Scoby Health Check Please

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pawleysplayr

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First attempt at Kombucha. Ordered a starter and began with a 1 gallon container.
After some time...upped it to this 2+ gal container.
pH has been stuck at about 4 for quite a while....my bad for a high starting pH I think...temps have been relatively low tho also....69-70 degF til recently. Now more like 70-72 degF.
Starting to get some odd bubbles on the side and those stingers running down in the middle seem worrisome.
Infection?
 

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Looks pretty healthy to me. Do a web search for "healthy kombucha scoby photos" and look at some of the pictures. A healthy SCOBY can take a lot of different looks.
Ty for the reply. Did the search as suggested....some of the images are pretty gnarly. Good to know it's probably not infected.
I guess the pH will drop in time.
I have another 1 gallon container. I think I will get another batch going from this one....adjusting the initial pH lower and see what happens.
 
I just noticed in your first photo you have the glass lid on your container.

When fermenting Kombucha you have to leave the container open to air. The lactic acid bacteria require oxygen to do their thing. Just use a tight weave piece of fabric over the top with a rubber band to keep flies and other visitors out.
 
I just noticed in your first photo you have the glass lid on your container.

When fermenting Kombucha you have to leave the container open to air. The lactic acid bacteria require oxygen to do their thing. Just use a tight weave piece of fabric over the top with a rubber band to keep flies and other visitors out.
Good catch. It's not a seal lid, so I didn't think is would stop gas exchange too much. It did finally reach pH 3.5 and I will bottle leaving 20% in the container, dispose of the pellicle and recharge with tea/sugar.
This time as you suggest I will use a nylon mesh cover instead of the lid to see if that speeds the process.
Anything else you suggest I do?
 
I don't dispose of my pellicles. You can set it on a clean plate while bottling and refilling and then float it back on top. It will get thicker with each successive batch of Kombucha and eventually you will need to peel off the top layer and compost/discard it. You can also peel off old layers to start additional batches of Kombucha along with 16 oz. of starter tea (strong kombucha).
 
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