Hi Dirk,
First you should step in the New Inmate Processing Area section and introduce yourself to everyone.
The humidity at which you store cigars comes down to personal preference. This seems to range from 60-70%. I like to keep mine at 65% as they seem to age well and smoke well. I have a couple questions to help provide better input.
-Have you calibrated your hygrometer?
-How often does the humidity change?
-Is it only after opening and closing or it fluctuates that much throughout the day on its own while being closed the entire time?
-How old is the humidor?
-Was it seasoned?
- Did it hold humidity while seasoning?
I would get rid of the crystals and get some beads. There is a sticky thread in this section that tells you everything you need to know about beads. I had an electronic humidor and the beads would help level out the humidity and keep it consistent at 65%. I ended up getting more beads and ditching it but lots of people use them with beads and have great success.
This is just my
and I hope it helps.