Spitball's Monotub Tek - Mushroom Cultivation

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SpitballJedi
Ancient Astronaut

Registered: 10/13/12
Posts: 8,598
Loc: Nibiru

Spitball's Monotub Tek

52
#20356759 - 07/31/14 05:55 PM (9 years, 4 months ago)

Without further ado,

This is part of my series "The Basics"

Making a Monotub with Liner

The purpose of this tek is to show how to make a monotub with a liner. I did not invent the monotub, I just wanted to write a tek showing how to make one. Thanks to ohmatic (I think the inventor), TransendingLife, and FrankHorrigan for the inspiration. At the end, there is an option for magnetic hole covers instead of Stuffing holes with polyfil as usual.

This tek is brass tacks and down to business. If you are unclear on what a monotub is, why you should or shouldn't use one, or how it works, then check out these links:
Where to Begin
Basic Principles of a Monotub

***Please read entire tek before doing. There are a couple of things you may mess up if you don't read it all first. Especially concerning the top holes and magnets.***

The Monotub

The mono I'm making is pretty typical, just using my own words to describe it.

For this tek, I will be using a 66 quart Sterilite 1928N from Wal-mart. Different sized tubs will require different measurements. So try to understand what I'm doing and not just go by the exact measurements. I'll try to remind you of this as we go.

You are going to have a total of 6 holes in this monotub. 1 hole at each end, at the top, under the handle. 2 holes on each side just above substrate depth. Here's what the holes will look like:

You may be asking yourself "How do I know how high my bottom holes should be? I don't know how deep my substrate will be."

There are few ways to answer this:
1) L*W*H=V, solve for H. If your math skills suck, or your tub is not square, then:

2) Just come up 4 inches from the bottom. A typical substrate depth is 2.5-4 inches. Or, if you want to make it a little more complex, then

3) use water to mimic your substrate. Trust me, measuring up 4 inches is the easiest way to do it, though. But I will explain this anyway because people ask.

Since I use 1 brick coir(650g), 2 qts vermiculite, 4.25 qts water, and 6-7 jars of spawn, I end up with about 14-16 qts of substrate.

So, I poured 16 qts of water in my tub. This gives me about 3-1/8 inches. If I had put the bottom of my holes at 4 inches, I would have almost an inch of head room. It would have been fine because it's not an exact science and i would have room for a casing layer if I wanted. In a tub this size, 1 or 2 qts does not make a significant difference in depth.

I like to put my bottom holes so that they split the length of the tub in to 3rds. This tub is about 22 inches long at the water line, so the holes will be about 7 inches from the ends and 8 inches from each other. Again, not an exact science and your numbers may be different if using a different tub and depth. Just split in to about 3rds.

Mark the the water line and hole spread. Then dump out the water.

Since I want the bottom of my holes to be about an inch above my substrate, I need to move my marks up an inch. Remember? The water line is approximately the top of my substrate. I labeled them because I brain fart sometimes and don't want to drill in the wrong place.

Using a 1.5 inch hole-saw, I just eyeball lining up the bottom of the bit with the BOTTOM-HOLE MARK. Take your time when drilling. If you apply too much pressure, the plastic buckles a little and can cause the bit to catch and thus crack your tub. Just take it easy and the bit will eat on through. Putting your drill in reverse helps to prevent the bit from catching.

I've worked with my hands for years and have learned that having the right tools makes a big difference. Hole-saws work the best and kits can be found pretty cheap. Paddle bits are harder to control and snag more easily. Just a word to the wise.

After the holes are drilled, I clean off the burrs with a razor knife.

Remember this part for later and read the whole tek before drilling top holes. You shouldn't need to mark anything for that. Just stick your bit up close to the top and go for it. If you plan to use ironed polyfill taped to the top holes or my magnetic covers described below, leave about a 1/2 inch space at the top to attach them. If you plan to just use tape and loose poly, then don't worry about it, just leave a little space for the tape to have a place to stick nea the top.

Here we are full circle. Cleaned up and marks removed with alcohol.

Adding a Liner

I use a liner to prevent side pins. Side pins are pin formations on the side of the substrate. Although there is nothing wrong with pins and mushrooms growing on the side, I find them annoying to harvest and not particularly pretty. I prefer my pins to all be on top.

The main cause of side pinning is environment. As the substrate shrinks, a gap forms between the substrate and the tub walls. This creates a nice little micro-climate for pins to form. A liner inside the tub will stick to the mycelium as the substrate shrinks, thus preventing the nice little air gap.

I use thick plastic as a liner. I think it's 5 or 6 mil. You can find it just about anywhere that sells hardware.

There are a number of ways to do this, but here's how I do it.

Basically, I flip the tub upside down and wrap it like a birthday present. Then, I just remove the whole wrap and stick it in the tub.

First, I flip the tub upside-down and roll out enough plastic to go all the way from one handle to the other and cut it.

I use masking tape to hold the sides in place while I wrap the ends. Masking tap is easy to peel off. Don't put tape under the folds because you won't be able to remove it in the next steps. You can use whatever tap to tape plastic liner to plastic liner, just don't bury your tape when taping liner to tub.

Just fold and tape the ends like a birthday present. It don't have to be perfect or bullet-proof. Here's a couple pics of it all wrapped up

Now, just peel off the masking tape, should only be a few pices, and move the liner from ouside the tub to the inside of the tub.

Viola. Now you have a high-rise liner inside the tub ready for substrate and spawn. I like to leave the liner high until I'm finished mixing. This helps prevent stuff from falling down between the liner and tub. I cut the liner down to substrate depth once I'm done mixing. You can use tape to hole the edges up too.

Magnetic Hole Covers

****Don't get confused. If you are already familiar with the concept of stuffing your monotub holes with polyfil, it is perfectly fine to do it that way. I am just offering an alternative by making removable covers instead. Feel free to stuff your hole with polyfil instead. For some insight on stuffing your holes with polyfil, read How to dial in your monotubs like a boss and Basic Principles of a Monotub

At some point, you need to cover all your montub holes to prevent FAE during colonization. The holes should remain covered until 100% colonized and/or ready to fruit. Most people just use a non-breathable tape. The imperfect lids on these tubs is all you need for proper GE.

This part of the tek is based on Monotub Tek (Ironed polyfil filters for bottom holes) and My Magnetic SAB Arm-hole Covers. The credit for using ironed polyfil goes to Dialated. His post is the only one that I know of.

The idea here is to replace the tape and polyfil normally used for monotub holes. There's nothing wrong with using tape and then properly stuffing your hole with poly, this is just an alternative. Look at "Dial in your Monotub like a boss" for more info on stuffing with polyfil.

Because the ironed polyfil is still experimental, this part of the tek is subject to change. Results so far look promising.

I used a magnetic vent cover. They are thin and easy to cut. They come in different sizes and are about $5.50 for a 3-pack.

You have 4 bottom holes and 2 top holes.

The bottom holes need a magnet, with a hole in it, stuck to the tub. Plus, a magnet with a hole and filter. Plus, a magnet with no hole or filter as a colonizing cover.

The top holes each need a magnet with a hole and a soild magnet. Since the top holes usually get loose poly or no poly, I don't think it's worth it o make a filtered one.

So, all together, you need 10 magnets with holes, 6 magnets without holes, and 4 pieces of filter.

The Magnets

Before getting in to it, I just want to point out some stuff I discovered on the way. The strength of the magnets depends on orientation. It can be weak one way, but turn one of them 90 or 180 degrees and they stick like, well, magnets. That's why I cut them all the same size and square and put the hole in the middle. This way, it doesn't matter which way u turn them; they still look the same. If you make rectangles, it may look goofy to get the polarities right. But, it's just a matter of taste.

I also noticed the bare magnet sides stick together better than the painted sides. Still not real strong, but strong enough for our purposes.

Since my monotub holes are 1.5 inches, I'll make my magnet holes 1.5 inches. Since I need a little room around the hole for adhesive and my magnet covers are 5 inches wide, I thought 2.5 inch squares was a good number.

Mark out a grid on your covers with 2.5 inch squares.

Mark the middle of 10 squares. This is where you put the middle of your 1.5 inch hole-saw.

Word to the wise. These things are easy to tear so go slow and don't use hardly any pressure. Drill the holes before you cut out the squares because it's easier to hold this way. I laid it down on a piece of wood on the floor and held the cover with my feet. Make sure you use a thick enough piece of wood to keep from drilling your floor.

If you don't have a hole-saw, use scissors. A paddle bit will likely rip it to shreds.

Now you can cut out the squares. Before you start cutting out the squares, make sure you have 10 holes and 6 squares with no holes.

The Poly

I prepped the poly only slightly different than Dialated.

The high loft stuff comes in folded up rolls.

I just cut about a 4 inch slice off the end of the roll and unfolded it.

Then, I folded it back up to create 4 layers.

Then, I set my iron on medium and began to iron it. Keep the iron moving or you will scorch and/or melt the poly.

I found that ironing>folding>ironing prevented the loft from matting together and the middle layers would come apart easily. No big deal if you tape the ironed poly to the tub, but makes a difference when gluing one side to something as I am.

Putting it together

I turned up the iron a little and spent a little extra time on the edges to get them to lock together so the layers won't separate. After getting it all ironed out, I cut out 4 squares at 2.5 inches, same size as my magnets :smile:

I just used the magnetic squares as a template and cut around them.

All lined up with silicon on the white side of the magnets.

Two on the left are poly side up. The two on the right are magnet side up. Once my substrate is ready for FAE, these will go on the four bottom holes.

Now, you should have 6 magnets with holes in them without polyfil. These get siliconed to the tub around the holes. Scruff up an area around the holes with sandpaper to get the silicone to stick better. Put silicone on the white side of the magnet and stick it to the outside of the tub.

Remember my mention of the top hole alignment earlier in the monotub part of the tek? If you didn't leave a space above the hole, you won't be able to silicone the magnet there. You may have to trim the magnet a little to get a good fit. You may have to get creative with silicone too.

All the holes on the tub should look like the one on the right in this pick. This is what you stick the other magnets to.

On the left is a solid magnet cover for colonizing. The one on the right is just a magnet siliconed to the tub without anything attached to it yet for demonstration purposes.

The left is the polymagnet (may be the first time this word has ever been used. I get 10 cents every time you use it :smile:

). Use it when needing FAE.

Once you have all the parts made, you should be able to slap on a solid magnet for colonization, and then, switch it with a polymagnet for fruiting. No tape, not stuffing.

Tips

All adhesive goes on the white side of the magnets. Double check before you get too far ahead. Denatured alcohol removes wet silicon pretty easily. Take a guess how I know :wink:

The magnet thing is not for everyone, it is extra work in the beginning and just a matter of taste really. To each their own. Only you can decide.

Regardless if you stuff your holes or use polymagnets, you need to have a fan in the room. Use a fan near your tubs, but pointing away. Some trusted members use a ceiling fan though. Again, for questions about how monotubs work in general, please refer to Basic Principles of a Monotub

As this is a long, detailed, and somewhat different monotub tek, I expect some errors and/or confusion. Just ask, but be respectful please.

Time to spawn

Now I can catch some Phish shows in peace.

Edited by SpitballJedi (04/21/16 08:54 PM)

Extras:

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