happycthulhu, I gotta tell you that you are pumping too much power through your water. Too much force destroys the fungi. The fungi body is much bigger and longer than bacteria. Bacteria are way way way smaller than fungi. If you push too much force through the water you break up (kill) the fungi. Fungi just cannot take the force. So while it might seem like a good idea to really get the water rolling hard this is not, I repeat NOT a good thing. Most of us who make aerated tea want fungi as well as bacteria. Also, becuse fungi are so much larger do not use pantyhose as a holder of the compost. The openings are just too small for the funji to pass well into the water. The same holds true for pillow cases. The thread count is so tight that only bacteria can go through. If you combine the extremely small holes of some materials along with even a moderate amount of sediment inside the poors of the bag and you might not even get bacteria passing through to the water. This is why a paint filter is such a good idea. The openings are plenty big while still holding the compost inside. I have found the paint filters from Doit Center are better than the ones from OSH. I have so much less sediment in my bucket when I use the bags from Doit Center. Remember, people like Deuley have taken the time to actually look at the level of microbial life in their tea's and have provided us with some very solid data. I gotta believe that when they say not to do something, then don't do it. Not only am I not smarter than some of these people but they have the equipment to actually test their product and determine the method that provides the best result for such a little cost. My setup cost around $30. Only time will tell if aerated tea will be helpful to my garden, but somehow it seems to me that this is a pretty good idea. Even leeche (I don't know if I am spelling that one right) is a good idea. That has been used by farmers for thousands of years. I gotta believe if people had the ability to make aerated compost tea back then they would have been doing it too. When Deuley says he gets better results using pond water, then it is better to use pond water. I just don't have access to pond water. When Deuley says to beware of chlorine or Chloramine, you better beware of them. You can aerate chlorine out of the water but not chloramine. Chloramine can only be taken out of the water by special drops you can buy at pet stores. You should call your local water district to make sure which kind of chemical they use to treat your water. People like Deuley have provided us with some very good information free of charge. There is no way I could ever come up with such a simple, and low cost way, of making this stuff - let alone thinking of it in the first place. Let's be wise and follow what they say. happycthulhu, you gotta put a restrictor of some kind on the air you are pushing through the water. You are literally pulverizing the fungi. At least it looks like it to me from the pic. A video would give us a better idea of just how hard the water is moving in your tub. The microbes need oxygen for sure but it appears to me that you have gone to the extreme and are doing more damage than good. In this situation you have gone way past "if a little is good then more is better" and gone to the other extreme, to the point of too much is not good. If people us a pump sprayer to put their tea on the plants, be sure to use the opening that gives you the largest water dropletts. This s important for two reasons: Creating larger water dropplets means that the tea is not evaporating as fast. This means that the plant has a chance to absorbe more of the tea. And this is one of the reasons why I make tea in the first place (along with the pest control properties). Second, because fungi are so big if you use an opening that is too small you will break them up into little pieces by using an opening that creates too fine a mist. You want the tea on the plant as long as possible, which means big dropletts. Pump sprayers are a good idea because they let you get both the top of the leaves and under the leaves. I just use the drench method using a watering can because it is easier for me. The idea is to "steep" your tea, not create an avalance of air. Just because they are small does not mean they are indestructible. Tom

Kristy, I pull a 30 or 50 gallon drum lying sideways in my little wagon with my riding lawn mower. George made me a little hose that is attached to something like a hoe handle and when I get to the next plant I want to water I just hold the handle down and the water runs out from gravity. The best thing to do is to set something under the back end of the drum, so it will be slightly elevated. Therefore the water will run out. I mix all kinds of fertilizers in there. I add them first, then add the water. That way it is mixed very well by the time I get to the first plants. Works very well for me but then I have a HUGE AREA to water. Needless to say I make many trips with the wagon and mower each day. (frown) IT's more like a job than and love for gardening. But like someone before me said, ahhh the pains we will go to to take care of our plants. I'm still praying for rain here..... wanna help me pray? Then we can skip the watering for a day or so. Good Luck and Happy Gardening, I'm going to haul water right now before I get ready for church. P.S. I never could get that tagged thing to work for me!

I've considered doing that too... Im having to reload the Ortho way too much! My only fear is that since the level of the tea won't be visible to me right there in my hand, that it will get clogged in the 5 gal bucket and I won't catch it until I've already sprayed a huge section with pure water. :) I use a paint strainer to filter it, but I was having problems today with the finer silt slowing down and sometimes even stopping the siphon. I'm still very new to this, so I'm not sure what to think exactly on the chlorine bit, but I still have an opinion :) To me, if the best reply that Dr. Ingham can offer is "that should be fine" then I interpret that as an educated guess and not something that had been formally studied (at least at the time the question was asked of her). If Dr. Ingham is guessing, then I think we all are. What complicates it for me is that Im not finding very helpful information on how much chlorine is actually removed in these 10-inch filters. The claims are only "reduces chlorine taste and odor". Does it accomplish that vague promise by removing 1% or 99.99% of the chlorine?!? If the latter, then Hozons and hose-end sprayers should be every bit as good as other application methods (in my opinion!). Suppose the filters only reduce the chlorine by 50% though If you use a Hozon, will the extra few seconds of "mixing time" in the water hose kill more microbial life than if the tea meets the water for the first time in a hose-end sprayer? I read the other day (on this forum I think?) that spraying water removes some of the chlorine (not so much for chloramines though) I believe the reply was regarding water sprinklers and why watering the lawn didnt eradicate the microbial life, so it was implied that it happened fast. If thats true (I have not read more on that yet) then it seems to me like even if the water is still relatively chlorinated by the time that it reaches the hose-end sprayer, the tea is going to be siphoned up into the water stream and then out in the open air literally a split second later where this further de-chlorination takes place. Will some still succumb to a chlorine death before they hit the ground? I dont know how fast chlorine works, but Ill take a guess and assume that a small percentage will sadly call the molasses I fed them their last meal. According to an article on gardens.com though, "less than 1/4 teaspoon of good compost tea has been shown to contain over a billion bacteria". By my math, if I make 7 gallons of good tea, that comes to 21.5 TRILLION bacteria per application. If the weaker ones get culled out in delivery, so be it. That just means Ive assembled an army of the strongest! At least thats what I tell myself! Ive probably been out there spraying 100% chlorinated tap water and 21.5 trillion bacterial carcasses. :)

Just joined GW. Been reading all about AACT for close to a year and am brewing this year. I got the syphonex (at least I think it's the same you are all talking about...brass with black rubber hose) and it works great when attached directly to the faucet. I also bought a chlorine filter for for the hose and when I attach the syphonex to the end of that, it no longer draws liquid from the bucket (or at least way too slow) I assume this is a pressure issue. I'd like to make it work because it is by far the easiest way to do a soil soak. Any good ideas? I've seen more expensive syphons out there but I don't want to take a $50 risk.... On a separate note about the brewer (sorry if I should ask this elsewhere), I ran an air hose from a 40 gallon pump to the bottom of the bucket and attached a T Valve there. I then attached two small pieces (one is 1 inch, the other 3 inches) so they reach different parts of the bucket. I can only get air to come out of one tube. Shifting positions changes which tube it comes out of but I can't get both. I think I could use a gang valve but I'm trying to reduce the amount of tubing going into the bucket and I saw this set up on Duely's brewer for the 5 inch airstones. I did not try equal length tubing after the T Valve...is this my issue? What simple physics issue am I missing? Many Thanks for all the knowliedge everyone contributes! Snachs