how much air in my AACT?

how much air should my pump push for a container size of 5 gallons? I remember seeing an equation showing how to figure how much air but can't find it of hand, I'm sure it's right in the open but can't see.
was going to buy a new pump yesterday and just buy a big one, realized the big ones are not cheap so thought I'd just try to get the proper size and not waste money.

A 45 liter per minute pump with a couple good oxygen defusers will supply enough oxygen for a 4-5 gallon brew.

Something like this ....

http://www.hydrofarm.com/product.php?itemid=7644

Www.microbeorganics.com (Microbeman's page) has some good info on air pump sizing.

very nice, thanks guys

Very good advice. I would of hit you with the same stuff because I learned a lot from them. I use a pump that's 41lpm and brew 3.5 gals of frothy tea. Cheers.

I found the first pump mentioned on Amazon for $40 but it has mediocre reviews. Here you go if interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-AAPA45L-20-Watt-Commercial-Outlets/dp/B002JPRNOU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390552270&sr=8-1&keywords=45+litre+per+minute

I'd try a basic aquarium pump though, I brew in 5 gallon buckets and that pump is just perfect for the one 5 gallon bucket I use to brew tea.

http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-77851-Whisper-Pump-Gallon/dp/B0009YJ4N6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390552283&sr=8-1&keywords=aquarium+pump

This one is rated for 60-100 gallons of water, so this would be amazing for a simple 5 gallon bucket setup. Plus it's half the price and you get free two day shipping with Amazon Prime. You could also go to a local pet store or somewhere that sells aquarium pumps and just buy one of those, just so you know they tend to be WAY more expensive at pet stores than on Amazon. The same pump I bought cost double the price at Petco as it did on Amazon. You really don't need an insane top of the line pump, I've been using my aquarium pump for a year and a half now and I've never had any problems with my tea. Just make sure you're always stocked up on tubing and air stones! Also, to make your airstones last a little longer you can clean them with a mixture of rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and water. After a few hours of bubbling they're pretty clean, I can make tiny airstones last for over a month with cleaning them! Welcome to organics!

thanks kratos and spicy, everyone who answered. after reading up the last couple days I realize my method in the past may not be to effective. I have been putting a bubble wand in my bucket with compost and sometimes guano few other things in a mesh bag and letting it bubble a day, 2 at most.
the oxygen diffusers and all that good stuff is completely new to me. how do you guys make yours? if I may ask.

If you want simple, just use a 5 gallon bucket (filled with 3-4 gallons of water), and tie a paint straining bag to the handle. Set the pump ABOVE the top of the bucket, conect your air difusers to the pump using a couple feet of tubing, and brew for 48'ish hours. I use one heaping cup of fresh vermicompost in the paint straining bag and 3 tablespoons of BSM for a 3 gallon brew.

"Diffusers" are just air stones, like you would use in a fish tank. I personally use an airlift style brewer that doesn't require the air stones, but that's a whole other enchilada...

st0wandgrow said:

If you want simple, just use a 5 gallon bucket (filled with 3-4 gallons of water), and tie a paint straining bag to the handle. Set the pump ABOVE the top of the bucket, conect your air difusers to the pump using a couple feet of tubing, and brew for 48'ish hours. I use one heaping cup of fresh vermicompost in the paint straining bag and 3 tablespoons of BSM for a 3 gallon brew.

Click to expand...

^Simpler^

SpicySativa said:

"Diffusers" are just air stones, like you would use in a fish tank. I personally use an airlift style brewer that doesn't require the air stones, but that's a whole other enchilada...

Click to expand...

^Better^

Glad to help! I had problems with lack of aeration for the longest time myself, I was using one pump to pump oxygen into two 5 gallon buckets! Needless to say the batches all came out bad and I had to dump them until I realized my pump was only powerful enough for one 5 gallon bucket. You have to be careful, especially when you're using bat guano. As you know, you're brewing a tea that is filled with tons of bacteria and fungi. Your bacteria comes from the guano and as long as you provide it with air you'll get the good stuff you want, if you don't give it enough air then you'll seriously be brewing a salmonella tea according to some of the guides I've read on here. It should smell sweet and earthy, just like the ingredients you put into it

nice thanks again! I've been doing a bit of reading on here and on the vast web, spicey's link. I think I've a better idea of what I should be doing. without much of an understanding it seemed daunting and almost frustrating but I think I shouldn't mess it up to badly now. i will make sure to get a decent pump.
nice to know about the guano, I started using it in a tea-like fashion by just putting it in a sock and letting it sit in the sun for a few days. surprised anything ever grew with it and then switched to using an undersized air pump for a while. probly a lot of waste over the years.

Look up how to build your own vortex. A 5 gal size will cost near $100 after all supply are gathered. Can be made in 30 minutes or less as well.