Hi Ker, when you change the type of flour you feed your starter different organisms come into play, and it can take some time for the starter to adjust to these changes. In addition, different types of flour will bring different flavor elements and rising potential to your bread baking. That being said, I don't see any harm in feeding your starter with any of the flours or percentages you mention. However, your starter could be slowing down and not rising as much because of your maintenance routine. Frequency of feedings and the ratio of ingredients in your starter can definitely influence rising behavior. For example, if you just keep adding more flour and water to a large vat of sourdough starter, without discarding, the starter becomes dominated by sourdough waste and is undernourished, which affects its rising behavior. Discarding is generally necessary in order to keep the starter in balance and the meal size appropriate. 

While there are lots of different ways of maintaining a sourdough starter, ideally you want to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall, which keeps yeast activity vigorous. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. The ratio of ingredients matters, because this influences the rate of fermentation. If you think of that large vat of starter, which is offered a relatively smaller amount of water and flour, this will ferment very quickly, because there are more sourdough organisms present, vying for a smaller meal. This means the starter is more likely to fall and grow sluggish as it waits for more nourishment. On the other hand, a starter that is fed a relatively larger meal (less starter, as compared to water/flour fed, by weight) will take longer to process the meal, which will extend fermentation time.

Keep in mind that temperature also plays an important role in the rate of fermentation. While your starter should be fine when stored anywhere between 70-80 degrees, it's going to rise and ferment faster at 80 than it will at 70 degrees.  

Contrary to what you might think, extending fermentation time can help your starter perform more vigorously, especially if this allows you to replenish the starter closer to its peak. By adjusting the ratio of ingredients in your starter you should be able to achieve a twice a day feeding routine that fits with your schedule and also keeps your starter active and healthy. While our starter maintenance routine recommends a 1:1:1 ratio of starter:water:flour, by weight, you may find that a 1:2:2 or even 1:3:3 ratio will work better for you in warmer months to help slow things down and line up your feedings closer to the peak. Keep in mind that a relatively "larger meal" doesn't have to mean using up more flour, since you can reduce the starter portion relative to the water/flour amounts. 

I hope this helps. Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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