First time brew fermentation question

Hello everyone,

Just looking for a little help here, I know the topic has been discussed lots but here is my situation.

I have started fermenting my Festa Brew wheat on April 21st. Everything seems to be going ok but I want to transfer into a secondary to free up some space. When I opened up the container there were lots of tiny bubbles on the surface (which tells me that fermentation is still working away slowly?). My gravity reading is 1.018, the kit says that the final gravity should be between 1.009-1.018 depending on the product and yeast strain. I know that I should probably take another reading tomorrow and the day after to see where I am at...first brew nerves I guess??

My main concern is that the store I bought the starter kit from said that I do not need an airlock for the fermenter because of the layer of CO2, I don't want to oxygenate my brew If leave it in there after fermentation has stopped ( part of the reason I would like to transfer to my secondary). After reading on the forums a bit I realize that an airlock on the fermenter is the way to go and will do that on my next brew.

I took a sip of the sample and it tasted pretty good...a bit bland but maybe that is just my inexperience?

Wow any homebrew store who says no airlock I would have to question any advice they would give. I think you have some fermenting to go but it is fine t this point to transfer to secondary. If you secondary (don't have to) you can do it as soon as primary ferm slows and the krauzen drops, usually 5-7 days. But for simplicity I would leave in primary until bottling or kegging unless you want to free space, or dry hop, or age, or soak with fruit or wood, etc.

Home brew shop told you no air lock? What about a blow off tube in place of an air lock? No? I wouldn't go back there. I'm pretty new to this too, but at least I knew that much.

Rack it to a secondary and be sure it has an air lock. Glass fermenters, both primary and secondary, are beneficial so you may SEE the action going on. So you know when it's the right time to rack your brew. BUT, always have an air lock or blow off on the primary...secondary will need an air lock only.

No you really do not need a air lock. Lots of folks here just sit the lid on it or use tin foil for a bucket cover.

Just saying lots of roads into town and none of them wrong for the most part

You don't NEED no stinkin' airlock:

http://www.anchorbrewing.com/brewery/our_craft

To answer your question though once final gravity or most of the yeast have fallen you can rack to a clearing tank and free up your fermenter for another batch. Depending on the yeast this can be a week or more or less. I like to let the beer clear up fully before I bottle though.

You can leave it in the fermenter though for the whole time if you like as well. Myself if I am harvesting the yeast I rack it as soon as I can so I can get the yeast in the fridge and put to sleep faster. If I am not harvesting the yeast though I leave it in the fermenter the whole time.

Thanks everyone. At this point my main concern is that my secondary has an air lock. My fermenter is a pail with a lid and I'm afraid of oxygen getting to it if I leave it in there for a few weeks instead of racking....