July 17th--New Growth

Things are still happening. In the decomposition chamber, a tiny new green leaf has appeared in the humus layer--NOT on top, but in the layer. I wonder what type of seed has taken root.
I really do not like how the water in the aquarium is turning a clear, dark brown color. The water isn't muddy, but it looks bad. I think this is happening because of the tiny soil particles that are slowly draining down through the chambers, especially the decomposition chamber. I wonder if adding a little sand to the bottom of the decomposition chamber would help clear up the water or would the sand fall through. Is there something in bayou water that causes it to become dark brown or is there a chemical(s) from the salvinia that causes the brown color? This needs to be checked out!

I feel that our little lizard needs some type of food. We are waiting for fruit flies. The little slug was visible today. Growth is taking place in the terrarium. The vinca plant is starting to stand taller and the lilly has new roots.

Well today our aquarium chamber water is very brown. Our water is darker than the water in other groups columns. I think the reason may be because we have organic material that is in the middle of the decomposition process and the products are dissolving in the water that we add. This water eventually makes it to the aquarium chamber. Also, I think we've added more water than some of the other groups. My first thought was that something is wrong with ours since it is different from the others, but on second thought maybe its just different. The waterway behind my house is dark brown almost black at certain times of the year. Maybe this is the same. The decomposition chamber is the most exciting chamber. There is just so much activity! The beetles are still on the banana. A tiny slug has appeared. The plum is still decomposing. I wonder how long it takes for a plum to disappear? No fruit flies yet! the lizard is patiently awaiting some fruit flies, as is the frog. Hopefully we'll have some tomorrow.

The condensation is still visible in both the plant and animal habitat as well as the decomposition chamber. The beetles were on the banana peel moving around. I am a little concerned about the water level and color of the aquarium. After observing the other ecocolumns our aquarium water is much darker. We do have salvinia which I didn't see in any of the other aquariums. I would like to know what is causing this difference in coloration. The lizard and frog are still surviving but I am very concerned about their health without the proper diet. How long could they live in this environment and are they getting any nutrition from the habitat?

Our column is evolving

Today the ecocolumn seems to be doing well. Its definitely evolving! The roots of the plants are spreading out in the soil. The network can be seen through the plastic. The lizard is climbing on the wall of the column, but the frog is hiding in the vegetation. The vinca is still growing but is not flowering as it was when it was added to the chamber. We added 8 oz of water today. The water is not being evenly distributed, so one area is saturated, another is moist and one seems to be dry. There is less condensation in the chamber today than there was on Friday. Perhaps this is due to the cloudy days. The decompositon chamber is changing. The mushrooms are soggy now and the plum has a healthy growth of mold on it. No fruit flies! We're adding a piece of banana peel today in hopes of getting some fruit flies for our predators. The spider and the beetles are still in the decomposition chamber. One of the beetles died and is being eaten by some little red bugs that look like mites or ticks. They're the size of the head of a pin! One of the mealworms is burrowing in the litter. The other is burrowed under the plum and is much larger than it was when we added it. It looks like it is about to emerge as a beetle. The aquarium is getting high. The water is almost to the level of the decomposition chamber. The water is brownish. The salvinia roots are getting longer, and new salvinia are growing.

Eco Action

The ecocolumn has condensation in the plant and animal habitat as well as in the decomposition chamber. Lizzy was brown today because she was resting on the soil and camouflaged herself to match the soil. Freddy was also visible sitting on the soil. I worry about the food supply and what they might or might not be consuming. In the decomposition chamber the plum had a fuzzy mold growing on it and I saw one meal worm on the side of the chamber. In the aquatic chamber the two fish and leech seemed fine. In the picture to the right you can see the meal worm in the decomposition chamber.
posted by Phyllis @ 6:48 AM 0 Comments

Things are Happening!

Since last Thursday, several things have happened in the eco-column. Condensation is increasing in the terrarium and decomposition chambers. In the terrarium, the vinca plant is thriving and the grass has put out new roots. The lizard is brown today instead of its usual green color. The frog seemed to have a deeper brown color than normally. In the decomposition chamber, the mushrooms have died and the moss is growing. One of the mealworms is preparing to become a beetle. I saw only one of the three beetles that were put into the chamber, but he seeemed to be posing for the camera. In the aquarium, the water is slowing changing colors. It now has a brown tinge. The fish and the leech are very active and the salvinia has new tiny, green leaves.

Our EcoColumn is doing GREAT! After adding a plum seed to the decomposition chamber last week, I have see lots of things going on in this chamber. Today I observed meal worm in the molting stage hiding under the now white mold covered plum seed. I bet the beetle we put in there from the beginning will be glad to have a friend soon. The water in our aquarium chamber has darkened and the salvinia is doing great. Our fish seem to be enjoying their environment as well. At the top of our EcoColumn, our frog and lizard seem to be doing well in their environment too. today i will be adding a piece of banana peek so that we can hopefully produce some food for the frog and lizard--Fruit Flies!!!