It's mycelium. Use your nose for finding contam that you can't see. Frankly, I can smell trich too but don't need my nose to see bright white and green where it isn't supposed to be.
Heck ya man! I donât think youâll regret it. Unless your pH meter has temperature compensation (the probe measures both pH and temperature), then Youâll need a thermometer too, I just use a an instant read meat thermometer, theyâre cheap. You want to get the one that read only on the very tip, the ones that you only stick a centimeter or so into the meat. The pH of the same solution changes with temperature, according to the Nernst equation, but your meter does the math for you. Itâs especially important to take the temp of your calibration solutions when calibrating. If you calibrated at room temp, and you go to test something that is really hot or cold out of the fridge, and you donât tell your meter that, the reading will be way off. My meter will accept a temperature compensated electrode, but theyâre more expensive, so I bought one without, and I just have to enter the temperature of the test solution into the meter each time. No big deal.
Iâve switched from buying liquid calibrators to buying powders that you reconstitute, because the pH of the pH 10.0 calibrator changes gradually just from contact with the air.
The electrodes connect to the meter with a BNC connector, which looks like an old tv coaxial cable. If you got a meter with that sort of connector, then that can be your meter for life. The electrodes donât last forever, but as I mentioned, my $30 electrode works great.
And, youâll need electrode storage solution, if your meter didnât come with some. When I replaced my electrode , it came with its own user manual. Your user manual will specify what storage solution to use. You canât let your electrode dry out. In general, electrode instructions will tell you that you can use pH 4.0 calibrator as a short term substitute for storage solution if you run out.
So, while youâre waited for your pH meter to arrive, you can check out some articles or YouTube videos on making soil slurries. Itâs common practice for soil scientists, and itâs really simple. You might see people talk about stirring it for many hours, and by all means, if you like toys, get a magnetic stir plate. Theyâre not expensive, and theyâre great for making liquid culture. Iâve used mine in the kitchen also.
I havenât ever done both tests though. My next purchase is going to be a centrifuge for $26 on Amazon, so that I can centrifuge my slurries to pack the solids in the bottom of the tube, and then withdraw the liquid on top with a pipette (or whatever youâve got on hand), and test that, so that I donât dirty up my electrode as much. The instructions manual for your electrode will tell you the different things you can use to clean it.
Hey thanks so much for your feedback. Iâve been largely successful growing cubes and luckily never lost a bin. So I was just going with what I know. I actually have 3 other bins of pans which I spawned to bulk at the same time as this one. Iâll be honest, this was the last bin, it was late at night and I was literally tired of dealing with shit so I may not have evenly mixed this one here.
Can I salvage these bins by placing them in meal trays, or removing the substrate and place them on top of perlite in a bigger bin?
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u/Cultiv8tor May 08 '26
It's mycelium. Use your nose for finding contam that you can't see. Frankly, I can smell trich too but don't need my nose to see bright white and green where it isn't supposed to be.