hi guys, I have no idea what I'm doing, don't even know how to fill this thing. Any tips on how to would be great. Also, I have no idea what the proper water level for a gridded perc and a tree perc are. thanks!
Anyway you could post a better pic? A lot of the smaller differences in water levels are personal preferences but generally for trees you wanna fill them with water (dump in from the top where the mouthpiece is) so the water level rests just above the top slit. For the stem (which looks almost like a waffle maybe?) there is more discrepancy on level but I fill mine with around a 1/2 inch of water above the perc. So judging by your picture you should lower your water in the bottom chamber by at least an inch.
tree perc: a hair (or maybe 2 or 3 hairs) above the topmost slit, so that it's completely covered by water. waffle: like, half an inch above the top of the waffle. you definitely need WAY less.
I filled it up as instructed. What I've noticed is when I fill the waffle up, and then suck, the water level drains from the stem and rises in the tube, and then the water level in the stem stays low while it stays high in the tube (around the perc). is this typical?
I have the same type almost and I can never get the water level above that top slit. the water keeps draining low