big tank better than kriesel?!
This morning there are still a ton of babies in the big parent tank, but only a couple in the kriesel. Some of them got stuck in the dead spots under the baffles because there were gaps they could get into and get stuck and die. John also wonders about the VOCs and such that just didn't have time to leach out because we were rushed. Also, I think that we had the flow cranked up a bit too high for a while. It's difficult to tell when it's all experimental... The cool thing is that this tank does do what it was designed to! However, we have to drain and reseal the kriesel no matter what, because the H2O will foul where we can't get to the dead guys.
That leaves me with the 100(?) or so still in the big tank. They are doing great! The wedge shaped tank is working well, the curtain of bubbles along the front curve seems to hold their food like a bubble net. I don't see them go after the brine shrimp much, but the "rotifeast" is thick and floats on the top and they go for it immediately. The octos are able to swim down then into the bubble curtain and ride up to the surface. Watching them you'd swear they're doing it on purpose. They are strong enough to swim through the bubbles if they want, and it seems that during the day they spend a lot of time on the sides hunting the critters.
I now have some decisions to make... As mentioned I need to abort and repair the kreisel, this is a given. I do NOT want to mess with with the "bubble net," but I know that is not good for the Once-ler. And speaking of, I haven't seen one sign of her. Will she come out of her den to die? How long do I wait? I haven't even tried to feed her since Wed. because she seemed to quit taking food. Any thoughts?
The other thing is that THE FILTER HAS BEEN OFF SINCE WED NIGHT!!! I checked H2O parameters this morning and have only a slight elevation in nitrates (5.0 ppm). I am thinking of covering the intake with a nylon, lowering the output to create a flow along the bottom. Then only run the filter a couple hours a day, alternating on and off with feeding so I don't filter out all of their food. I'm nervous about messing with what is working, but it will only work as long as the H2O is good... What to do, what to do???