No Xstals on CIELO Test Run

[onward33]

Hi all - I hope it's ok to make a new thread on this. This is my first mesc xtractioon. I followed the CIELO instructions to a T, scaled down for 10g of cactus powder as a beginner test run. Everything seemed to go super smooth, looks right, good paste, no water or debris after 24 hour fridge rest. But I don't see any crystals after adding citric acid. I used a magnetic stirrer for 2 hours after initial salting, then after that I gave it 2 more hours since I didn't see any crystals. I then brought up the citric acid content to 20mg/g as per the FAQ in the Tek, and let the extract sit at room tempt for 24 more hours, and I still see nothing. I did not notice any film or goo after checking the sides of the extract jar either.

Any thoughts on what's happening? Is 10g too little to see any precipitation? I thought I'd get around 100mg or so. Should I try again with the full 100g of powder I've got ready to go? I don't want to waste my cactus powder, but I guess there's only one way to find out what will happen. Or should I wait a couple days with the test extract and see if anything comes out? I figured with the mag stirrer everything would crash out by now.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Transform]

Hi all - I hope it's ok to make a new thread on this. This is my first mesc xtractioon. I followed the CIELO instructions to a T, scaled down for 10g of cactus powder as a beginner test run. Everything seemed to go super smooth, looks right, good paste, no water or debris after 24 hour fridge rest. But I don't see any crystals after adding citric acid. I used a magnetic stirrer for 2 hours after initial salting, then after that I gave it 2 more hours since I didn't see any crystals. I then brought up the citric acid content to 20mg/g as per the FAQ in the Tek, and let the extract sit at room tempt for 24 more hours, and I still see nothing. I did not notice any film or goo after checking the sides of the extract jar either.

Any thoughts on what's happening? Is 10g too little to see any precipitation? I thought I'd get around 100mg or so. Should I try again with the full 100g of powder I've got ready to go? I don't want to waste my cactus powder, but I guess there's only one way to find out what will happen. Or should I wait a couple days with the test extract and see if anything comes out? I figured with the mag stirrer everything would crash out by now.

Thanks in advance.

Are you sure your cactus powder has any mescaline in it? Do you have any idea of its possible potency? If so, you should be able to work out the maximum possible yield from a given amount of cactus.

If your cactus is, perhaps, on the weak side - say, 0.3% or something - we would expect to see 30mg of freebase converting to about 60mg of monomescaline citrate, which isn't much but should be visible all the same. The magnetic stirrer would make the crystals very small - try shining a torch beam through the liquid and looking for sparkles.

I wonder if the moisture content of your solvent is holding on to the alkaloid salt, so maybe try placing it (tightly covered!) in the fridge, then possibly the freezer - but check for water droplets first. While you've already done the fridge rest, there's a possibility that the cold solvent may have subsequently picked up some atmospheric moisture.

 

[onward33]

Thanks Transform, I appreciate the thoughts. After 2-3 days, I was able to see a few small crystals floating around, but when I filtered them I wasn't able to recover much, not even measurable. I guess I wasn't positive the cactus is active since it's my first time buying from this source, but it is supposedly a bridgesii variety. I went ahead and did a whole 100g process, and after stirring and waiting 3 days, got goo/oil. I dissolved the goo in a warm 99% IPA bath and immediately turned milky white, and after less than an hour in the freezer can see a lot of crystals floating around. Im planning to let it sit in the freezer untill tomorrow. My next question is, how do I wash the crystals to make sure they're safe to consume? Do I just run the IPA through a double coffee filter to retrieve the crystals then rinse with cold IPA? If yes, do I use the same IPA I used to precip the crystals or do I need fresh ice cold IPA? Can I be sure it is safe to consume after washing with IPA or do I need to wash with new/clean/fresh ethyl acetate?

Thanks again for all the help and I appreciate how this site friendly to noobs.

 

[Transform]

Yeah, best get hold of a known active strain of live cactus and take things from there - then you have a mesc factory on your windowsill/in your flower bed. Otherwise you cannot guarantee that the cactus material was gathered with the sustainability of wild cactus populations in mind. In fact, our rules are not to mention purchasing anything other than live plants and seeds:

Attitude Page - DMT-Nexus Wiki

wiki.dmt-nexus.me

Granted, you didn't mention the source but please bear this in mind since cactus conservation is an important issue.

All the signs are that you'll have decently pure mesc citrate if you've followed the CIELO protocol. The final questions are a matter of what grade IPA you've used. Ideally it would be pharmaceutical grade. If that's the case, your IPA washes should be fine but beware of small losses. You might want to consider evaporating a bit of the IPA washings to see what residue there is. If it appears significant, you can evaporate (or, if you have the gear distill) the IPA and return the remnants to a subsequent extraction.

If your IPA was anything other than HPLC, food or pharma grade, the extra EA rinse would be a wise move.

 

[onward33]

Thanks so much. For what it's worth, it did come from a live plant from a source recommended to me, so I tried my best on the sustainability front and I now have my factory setup assuming it's active. Thanks for the reminder though. I'll try what you said and Im looking forward to the results and appreciate the feedback.

 

[Transform]

Thanks so much. For what it's worth, it did come from a live plant from a source recommended to me, so I tried my best on the sustainability front and I now have my factory setup assuming it's active. Thanks for the reminder though. I'll try what you said and Im looking forward to the results and appreciate the feedback.

Ah, great news Got a pic of your plant? That might help with getting an idea of the genetics.

Feed it with plenty of urine all summer (maybe not if it's on your windowsill, I dunno ) and it should be good and potent in time for the first harvest. If it's a true bridgesii, they're a bit more susceptible to diseases, if so ensure good ventilation and try to avoid splashback from the soil onto the stem when watering. They generally appreciate being outside, too. It's important only to introduce them to full sunlight fairly gradually so that sunburn can be avoided. [Yes, cacti can get sunburn!] and beware of slugs and snails if they're an issue in your region.

The other thing about potency is to store your cuts for a good month or more in the dark before drying. Because of how cactus metabolism works, this boosts mescaline formation.

That's enough pre-emptive/unsolicited advice - looking forward to updates and any further questions you may have

 

[onward33]

Human pee? For real? Haven't heard that one yet. In place of water or in addition to? How often how much? Love it.

 

[Transform]

Human pee? For real? Haven't heard that one yet. In place of water or in addition to? How often how much? Love it.

From time to time I give my plants about a quarter to half a normal urination's worth if I happen to get caught short in the greenhouse. If the pot stinks, hold off until it's toned down a bit, is the rule-of-thumb I've made up. In between times I just water as normal, and maybe include an extra trace element feed every six weeks or so. This may be how I got my PC pach to flower for the first time in 25 years of growing them. Hard to tell though

 

[onward33]

Does this look right? It's a little cakier than I epxected, but when crushed turns into a very fine powder. Ignore the eyelash Ill get that fucker outta there.

 

[Transform]

Does this look right? It's a little cakier than I epxected, but when crushed turns into a very fine powder. Ignore the eyelash Ill get that [blighter] outta there. View attachment 98842
View attachment 98843

Language, Timothy!

If that's with magnetic stirring, fine powder is pretty much to be expected. If you'd like bigger crystals, re-x of the powder from boiling IPA should do the trick.