WHAT CAN I DO????????

[shirleey22]

HELLO! Yes i’m screaming because i’m desperate! I collected a sample of lichen and moss from a mango tree and i dipped it in water for days...like 4 days... water turned brown and it developed a really bad smell. i took out the moss and lichen and left the water there. i have it outside with no direct sunlight reaching it because i saw Oliver’s video of how to store water samples...
is the smell normal? is it indicating something?
in need of discarding the water sample in the future, what’s best for me to do, drip it in the soil or a near pond? i wouldn’t like to flush it, i know i will develop a sort of affection for any microbe i encounter, but i also know and understand that doing whatever will harm some microorganisms.

[DrPhoxinus]

I am a hay infusion guy myself, using dry grass in water waiting about a week. Some people use baker's yeast as well as grass.
It is important to leave things uncovered as decomposition is going to use oxygen and anaerobic conditions are not that interesting. If you can set up a series of jars with varying amounts of plant matter and you will get a feel for the right amount. Too much and things go anaerobic, too and and protozoa won't be dense enough.

you might try rinsing out some palm crevices or bromeliads. The hunt can be a lot of fun, and like science it doesn't always work.

Gerard

[Hobbyst46]

Shirley, live matter, for example proteins, consists of compounds of nitrogen, sulfur, and other elements.
In the infusion, bacteria start to multiply and decompose the organic matter. The products of decomposition are, unfortunately, smelly vapors and gases, a mixture of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other more complex and even less pleasant vapors. That is how nature indicates that a dead organism (protist or larger animal) is there, as an invitation to some other animals and rejection sign for others.
All infusions, and algae in particular, in closed jars, stink within a few days. They may survive longer in the fridge.

[shirleey22]

I am a hay infusion guy myself, using dry grass in water waiting about a week. Some people use baker's yeast as well as grass.
It is important to leave things uncovered as decomposition is going to use oxygen and anaerobic conditions are not that interesting. If you can set up a series of jars with varying amounts of plant matter and you will get a feel for the right amount. Too much and things go anaerobic, too and and protozoa won't be dense enough.

you might try rinsing out some palm crevices or bromeliads. The hunt can be a lot of fun, and like science it doesn't always work.

Gerard

so i should leave the jar uncovered? okay checked! and thank you for that advice, i will try it out! also, what’s “hay infusion”? i’ve heard of it but never gave it the much importance until now that i see it everywhere.

[shirleey22]

Shirley, live matter, for example proteins, consists of compounds of nitrogen, sulfur, and other elements.
In the infusion, bacteria start to multiply and decompose the organic matter. The products of decomposition are, unfortunately, smelly vapors and gases, a mixture of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other more complex and even less pleasant vapors. That is how nature indicates that a dead organism (protist or larger animal) is there, as an invitation to some other animals and rejection sign for others.
All infusions, and algae in particular, in closed jars, stink within a few days. They may survive longer in the fridge.

I thought about that “putting it in the fridge” part, but my mom would kill me if i ever do that lol. is it safe to cover it over night and then uncover it the whole day? I’m really stressing out with this, i mean, storing samples in general..

[Hobbyst46]

Perhaps, if you store small sample jars in a 1 Qt or so LockLock container in the fridge, your family will accept it.
Anyway, it is impossible to store live organisms in a static status. The organism is under constant development, cells divide and other cells die;
some folks, on this forum, describe purposely kept "natural environments" that are simply left on their own. After some time, the ecosystem can stabilize, without over-offensive smells.
Or, you can place them in open jars, and cover with a very dense mesh, to keep insects out; or inverted petri dishes over the jar, to allow aeration and protect against mosquitoes, etc. The jars are placed on a window shelf, outside the apartment, in free air.
Charlie Guevara, for example, has extensive knowledge and experience about such ecosystems.

[Mraster2]

is it indicating something?

in need of discarding the water sample in the future, what’s best for me to do, drip it in the soil

As others have said, anaerobic decomposition !
Un-covered is good, but other stuff will drop into it, better is to keep it under a shelter or shade, but somewhat open to the air.
Even better is to bubble air through it to keep it aerated, as hobby fish keepers do in their tanks.
Hay infusions* are also something that fish keepers do, it makes a culture of bacteria (sometimes smelly initially) that tiny infusoria** feed and grow on, which can then be fed to the hatching eggs of the pet fish.
And can also be examined by hobby microscopists

To dispose : pour on soil and the aerobic bacteria in the soil will soon eliminate the smell, thus leading to harmony with your mum

* EDIT later :
http://www.microbehunter.com/how-can-i- ... -infusion/

** and another edit later still:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infusoria
Infusoria is a collective term for minute aquatic creatures such as ciliates, euglenoids, protozoa, unicellular algae and small invertebrates that exist in freshwater ponds.

[DrPhoxinus]

Here is a hay infusion video

https://thehappyscientist.com/content/m ... y-infusion

[shirleey22]

wow thank you all for these advices! definitely will try. I hope you all are safe under all this quarantine...!

[MicroBob]

Hi Shirley,
the development of such a water sample can be quite different and you have some means to influence it. What is sure is that it will continue to develop so you won't just keep what you have. When the mixture of living plants and animals is right the sample can even survive alive in a closed jar for 25 years.

You could set up little pond aquaria that live very well and don't smell: http://www.mikrohamburg.de/Tips/SCHERREN-GESAMT.pdf
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=8783&p=75882&hilit ... ium#p75882
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6605&p=59053&hilit ... ium#p59053
A volume of one liter is already enough. It might be impossible to find an object again after releasing it into such a pond aquarium though.

When you collect a sample withought thought to this the material should be used within hours, max 1 day.

Bob