Ginger Bug confusion

[ELM73]

Hi all, looking forward to chatting with you & learning lots on your forum.

Just started fermenting this year & at the moment I'm struggling with a ginger bug.

There's so much info on the web that firstly I'm confused about whether a ginger bug should be covered or not.

I've tried doing both:

My first bug which I put a tight lid on bubbled over & out of the lid in a couple of days & then went flat. I've tried to revive it by removing some liquid, topping up with water and adding a tablespoon of sugar daily but no, it's still flat.

My other bug I left uncovered and it now has a white film on the top, some suggest it's yeast & either leave it & stir it in or, remove it. I stirred it in & there were a few bubbles that then disappeared but now there are white floaty bits in it. I've attached a few pictures here. Should I continue with this one or dump it in the bin?

Any help appreciated.

What I did to make my bug was:

Chopped up ginger with skin on (not organic ginger)
Added 2 tablespoons brown sugar (website I followed said that brown is more nutritious for the bug than white)
Topped up the jar 3/4 full with filtered tap water
My kitchen is around 27 degrees c

Then everyday I removed 2 tablespoons of liquid, gave 1 tablespoon of brown sugar & topped up with filtered tap water.

Where have I gone wrong? Should the bug be covered with a tight lid or covered with a cloth or left uncovered ??

Should I start over ?

[Christopher Weeks]

It's been a few years now since I brewed soda, but I cover mine with cloth. Were you stirring it thoroughly each time you added sugar?

[ELM73]

I have given it a stir, whether it was enough, I don't know. I've skimmed off the white today and given it a thorough stir so I'll see what it's like tomorrow.

I've since started another bug and covered loosely with a lid.

I'll keep trying until it works