Day 9-Carrie: Dying Fern

I have a concern about the fern in the aquatic chamber, which I presumed to be the only oxygenator for the creatures in that compartment. It appears that the fern stem is no longer green, but browning, which I believe is going to result in it dying off and the chamber no longer having a large enough source for the leach and minnow. The algae would likely not be enough to sustain life there. ......sob.....

Day 9 Maryanne

The first thing I noticed today was that the leech was very active, and the water is cloudier with more algae. What should have been added to keep the algae growth in balance? One of the plants is still green while the top portion of the other continues to brown. Floating on the surface of the water are what resemble small leaves that were not part of the plant we placed in the water. Could these leaves have sprouted from some seeds or spores that we inadvertently placed in the aquarium at the beginning?
Much more moisture was present in all of the columns. The plants are putting down more roots that are visible through the sides, but still no sign of the spider or grasshopper. Why? Did they starve because there was no food for them? Today we added larvae to the decomposition chamber that should produce fruit flies. Will they thrive? Keep tuned for the latest updates.

Day 9

The aquatic chamber was a little cloudier today and appeared to be greener. Did we place too much algae in this chamber on the first day? Our leech was moving about like crazy- was the water too cold for him? Tad the tadpole has continued to hoover around the bottom of the chamber. In the decomposition chamber there was an orange looking fungus on the potato peel. White mold continues to grow on the other vegetable pieces. Today we added fruit fly lavae to the decomposition chamber with the intent to harvest fruit flies. There is still no evidence of animal life in the terrestrial chamber.

Day 8-Carrie

Why green?...hmm...it appears that the water in our aquatic chamber is greener than that of the other groups ecocolumns. I have to assume that the lack of soil in our decomposition chamber has much to do with this current situation, however, is the green a result of algae growth or diffusion of chlorophyl from the fern (is that even possible?) or a fungal growth? What factors should I be looking for?

Day 8

There is very little change today. The aquatic chamber remains unchanged, the water remains the same shade of green and life still exists. The vegetable scraps added yesterday have begun to mold in the decompostion chamber. There is no sign of animal life in this chamber. Is there life living within the materials that we simply cannot see? Should we add animals to this chamber? What would happen if we disturbed the materials and incorporated more oxygen into the chamber? Would this have an effect on the other chambers?

Day 8 Maryanne

There doesn't appear to be much change in the ecocolumn except for an excessive amount of condensation in the decomposition and soil chambers. The aquatic chamber continues to have a definite green color due to the algae. Tad, the tadpole, the snails and the leech are still alive. The snail and leech seem to be fine and moving around a fair amount. However, the tadpole still hardly ever moves. The water plant stem and one small section has turned brown. Is this the beginning of its demise? No sign of the spider or grasshopper still. Hopefully, they are in hiding. The decomposition chamber is decomposing more quickly.

Day 7 Maryanne

"Tad" the tadpole seems adjusted to the new environment. He is still hovering near the bottom, but he is moving around a little. The snail and leech are still present also.
The water appears clean, but is more green. Could it be that the algae is growing in the prescence of the sunlight. Will there be enough life in the tertiary to keep the algae growth in check?
A piece of eggplant, green bell pepper and a potatoe peel was added to the decomposition chamber today. The mushroom and lettuce that was added earlier have decomposed. A slight amount of moisture is forming in the chamber and more settling of the leaf mixture has occurred. There appears to be mold forming. There is still no sign of any fruitflys. How long can the spider and grasshopper survive without them?
There is more moisture that has accumulated in the soil section. The plants are growing well. One of the plants has a couple of leaves that have turned yellow. What may have caused that? The spider and grasshopper are still hiding. Are they still alive?