So I've been having trouble with thick-light's tek even though I followed it as closely to how he did it. The first pull that I did went okay. The naphtha was clear and the emulsions settled quickly. After decanting the naphtha it was very cloudy which was great. Then it grew some nice needle like x-tals. So that was cool, but then strange things began to occur.

When I added the clean naphtha to the based solution it didn't separate like the first one. I let it sit for a while and it still didn't separate. So i got over it and called it a day and left it for the night. In the morning when I came back there was a nice amount of crystals growing on the top of the lye solution and below the naphtha.

This is strange since this didn't happen last time I extracted. The strange part though is that the crystals were growing on some kind of thick layer of, idk something crusty. The layer was only half a centimeter thick and floating. So I scraped it out and put it in a mason jar so i can try to extract it.

The only problem I can think of is that I separated the original lye bark solution into half. So out of 1500 ml I put 750 ml in my glass mason jar because the HDPE makes it too hard to see the layers for decanting.

So these are my questions.

1. Why did the naphtha separate quickly the first time and not the second? BTW the first one was shaken and it separated quickly and completely. Then it sat for a while. Then a couple days later I tried to pull and it wouldn't separate.
2. Why is there a crusty layer forming? The crusty layer is obviously mixed with the base solution. but what is it?
3. IF the crusty layer is dmt x-tals then how would I go about extracting the dmt from the crusty solution?
If somebody could be nice enough to help me out I would greatly appreciate it since this is really starting to be discouraging. Thanks.

First place to visit is the FAQ, it's called an emulsion and all your answers how to deal with it are there

Ill have to check that out. I know I should have done more searching but I was having a hard time finding anything really useful so thanks for being polite

WEll...after reading up on emulsions and how to fix them I'm starting to think think this is not an emulsion problem. When I saw crystals growing on top of the crusty layer I figured I scoop them out of the base solution and extract them separately. So I did and after I pulled with naphtha there were a minimal amount of crystals left. All that was left was this weird goo that wouldn't mix with water and is really sludgy and the base solution. And when I pulled from the scooped "emulsion" in a separate jar there was no emulsion like before. All I did was add water to the scooped emulsion and the naphtha separated easily. But when I freeze precipitated barely any crystals formed even though there were plenty in the jar before pulling with naphtha!!! So this is really starting to bug me. When i went and added salt and more lye to my original base solution jar, the naphtha still doesn't separate and its colored strongly red just like before even though its sat for a day. So I'm wondering still, WTF is going on?!! I've tried with what the wiki and everybody says to fix emulsions and none of it worked. The only thing I can think of is the fact I'm using Acacia Confusa root bark. AM I going to have to pull the dark naphtha and be forced to do a mini A/B?
I really dont want to do that since im already having a heck of a time doing the first A/B. Does anybody have any information or directions as to fixing this problem?

EDIT:Nvm i just added more water and it worked. sorry for the dumb post.