Thanks do you have one you like?
Model number and such

bicmudpuppy · #14 02-10-2009, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Nice

I would like to see if a brewer no deeper then a foot or so deep but with plenty of surface area? Like a kiddie pool or something? Maybe a play off of Tim's up pipe design breaking the water tension and circulating from bottom to the top and so on.

Might mean more cleaning and logistical problems then it's worth though??

Has anybody tried this approach before? and if so how much more efficient or not is the O2 diffusion using more surface area and less water depth?

I would think the best way to oxygenate is increased surface are. By that, I mean waterfall. You guys tell me that the CT is fairly "clean" aesthetically. A three to four foot drop over something like six feet would give you 20-30' of surface area. If you were moving that water enough to keep it moving (I need to look up the pond math, but 1" of fall by 1' of width is a lot of water, this would be 48" of fall by 3' of width) your going to be moving several thousand gallons of water per hour. If the input to the tank above the waterfall has a venturi tube adding even more water, I'm thinking WOW. BUT you need the space to do something like that. A pond type filter system would provide lots of breeding surface for the beneficials. The major detriment I can see to this is what happens if the system crashes or becomes contaminated. Cleaning it isn't going to be a good time.

If the kiddie pool was something someone wanted to try, then a paddle wheel in the middle of it, beating the water to provide additional mechanical aeration would possibly work. None of these provides much ROI from what I am understanding. Move as much air as you possibly can in what you can get for a brew tank and let nature do her best as well.

treegal1 · #15 02-10-2009, 07:32 PM

OK then there, me, just my .02 cents, I will stay with the 3x4 foot area that I use to brew 250 gallons at a time nice quiet re gen blower with great air, long life and a solid tank.

went the low cost way for a while and you just can not skip the big ZT for a push mower.... did the pump thing with every type and size venturi, did the 4 small pumps, a barrel for every month of the year, upside down and sideways, leg tank, cone tank, flat tank. collapsible soft tank. poly tank. pools of every type and size. just get the air up and feed the herd. after that then its just going through the motions with a scope and a DO2 meter....

the way i looked at my system and justified its costs are the tea output the $$$ to start and the life of the unit and the run costs per year, after that again, look at the tea and tell what you got...

Mr. Nice · #16 02-10-2009, 08:15 PM

Dusty,

yes, it's called a pin point DO meter, you can buy them from Aquatic Eco systems inc.They have a million other useful things too.

Tim W. has a link to them on is site. I have the regular pin point DO meter I think I paid 220$ but they have a new model called pin point 2 DO meter for $280. but mine does just fine.

If you get one get extra membranes for it, like a extra $ 20 or something

bicmudpuppy · #17 02-10-2009, 08:18 PM

TG, that's what I meant by ROI. The effort and space to do it any other way sounds excess in what you get back. The regen blower seems excessive to me, but we will find out when I get mine going. Tank design is a factor, but from everything you guys have said here, I can't help but think that air flow is the major factor. Again, for the next 45-90 days, I'm just a spectator with an opinion. The tank I'm going to use may not be the best, but it has the best price (paid for

) I am curious to see what happens when you get a colony you like going. Can you decant 1/2 to 2/3 of the tank volume, re-fill and feed? I am sure you CAN, but what is the recovery time. Is it better to "start over" with new material? How consistent a colony culture can I get outside of the tank to use to brew with? How consistent will the culture in the tank stay if I just feed? When I get a scope, what does my "raw" water look like? These discussions are leading my down paths I didn't realize existed.

Looking at the available DO chemical test kits, I found a few soil test kits I want to try. I've seen DIY soil tests before and they end up being crap. These looked promising. I MUST get on a program for testing my water. The quality of the water varies with the seasons. The water I'm going to get in March should be, from all indications, "pure as the driven snow"

(maybe because that's what it is? melting snow). As the season progresses, my understanding is the water gets worse. First, we go from pure snow melt to snow that has had ground contact and starts to pick up ground contamination. THEN, we get rain runoff from the "monsoon" season, and the water gets even worse. The water I saw in September was frightening.

What is the diversity of this water source going to do to my "brew"? If I get a great brew in late spring, will the salinity and ph of the water adjust it in summer and fall? or will it cause it to crash? Exciting times ahead.

Mr. Nice · #18 02-10-2009, 08:22 PM

With out a doubt simplicity is king when it comes to CT making,
Less cleaning the better, yet still offers good O2 and circulation,It's a balance thing between them that makes a good brewer.

STAY AWAY FROM ANY FILTERS! when brewing

If I was going to build a lift system for the water I would only use a water lift.
Not a pump with propellers, but some do use that type of pump to brew?