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[/quote]Why would it if you aren't playing in it? Leave the fermenter closed and the co2 blanket takes care of that for you.[/quote]
Fair enough, but I usually like to rack the wash off the grain and most of the yeast to clear up, particular if It has to sit around for awhile before the run.

Tums is made out if Calcium Carbonate.

I've used those too with some success. I consider the oyster shell a lot easier.

tp

I put to big shells in my wash. Excited to see what happens and if my PH changes. Before the shells at the start of gen 3 the PH was about 3.5. I'll post results.

1965 wite wrote:I put to big shells in my wash. Excited to see what happens and if my PH changes. Before the shells at the start of gen 3 the PH was about 3.5. I'll post results.

Did you weigh them?

"What can I use for calcium carbonate"

In the drug section at Walmart.
You can buy a bottle containing 100 pills with 600mg of calcium carbonate for $3.79
It's next to the multivitamins and magnesium that yeast love, when being force fed a sugar wash.

TP, are you still employing the oyster shells for ph balancing? i used my sea shells this summer but still ran into slow ferments. my last batches tasted kinda funky. im thinking the yeast were unhappy. looking to start up some new batches pretty soon and want to be prepared. i might try lowering my backset to 15% and or skipping the backset every 2-3 gens. ill test with strips along the way to see what happens to the PH. Just wondering how the Oyster shells panned out for you

I still use them as a matter of course in all my ferments. Still no problems and I have no intention of changing unless for some weird reason the oyster shell does something weird. Maybe there's a difference between natural sea shell and processed oyster shell that we're not aware of. I dunno. It would be a quick ride to the pet or feed store and a few $$ to find out.

tp

Pickling Lime
Pickling Lime is Calcium Hydroxide, but a food-grade quality version of it with no impurities. Most Walmarts, Asian and Mex Grocery's sell the stuff by the bag.

But I will be trying the oyster shell.

mmmm.. oysters. think its time to make a run to the beach

T-Pee wrote:I still use them as a matter of course in all my ferments. Still no problems and I have no intention of changing unless for some weird reason the oyster shell does something weird. Maybe there's a difference between natural sea shell and processed oyster shell that we're not aware of. I dunno. It would be a quick ride to the pet or feed store and a few $$ to find out.

tp

how much are you adding per gallon of wash? do you add the same amount with each new generation?

I've used oyster shells "OS" in enough ferments to say it definitely works.
OS appears to be self correcting, according to my crappy papers the pH just stays around 5.
Sorry for the non scientific measurements, but a small palm full in a 15 gallon ferment is what I've been using.
There has always been a little bit of the OS left in the bottom of the fermenter.

is that a metric palm full?

1965 wite wrote:

T-Pee wrote:I still use them as a matter of course in all my ferments. Still no problems and I have no intention of changing unless for some weird reason the oyster shell does something weird. Maybe there's a difference between natural sea shell and processed oyster shell that we're not aware of. I dunno. It would be a quick ride to the pet or feed store and a few $$ to find out.

tp

how much are you adding per gallon of wash? do you add the same amount with each new generation?

Same as shadylane in a 10 gallon ferment. My pH tests are usually right about a 5 throughout the ferment.
There's still a bit left over usually so I add a bit more in generational ferments. Remember, it only acts when the pH drops. I don't think you can add too much within reason.

tp

1965 wite wrote:is that a metric palm full?

Cold morning Ozark Hillbilly palm full. Our units of measurement is variable.
But our shine is the best.