50% humidity in inc chamber too high?

gnostic19 · 05-13-09, 00:31

I have an incubation chamber with 50% humidity. I have 1 half pint BRF jar that is about 75% colonized after 1 month sitting in there. I kinda think the jar is stalling, but i'm more concerned with the high humidity and long incubation period causing a contam issue. Should i be worried? One person on another forum told me to open up inc chamber a bit, but won't this introduce contams? I have dogs so kinda dusty around here, even though it's in a closet sealed off with a curtain (not a door).

johnnydigital · 05-13-09, 00:36

What is your incubator setup like? Humidity shouldn't play a factor in incubation because the jars are supposed remain sealed if your using the PFTek, which it sounds like you are. Temperature is the most important variable in this phase.

Especially if you only have 1 half pint jar in your incubator, it shouldn't be putting off that much humidity...

shroom31 · 05-13-09, 00:38

The humidity in the IC shouldnt be a problem though its better to not have it but everything should be fine. u could always put some damprid or something like that in a bowl and put it inside the IC. good luck

gnostic19 · 05-13-09, 00:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnydigital

What is your incubator setup like? Humidity shouldn't play a factor in incubation because the jars are supposed remain sealed if your using the PFTek, which it sounds like you are. Temperature is the most important variable in this phase.

I'm using a titub set up, with aquarium heater. Temp is 78. I have one hole in the top of tub for temp gauge. I have two other jars (yes, they are all brftek) that are clueless after a month. Ironically, i have two other jars that i am incubating in an insulated lunch bag in the closet that are going at 50%. Different strain, but inoc at same time as others.

johnnydigital · 05-13-09, 00:48

I doubt the incubator humidity is stalling your jars, but if you don't see any signs of contamination in your jars (funky colors like blue, green or pink), I'd let them ride. Have you successfully incubated BRF jars before in this setup? Do you put any additives in your recipe?

shroom31 · 05-13-09, 00:50

contams usually occur at the higher end of 80's like 87+ per se. they could be taking so long since its a little under the "perfect" condition (86) but 82-3 should speed them up.

gnostic19 · 05-13-09, 00:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnydigital

I doubt the incubator humidity is stalling your jars, but if you don't see any signs of contamination in your jars (funky colors like blue, green or pink), I'd let them ride. Have you successfully incubated BRF jars before in this setup? Do you put any additives in your recipe?

This is my first go ever. Just Verm and brf in plastic jars.

stimpy · 05-13-09, 00:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnostic19

I have an incubation chamber with 50% humidity. I have 1 half pint BRF jar that is about 75% colonized after 1 month sitting in there. I kinda think the jar is stalling, but i'm more concerned with the high humidity and long incubation period causing a contam issue. Should i be worried? One person on another forum told me to open up inc chamber a bit, but won't this introduce contams? I have dogs so kinda dusty around here, even though it's in a closet sealed off with a curtain (not a door).

Contamination should be the least of your concerns. If you have a 1/4 to 1/2 inch. dry verm filter in ur cake jar, theres a very small chance of it getting contammed by any outside things. I just use micropore tape , one little strip on the holes in grain jars. I smoke at least a pack a day, not 3 feet from my incubator. I have 2 dogs. Im too lazy to clean the room. Nothing gets contammed. Dont be so protective of it, or you will fuck it up.

edit: if it takes a month or more for a half pint brf cake to colonize, then something is probably up. It doesnt take that long for my jars even un-incubated. There's a chance your cake is contammed already. It is not from outside spores as long as you used the dry verm filter, or some tyvek or micropore properly. It would more likely be from something already inside the jar, or if you used dirty spores or dirty syringe to inoculate it. If you get your syringes fronm sporeworks they are clean all the time. If you got a print from a trade, it more than likely would need to be cleaned on agar before you can mess with it on spawn.

gnostic19 · 05-13-09, 01:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by shroom31

contams usually occur at the higher end of 80's like 87+ per se. they could be taking so long since its a little under the "perfect" condition (86) but 82-3 should speed them up.

I had it up to 82 at first but after 2 weeks nothing, so i lowered it. Also, i was told that temp inside jars is 4 degrees higher than external temp, so i lowered it to 78. Also, since it started to colonize at 78 i figured i'd let it stay there. Should i raise temp?

gnostic19 · 05-13-09, 01:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by stimpy

Contamination should be the least of your concerns. If you have a 1/4 to 1/2 inch. dry verm filter in ur cake jar, theres a very small chance of it getting contammed by any outside things. I just use micropore tape , one little strip on the holes in grain jars. I smoke at least a pack a day, not 3 feet from my incubator. I have 2 dogs. Im too lazy to clean the room. Nothing gets contammed. Dont be so protective of it, or you will fuck it up.

yeah, i put micropore tape over inoc holes. And there is a layer of dry verm on top. Are you saying this in reference to the idea of opening up inc chamber, or just commenting in general?

johnnydigital · 05-13-09, 01:09

The temperature is fine at 78 degrees. I usually run mine a teeny bit hotter, but 78 is well within the happy zone. If I were you, I'd let them ride at the current temperature and just check for contamination. Sometimes they just take a while.

I forgot to ask, is it not colonizing in a particular spot? Like, the bottom? Sometimes if you dont get your water content right, it will be too soggy and they will stall, this mostly happens on the bottom.

Good Luck!!

gnostic19 · 05-13-09, 01:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnydigital

The temperature is fine at 78 degrees. I usually run mine a teeny bit hotter, but 78 is well within the happy zone. If I were you, I'd let them ride at the current temperature and just check for contamination. Sometimes they just take a while.

I forgot to ask, is it not colonizing in a particular spot? Like, the bottom? Sometimes if you dont get your water content right, it will be too soggy and they will stall, this mostly happens on the bottom.

Good Luck!!

Mainly not colonizing along the bottom quarter of the side of part of the jar. About half of the bottom is colonized.

I just set up my first brf tek jar of my own with verm i got at the store. This verm has smaller parts compared to verm used in current jars (that ai got from a a vendor). I did notice that the bottom of my jar has some wetter parts than sides of jar. Hope it's not a problem. Next time i need to filter my verm.

johnnydigital · 05-13-09, 01:20

I would bet that its a water issue if
a) the bottom is wetter
b) the 'wet' bottom parts aren't colonizing.

What you can do, and I have done this successfully with cakes as little as 80% colonized, is to birth the cake once it completely stalls and run it under cold tap water, taking your hand and washing off ALL of the uncolonized part of the cake. If the uncolonized part is big, you may have to just cut it off once you birth it. Then, put it in your fruiting chamber and hope it fruits. I would let it ride tho until your certain its stalled... it shouldn't hurt it. I hope this helps with your situation.... good luck!

stimpy · 05-13-09, 02:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnostic19

yeah, i put micropore tape over inoc holes. And there is a layer of dry verm on top. Are you saying this in reference to the idea of opening up inc chamber, or just commenting in general?

If you have micropore and a dry verm layer, take the micropore off. Use one or the other, or gas exchange will be hindered, that is probably why it is taking so long.

You should never have to worry about if your incubator is opened or not. Most of the time i just let jars colonize on a plane shelf, they are exposed to light and smoke all day long. Lots of people do this. Air tight conditions for growing cubensis will = stalling and contams. Do not do it.

shroom31 · 05-13-09, 13:24

my first jars took about 2 months to fully colonize and they were around 82ish in the IC. I would just wait it out and see what happens. Thats the hardest part of this hobby is the waiting game but in the end its worth it.

gnostic19 · 05-14-09, 00:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by stimpy

If you have micropore and a dry verm layer, take the micropore off. Use one or the other, or gas exchange will be hindered, that is probably why it is taking so long.

You should never have to worry about if your incubator is opened or not. Most of the time i just let jars colonize on a plane shelf, they are exposed to light and smoke all day long. Lots of people do this. Air tight conditions for growing cubensis will = stalling and contams. Do not do it.

I think you're right, cause i have two jars on the shelf vs one in the chamber that are colonizing. Th thing about the micropore...i had three other jars in the chamber w/o tape over the holes and those are the ones that weren't growing. Coincidence...maybe, but i think i'll leave it on. Maybe, though, since there is some growth going now would be the time to let it breathe some more. The lid is loose as heck though...so there is some transfer of air going on.

I did check it today and the bottom is 80% colonized. I think when i open up lid to check it grows a bit faster.

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05-13-09, 00:31	#1 (permalink)
gnostic19 Mycophage Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 171	50% humidity in inc chamber too high? I have an incubation chamber with 50% humidity. I have 1 half pint BRF jar that is about 75% colonized after 1 month sitting in there. I kinda think the jar is stalling, but i'm more concerned with the high humidity and long incubation period causing a contam issue. Should i be worried? One person on another forum told me to open up inc chamber a bit, but won't this introduce contams? I have dogs so kinda dusty around here, even though it's in a closet sealed off with a curtain (not a door).

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05-13-09, 00:36	#2 (permalink)
johnnydigital Former Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 713	What is your incubator setup like? Humidity shouldn't play a factor in incubation because the jars are supposed remain sealed if your using the PFTek, which it sounds like you are. Temperature is the most important variable in this phase. Especially if you only have 1 half pint jar in your incubator, it shouldn't be putting off that much humidity...

05-13-09, 00:38	#3 (permalink)
shroom31 Mycophage Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 147	The humidity in the IC shouldnt be a problem though its better to not have it but everything should be fine. u could always put some damprid or something like that in a bowl and put it inside the IC. good luck

05-13-09, 00:48	#5 (permalink)
johnnydigital Former Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 713	I doubt the incubator humidity is stalling your jars, but if you don't see any signs of contamination in your jars (funky colors like blue, green or pink), I'd let them ride. Have you successfully incubated BRF jars before in this setup? Do you put any additives in your recipe?

05-13-09, 00:50	#6 (permalink)
shroom31 Mycophage Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 147	contams usually occur at the higher end of 80's like 87+ per se. they could be taking so long since its a little under the "perfect" condition (86) but 82-3 should speed them up.

05-13-09, 01:09	#11 (permalink)
johnnydigital Former Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 713	The temperature is fine at 78 degrees. I usually run mine a teeny bit hotter, but 78 is well within the happy zone. If I were you, I'd let them ride at the current temperature and just check for contamination. Sometimes they just take a while. I forgot to ask, is it not colonizing in a particular spot? Like, the bottom? Sometimes if you dont get your water content right, it will be too soggy and they will stall, this mostly happens on the bottom. Good Luck!!

05-13-09, 01:20	#13 (permalink)
johnnydigital Former Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 713	I would bet that its a water issue if a) the bottom is wetter b) the 'wet' bottom parts aren't colonizing. What you can do, and I have done this successfully with cakes as little as 80% colonized, is to birth the cake once it completely stalls and run it under cold tap water, taking your hand and washing off ALL of the uncolonized part of the cake. If the uncolonized part is big, you may have to just cut it off once you birth it. Then, put it in your fruiting chamber and hope it fruits. I would let it ride tho until your certain its stalled... it shouldn't hurt it. I hope this helps with your situation.... good luck!

05-13-09, 13:24	#15 (permalink)
shroom31 Mycophage Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 147	my first jars took about 2 months to fully colonize and they were around 82ish in the IC. I would just wait it out and see what happens. Thats the hardest part of this hobby is the waiting game but in the end its worth it.