KIS Compost Tea @ 400X Magnification

[Mike723]

This is from my first brew with KIS' brewing system..
I'm going to take a shot at loading the video on here, no guarantees lol..
Forgive me for the poorish quality of the video, it's challenging to hold my cell phone to the eye piece with one hand, and adjust with the other.. I've personally brewed more active teas with plain ol' Ancient Forest by GH.. In KIS' defense, I did brew this tea 12 hours past the brew time.. I assumed it to be a minimum 24 hour brew as with most teas, but they only call for 12 hours (most likely due to the air pump on steroids). I didn't read that until after I began the brew at 8pm, and I have to be in work by 7:30 so there was no way I was getting up at 5 to simply apply it lol.. I figured I'd take a shot and wait until after work.. I'm sure that's why I saw more protozoa, but there's still some decent bacterial life in there.. The large structures are just left overs from KIS' "microbe catalyst," various food sources..

http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/mi...tml?sort=3&o=1

Fyi: I noticed that the video doesn't work from my cell phone, but you can bring it up on the pc for sure..

[kayrobbins]

That is interesting. I have my own homemade brewer and have never attempted to do something like this to see what was happening.

[Mike723]

Yea I find it so intriguing to observe the life, it's like another world! Not to mention, it's the best way to assess our teas and improve etc.. The harder part is learning to distinguish between the multitude of bacteria, Protozoa, fungi etc .. Or perhaps it was the first time I tried to get it into focus lol..

[Lindalana]

Mike, how did you do that? I mean took the video and magnification? Do you have scope?
Also which KIS brewer you have? Their less expensive takes less time but pricier one seems to take 24 hrs.

[Mike723]

Hey Linda,
I just put my phone lens up to the eye piece on the microscope.. kinda tricky as you can see haha.. I didn't realize just how poor the video was until I watched it again on the pc.. For some reason I lost some quality when I uploaded to photobucket, and I moved around too much on top of it.. The next one will be better I promise!

I purchased this scope that Dr. Ingham suggested.. Reasonably priced ( I think it was less than $350 or so if memory serves me lol), and certainly effective.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSLWx-u_b1I

It was actually around $259.00, but I don't see it on their site anymore.. This one is pretty much the same unit, but it looks like the price went up a bit..http://www.microscopenet.com/40x2000...ce-p-9047.html

[Lindalana]

Mike, thanks for the links!
I do have more expensive model of KIS brewer and I think it was recommended to use it 36 hrs. But now I see 24 hrs.

[Mike723]

Yea you must have the extended life motor.. Looking into it more I wish I went with the extended life as well.. I was apprehensive with the $160 increase in price, and didn't see the chart on their page showing the differences in pump life! They compare the noise to that of a hair dryer, but it's much louder than that.. Penny wise, dollar foolish I guess lol . .

[dustee1]

They compare the noise to that of a hair dryer, but it's much louder than that.. Penny wise, dollar foolish I guess lol.

For anyone looking for a quiet pump the Hailea 9730 is whisper quiet once connected to an airline. It's a little over $100 purchased from USA with a 6 month warranty or $70 shipped from China. As a tea brewer pump it will most likely last your lifetime, it's made for large Koi ponds.

Ted

[Mike723]

Originally Posted by dustee1

For anyone looking for a quiet pump the Hailea 9730 is whisper quiet once connected to an airline. It's a little over $100 purchased from USA with a 6 month warranty or $70 shipped from China. As a tea brewer pump it will most likely last your lifetime, it's made for large Koi ponds.

Ted

Thanks Dustee! Unfortunately the Hailea 9730 isn't comparable at 50 watts.. Kis' is putting out 106w! Crazy pump.. Nearly blows the aeration setup out of the bucket lol .. I had to weigh mine down with a quart sized ball jar

[Mike723]

I just ordered a nice electronic eyepiece that mounts right to the tri port .. Some beautiful videos to come!! It's funny the things that get us excited as we age lol . .

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Mike723

I just ordered a nice electronic eyepiece that mounts right to the tri port .. Some beautiful videos to come!! It's funny the things that get us excited as we age lol . .

I don't know, I don't thing it is strange at all, nor confined to the old. I was looking at microbiology through my toy microscope kit when I was somewhere around 6 or 7! it was marketed for children as a "science kit" I had my first insect and worm collections around that age too. Maybe your excitement is simply rediscovering your awe of the natural world again? Something you might have almost forgot?

[Mike723]

Yes I too had my first chemistry set around 7-8.. "Grew out of it" I guess, as I also did my aspiration to become a scientist at that time lol . . Now as I approach 30 I find myself getting more and more back into the things that interested me as a child.. Whereas 5 years ago I was most excited about my Honda Cbr929 lol.. Now I kick myself for not trusting that young child who knew all along that the field of science (microbiology in particular), would suit him best.. At least I get to live it out in my spare time.. I can't really complain about $100k/year, but it'd be worth much more to be paid for something I have a passion for..