Blueberry Melomel air lock reversed?

I'm a noob and this will be my 3rd batch ever and this time the bubbling has stopped two weeks in the secondary and it's about to suck into it's self… it's looking like it might be a disaster, someone please help. I'm hoping I can save it before it does suck air.
It was bubbling very nice for two weeks. I'm hoping it's the seasons changing that's causing this? We had it pretty warm in here for winter now it's starting to warm up outside and the windows are open causing it to cool off in here a bit. That's the only thing I could think that would be causing this to happen. I did use a few different ingredients this time like pectin, and yeast energizer but I don't see this causing this kind of reaction as I have followed directions from a recipe. There is quite a bit of sediment at the bottom this time because I used winemakers blueberry pulp.
Should I pop the air locks? And throw more wine yeast in? I have one step sanitized water in the air locks so I should just let it suck into itself and hope it comes back to life?
Oh yeah I forgot I was going for a sweeter less dry batch this time. Should I measure the gravity? I just got a mead hydrometer and maybe this would be a good time to use it. Maybe it's time to rack it off?


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Maybe I needed more head room? I'm not real proficient with the terminology quite yet either, obviously.
My first batch was straight up mead which turned out amazing and was made as traditional as i could do it. I couldn't get that African wood which was the only ingredient missing, I used an orange instead. My second batch was a blackberry Melomel which I used a closed bucket with an airlock for the primary and only used Camden tablets, spelled wrong I'm sure and that again turned out amazing and went the month in the secondary still bubbling before putting potassium sorbate in and bottling it which I'm on the fence about using because I'm not sure about the pros and cons of it yet. I wanted this batch to ferment for a bit longer but was hoping to get a sweeter taste and less dry. So maybe it's fin and ready to be bottled. Which is why I used a wine yeast compared to the champaign yeast that was used for my blackberry Mel which turned out dry.


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Just pop the airlocks to release the internal vacuum....

if the head space is minimal there's the possibilty that changes in atmospheric pressure might pull some of the airlock liquid in......

Also if you only ever use a liquid in the airlock that isn't gonna harm the batch then its not gonna be an issue..... I use water, with a piece of campden tablet, but vodka is good to as long as you keep your eye on the levels as it'll evaporate. Some even use glycerin if there's no outward off gassing.......

How long has it been fermenting?

if it has gotten colder, it'll cause a vaccuum and suck back everything.
However, with the s shaped airlocks, if you have it to the "level" it shows on them, it shouldn't suck anything into the carboy itself. thats what those are known for.
HTH!

Also, I wouldn't rack it based on how it looks. Some more time will help to settle more gunk to the bottom, which will mean more mead for you.

1. Temperature - if the temperature is 80 on day 1 and the airlock is level, and 50 on day 2, the airlock will be sucking back in as the air inside condenses.
2. Pressure, although I doubt it would cause a huge difference, if there is no active fermentation, and pressure is constant inside the vessel on a 'low-pressure' day, and a high pressure day comes in, you could see it reverse.
3. Chemical reactions/oxidation - as CO2 & O2 (and other reactive gases) get dissolved into the the brew, they are going to cause chemical reactions, essentially removing them from the gas head space, causing a vacuum.

I would (complete guess) guess that they are in that order of importance, as well.

I just got an email notification today. I didn't realize I had this many responses.
Yeah I'm pretty sure the atmosphere and temp had everything to do with this. I was just wondering more about air getting in there but it's fine now as it has warmed up again and the airlock is bubbling in the right direction again.
It's been going for two weeks now. I'll rack it in another two weeks. I've noticed the "gunk" is starting to settle more. I can't wait to try this batch.



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The reason I thought this would be a disaster was because I tried making cider before and it stopped around the same time and turned into vinegar or rather something that smells of feet.


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