[DendroMan420]

Hey guys, im having problems with the Hydei cultures i made last week, I started using a different media recipe and it works great. The one i used before had too many organic ingredients and would always mold. Now im using a recipe that someone told me on this site but i don't know exactly how many ingredients to add.
It was working great for the first couple months but i think i screwed something up this time i made them. This is the recipe i follow;

2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups brewers yeast
Mix 2/1 water to vinegar
2 cups potato flakes
2 tbsp cinnamon

I also microwave the excelsior and the cultures and then put the bakers yeast on afterwards.

I only make 4 cultures every 3 weeks so I add less then 2 cups because i don't need any more. The last times i made this media, all of the fruit fly cultures were thriving but the 4 i have now is more then 2 weeks old and all of the fruitflies and larvae are dead.
Can anyone tell me the correct measurements for this recipe, I also need to know how much water and vinegar you should add to 1 or 2 cups of this media. Thanks.

 

[Pumilo]

Recipe looks suspect to me. Sounds like a bad translation of a Carolina base. With 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of yeast, it seems like it should have at least 6 cups of potato flakes. And it sounds like too much sugar. Drop the sugar to one cup. Increase the potato to 6 cups.
Your water should be mixed about 50/50 with the vinegar.
When mixing dry with wet, start with about 1/2 cup dry media mixed with 1/2 cup water/vinegar mix. If it's drying out too fast mix a little more water in next time. If it's too wet and mushy and your flies are quickly drowning, add more dry.

 

[Ed]

That much sugar probably translated into a massive CO2 pulse if the culture was kept warm.

Ed

 

[Pumilo]

That much sugar probably translated into a massive CO2 pulse if the culture was kept warm.

Ed

Ahh, mass suffocation. CO2 sinks so the vent holes really didn't matter with that much being produced.

 

[DendroMan420]

Thanks for your reply pumilio, ill try that out. I just went to the store to pick up more ingredients, ill drop the sugar to 1 cup, 2 cups brewers, and 6 cups potato flakes. wouldnt 6 cups be too much if your only making 4 cultures?

 

[Ed]

Thanks for your reply pumilio, ill try that out. I just went to the store to pick up more ingredients, ill drop the sugar to 1 cup, 2 cups brewers, and 6 cups potato flakes. wouldnt 6 cups be too much if your only making 4 cultures?

You can premix the dry ingredients and store them that way.. I make up several months worth at a time so all I have to do is measure out what I need for the cultures I'm going to make at the moment and add water.

Ed

 

[Pumilo]

Aren't you going to need more next week? I mix up a BIG batch of dry ingredients. I keep about 10 or 12 cups ready in a tupperware. I package the rest into 10 or 12 cup seal-a-meal freezer packs. Now I'm good for about 6 months.

 

[tim13]

Thanks for your reply pumilio, ill try that out. I just went to the store to pick up more ingredients, ill drop the sugar to 1 cup, 2 cups brewers, and 6 cups potato flakes. wouldnt 6 cups be too much if your only making 4 cultures?

Just mix up all your dry ingredients in a tupperware container and whenever you make cultures just measure out a half cup or a third cup whichever you use. Also, a tablespoon of applesauce to each culture has really helped keep mine moist for the duration. I also find that my Hydeis do better with a higher percentage of brewer's yeast than I would use for Melanogaster.

 

[tim13]

Get you one of these, they are great:

 

[Pumilo]

I also find that my Hydeis do better with a higher percentage of brewer's yeast than I would use for Melanogaster.

That's true but 2 cups of yeast in a 9 cup recipe is already quite a bit. If it was just for Melonos you could probably drop the yeast down to only one cup.
I might try your applesauce idea.

 

[DendroMan420]

Alright, thanks for the help, i wasnt sure on how to store the media so thats what ill start doing. I have some applesauce so i think ill try that out too, I got melonos today so ill use 1 cup of brewers and ill make new batch when i get some hydeis.