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DIY Yeast Disaster
I should have known I was jinxing myself when I said "the worst
that could happen in my champagne yeast plus nutrients
experiment was that I'd have to start a new bottle sooner than
hoped." Wrong.
I had added malt extract to the basic yeast formulation, hoping to
turbo charge the yeast CO2 production over a longer period of time.
In a day or so, a whole lot of foam was produced in the bottle, far
more than I'd ever seen before. I figured this idea was really
working! But before long, things seemed awry in the tank. The
plants were not doing so well. A funny brownish film covered the
front of the tank (I haven't had an algae problem in years, and with
4 watts/gal, brown algae didn't seem likely). After about a week
and a half, fish began to die. I lost 4 cardinals, one serpae, and
one oto in the space of 3 days. One of the rummynoses developed
what looks to be a tumor. The foam still persisted in the DIY
bottle, but little gas was being produced anymore. I pulled the
bottle, poured out the contents, and found that it was all slimey
gunk rather than the usual liquid. It didn't smell foul, but it wasn't
right.
I am guessing that the extra nutrients in the culture allowed
bacteria to compete with the yeast, and that they were producing
some undesirable gas which damaged the tank chemistry. I've got
a new bottle of yeast going sans malt extract, and it is bubbling
normally. The ugly brown film is gone, the plants are growing, the
fish are not dying. I don't think I'll mess with the basic formula
again.
Has anyone else had problems with contamination in their yeast
set-ups?
Cathy Hartland
in Maryland where spring blossoms lighten the heart, and the rivers
are calling to kayakers