Welcome my friend to the amazing world of creative aerobic bacterial/fungal tea brewing! If you haven't already, read my FAQ on the top of the composting forum of various suggestions on aerobic tea brewing.
In regards to aerobic microbial breeding, keep in mind that in regular composting you have basically several different range of microbial species environments.
Some microbes love wet environments better, some like drier conditions.
Some like warmer temps, some like cooler.
Some microbes are 100% aerobic getting their oxygen needs from the atmosphere.
Some microbes are 100% anaerobic getting their oxygen needs from moleules containing oxygen atoms.
Some microbes are actually hybrid aerobic/anaerobic based on what's going around them at the time.
In any form of aerobic tea brewing, no matter how "perfect" or "precise" you try to be, you'll never match the wide variety of aerobic microbial species in a rich homemade compost pile. The best you can do in your brewing container, is breed the best wet-loving microbes, and best mild-temp loving microbes from about 50-90 degrees F. Now some microbes can live any where in the world, under any climate or temperature in the world, but these mild temp ranges seem to be the best for aerobic bacterial and fungal growth.
Normally based on your type of homemade aeration system, going over 7-14 days is really silly. Usually based on your aeration system, 1-3 days (maybe at most 5 days) is more than enough brewing time. There is a maximum limit of how many aerobic, wet-loving, microbes you can possibly breed in your volume of tea, per climate, temperature, etc. After that "limit" is reached, regardless of how much constant aeration and various sugar/carbohydrate sources you feed the microbes, they will just start eating and killing each other in the tea brew! (LOL)
Keep in mind also that you can breed aerobic microbes in your tea, and also breed them again at application as a foliar or soil application. Since I brew all my aerobic teas in 20 gallon plastic tubs, hooked up to a 60 gallon aquarium pump with two 6' foots, every 1-3 days, on my acre no-till borderless raised beds, during decent temperature ranges, I use my diluted teas as both a foliar/soil drench using a simple cup/5-gallon bucket method or watering can method.
I never filter my brewed teas in any shape form or fashion! I want maximum "larger" microbial action (like fungi and protozoa) in my teas also thriving, other than just mere aerobic bacterial action. Check this out: No actinomycetes microbes tend to breed very well in any form of aerobic teas. They mostly breed in regular composting methods.
Using this personal method, I get maximum microbial action on both the foliar uptake and soil uptake, even if my aerobic teas are not "perfect" or "precise". Also by using my teas 2-3 times a week on heavy feeders, during the hot months, I never have to water the plants much at all.
Far as tea smell is concern, just like regular compost it should always smell pleasant, to indicate the you have achieved a safe, healthy balance of nutrients and microbes from the decomposed organic matter. With regular composting it's that pleasant forest dirt smell, mostly from actinomycetes. With aerobic teas it should have either a pleasant wine smell, yeast smell, or sometimes a fruity smell. The microbes of "smell" also vary in breeding rates and species based on your personal tea ingredients, and your climate and temperate environment.
During the hot months, my aerobic teas look very yellow or light brown, because I use a lot of protein/carbohydrates like unsalted cattle/horse feeds and dry molasses powders in the teas, plus my composted horse manure/sawdust (All wood products are fungal foods).
During cooler months like now, my teas remain blacker, and smell a little more like diluted vomit! (LOL) But I still use them as powerful diluted nitrogen rich soil drenches around my fallk/winter crops. Compost happens regardless! (LOL)
For "stinky" teas it's a good idea to put a little extra sugar sources or other easily digestible carbs in your diluted tea at application time, in order to get the existing aerobic microbes on your crops and soil to breed faster too.
After the aeration has ceased in your brewing container, you got approx. 12-24 to get those aerobic microbes out of your tea onto your soil and crops. Once they get to their native environment, they will live and breed on their own way past the 12-24 hour limit. NOTE: Keep in mind once again, we are only talking about a specific range of species in the tea brew, not the entire soil organism universe, which is not near as limited.
Never mix too many (if any) of any form of natural pesticidal products or pesticidal foods like garlic, onions, oranges, lemons, hot peppers, etc. in any form of biostimulating/fertilizing tea recipes. It kills off microbes, even small quantities of pesticidal foods kill something microbial. Leave pesticidal foods for your as-needed, specialized non-aerated pesticidal tea recipes.
My philosophy in sustainable farming is always rely on your regular composting, mulching, and cover cropping to really totally feed all the wide variety of soil organisms and to condition the soil physics. Only use aerobic teas as a suppliment or compliment to your composting methodolgies, not a total replacement. Aerobic compost teas will never get that good! Even Dr. Elaine Ingham will admit to that! (LOL)
The best you can do it use your own sustainable judgments and perferences and style, in order to build up and feed the amazing soil and foliar microherd, using your own various aerobic, carbohydrates/proteins enhanced, compost tea recipes.
Most of all just have fun!
Hope this helps my friend!
Happy Gardening!
_________________ The entire Kingdom of God can be totally explained as an Organic Garden (Mark 4:26)
William Cureton
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