Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello,
I have had my 350 gallon aquaponics system for about 3 years now. I am trying to limit supplementation by using worm tea.
The questions I have right now are regarding peoples use of worm tea. I have been brewing worm tea weekly to use as both a foliar spray and a soil drench. Is it necesary to sanitize all equipment between brewings? When I brew I notice that I have a white semi-transparent film floating in the tea. There is a smell to the tea, but nothing like I have ever experienced with anaerobic bacteria. My understanding is that if the tea and microbes are bad that I will not be able to stand the smell of the tea.

I use bagged worm castings, as well as some fresh material right out of my worm bin. I am adding brown sugar and kelp extract to the tea. I have read that the kelp can help to populate the fungal species in the tea, but I am not sure if the liquid extract I am using from KIS Organics is what the fungal species need or if they need something like dehydrated kelp meal. I put everything in a 5 gallon bucket with water from the aquaponics tank and use an air stone. After brewing the airstone and the submerged part of the hose are also covered in that semi-transparent slime.

I haven't been able to find much regarding troubleshooting worm tea or anything regarding specifics of it. All the available info just talks about how to brew, but very little to determine the quality of the tea.