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Viper
half man, half amazing



Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
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no vermiculite techs
#6802830 - 04/18/07 03:49 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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Well, finaly i got over the problem of not having enough vermiculite! I discovered AAC or Aerated Autoclaved Concrete. The rest is history! No vermiculite is needed any more. I just let chunks of AAC sit in water for a couple of hours and then I pour out excess water and add brown rice flour, mix it and nuke it in a microwave for some time. That's it! I have a great new tech, without vermiculite.
In order to find a substitute for vermiculite (it's hard to find around here) I used styrofoam cut in small pieces and got good results, but such a cake needs to be watered from time to time using sterile water, but if you're really desperate, it works.
1 World, 1 Mycelium!
-------------------- I've come to restore what they stole from you, cure the cold in you, reverse what was told to you!
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lsg1
lsg1



Registered: 04/13/07
Posts: 250
Loc: shoulders of giants
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: Viper]
#6802837 - 04/18/07 04:03 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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Interesting. Are you dunking and rolilng cakes in this stuff too?
-------------------- I'm interested in Kombucha cultivation! Send me a kombucha baby, and I'll send you the cost of shipping. I promise to give away at least 5 babies for every baby I receive this way.
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Viper
half man, half amazing



Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: lsg1]
#6811521 - 04/20/07 02:32 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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Well, they're colonizing right now, I'll think about that when the time comes. I think I'll use AAC as the moist base on the bottom, and I'll use sterile sand on top, to stop contaminats. It worked before. Right now, it's just a PF style cake, boldly going where no other has ever been before
-------------------- I've come to restore what they stole from you, cure the cold in you, reverse what was told to you!
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newbie_shroomer
Stranger
Registered: 02/20/07
Posts: 185
Last seen: 10 years, 5 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: Viper]
#6811839 - 04/20/07 06:25 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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What is the price of this AAC? Is it cheaper than verm?
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SpekOner
Stranger



Registered: 01/07/05
Posts: 212
Loc: not here
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
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sweet, u shuold make a nice tek with pics and stuff... gl
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fetalscab



Registered: 12/28/06
Posts: 463
Loc: not quite sure?
Last seen: 8 years, 7 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: SpekOner]
#6812117 - 04/20/07 08:36 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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sounds awsome i would love to see a pictorial tek!
-------------------- The mind is a bright blue sky Clouds are thoughts and feelings floating by You have them but you are not them Whatever you do Don't let them have you
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Viper
half man, half amazing



Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: fetalscab]
#6812632 - 04/20/07 10:57 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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Well there isn't much to photograph. But I'll post a few pics. First of all, this is a block of AAC, people also call it gas concrete. It is white, easy to break int pieces, and the most notable thing - it is not as heavy as you would expect it to be. [image]REMOVED As for the price... well if you find a vendor, it will probably sell it by the packs of several blocks... which is about all the AAC you'll need for a lifetime of shrooming. It is often dicarded in chunks around building areas, construction yars, etc. I got mine from a house rubble left over after a NATO airstrike. Anyway, you break it down into pieces of about 1cm in diameter or less, like this. [image]REMOVED I found a hammer to be too destructive, it turns it into powder. Use your hands, it is quite easy to fragment. Once you have the desired amount, let it sit in water for a few hours (2 is generaly enough), to soak. Shake it lightly from time to time, to remove the bubbles. Unlike vermiculite, it soaks slowly, but also keeps water longer. Pour out the water, and keep the wet AAC.
Then, eyeball the amount of brown rice flour, just like in PF tech. Mix it with wet AAC, and sterilize anyway you like. I nuked mine in the microwave for only 2 minutes, but it depends on the amount. Its always better to make several smaller cakes than one large.
After that, let it cool, and inoculate. I inoculated mine with a fragment of agar culture, but spores work aswell, and so does the les notorious "mushroom water". That's it. Here's where I'm at now, you can see the mycelium, the small white spot. Cute. [image]REMOVED
That's about it. Generaly it is a PF tech, only the adsorbent is different and takes more time to soak. What was I to do, I couldn't find any cheap vermiculite anywhere in my country.
-------------------- I've come to restore what they stole from you, cure the cold in you, reverse what was told to you!
Edited by Viper (04/24/07 04:57 AM)
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Viper
half man, half amazing



Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: Viper]
#6812697 - 04/20/07 11:18 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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Sorry about the size of those pics BTW...
And as for the styrofoam tech... well I'm not really proud of it. It does work, yes, but it takes more effort. Styrofoam is hydrophobic and must be watered often and that increases the risk of infection, yatee, yatee...
Maybe it is best to forget it, and wait for somebody else to rediscover it.
-------------------- I've come to restore what they stole from you, cure the cold in you, reverse what was told to you!
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newbie_shroomer
Stranger
Registered: 02/20/07
Posts: 185
Last seen: 10 years, 5 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: Viper]
#6819806 - 04/22/07 04:50 PM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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Oh them they are also called breeze blocks just incase anyone did not really know what AAC is like me.
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Viper
half man, half amazing



Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
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yeah, sorry.. I had trouble finding the right word so I used the one I found first. So, breeze blocks it is! AAC sounds wierd anyway.
-------------------- I've come to restore what they stole from you, cure the cold in you, reverse what was told to you!
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xjuan
chico nuevo


Registered: 02/15/07
Posts: 226
Loc: rocky mountains
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I think they're two different things. Breeze block is a term used in the UK for concrete masonry units - like cinderblocks in the US. Aerated autoclaved concrete is different. No big deal just fyi.
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Bridgeburner
Not spiritual at all.




Registered: 09/16/06
Posts: 20,010
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: xjuan]
#6821903 - 04/23/07 04:59 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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haha i had a huge load of those bricks around my back yard a few summers ago. do a full pic tutorial w/ results.
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Viper
half man, half amazing



Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
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Well, that's a problem, see. I won't start a new cake anytime soon, before I'm sure that this one works. Maybe sometime later I'll make a pictorial, but right now, all we can do is observe the results... I'll keep you posted, right now, the mycelium is progresig quite fine and promising.
-------------------- I've come to restore what they stole from you, cure the cold in you, reverse what was told to you!
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MasFina
Snow Shredder



Registered: 05/08/06
Posts: 788
Loc: Mountains
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: Viper]
#6822146 - 04/23/07 07:44 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Viper said: I got mine from a house rubble left over after a NATO airstrike.
So all we gotta do is wait for a NATO airstrike, sweet. Just kidding. Hope that wasn't in your own neighborhood.
-------------------- A Good Substrate: Poo With Extras Good Liquid Culture, Step by Step Timer Modification PM me if you are interested in buying 140ml syringes. $6 each + $7 shipping
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Viper
half man, half amazing



Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: MasFina]
#6822211 - 04/23/07 08:21 AM (16 years, 9 months ago) |
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Hehehe only good thing about NATO airstrikes is that they are so damn accurate. It was less than a kilometer away. And the building went down in 1999. No one cared about the rubble... until now!
-------------------- I've come to restore what they stole from you, cure the cold in you, reverse what was told to you!
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Viper
half man, half amazing



Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: Viper]
#7145122 - 07/08/07 03:26 AM (16 years, 7 months ago) |
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Hi everyone, it's me again! Just wanted to give some remarks about the long term use of AAC (aerated autoclaved concrete). I've been using it for about three months now, and I've made some adaptations to the tech. Here goes:
Again, break the AAC into small pieces, about 0,5-1cm (0.25-0.5inch) in diameter, make enough to fill the future container for mycelial growth (a jar or whatever, I use 0,3L polypropylene disposable party glasses). Anyway, let it soak overnight in enough water to cover it all, and add 50ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide, and mix. After all of this sits overnight and the concrete is soaked, pour out excess water. Mix this with BRF or whatever it is that you'll use as food. Pack into jars or glasses, and continue with the sterilization as usual.
Notes: I found some sorts of integral biscuits to be just as good as the brown rice flour. Also, rye flour is cool.
-------------------- I've come to restore what they stole from you, cure the cold in you, reverse what was told to you!
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figgusfiddus
Arrogant Worm


Registered: 02/02/07
Posts: 2,126
Loc: Figgus, Fiddia
Last seen: 15 years, 4 months
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Re: no vermiculite techs [Re: Viper]
#7145162 - 07/08/07 03:46 AM (16 years, 7 months ago) |
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Don't know anything else about this method, but don't use rye if you don't have a pressure cooker. Rye flour != BRf.
Wheat grains = endospores. They will fuck up your grow to no end. Otherwise, enjoy the tek, though I have no idea what he's talking about (as most laymen have no idea what vermiculite is).
Just a warning for steamer-reliant newbies.
-------------------- FGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDS FGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDS FGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDSFGSFDS
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illuminati
Strange


Registered: 06/17/07
Posts: 556
Loc: Aboard the T.A.R.D.I.S.
Last seen: 3 years, 5 months
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How is the speed of colonization versus a vermiculite/BRF cake?
-------------------- I didn't get turned on I just got turned I wasn't as aroused as I was concerned for each one of 'em I've hurt and every time I've been burned I've got a lot to teach but even more to learn
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