Starters, Air-locks, and Hydrometers

[Reustonium]

Let me preface my post by saying I know airlocks are not a good indication of fermentation.

I just made a WY2206 starter yesterday, 1L on a stirplate (going to be stepped up to 2L).

This is my first time brewing a lager, so I'm not familiar with the fermentation, but I would expect that I would have some airlock activity in a 70deg starter after 24 hours no?

How can I tell if my starter is 'good'? I've never needed to take a gravity reading of a starter before (I've always seen the tell tales of fermentation). It smells good, but I trust that only slightly more than I trust the airlock.

What's my best bet for ensuring I get a good fermentation?

Any advice is welcome!
Thanks!

 

[Scimmia]

First off, airlocks have no place on starters. An airlock is meant to keep oxygen out, and you WANT oxygen in a starter.

Second, the reproductive phase of yeast growth isn't going to produce much, if any, CO2, so it's very possible that you got all the growth you're going to get without any airlock activity at all.