Day ONE (12 Oct. 2010)

To set up the MicroAquarium, I was given a glass tank, a stand holder, and a lid. After applying the color coded dots and my initials to identify my aquarium, I added water, plants and soil. I chose water source number 12: the water pool below the spring, located in Fountain City Park, west of Broadway at Hotel Avenue in Knox County, Knoxville, TN. This water pool has full shade exposure; Spring Feed Pond N36 02.253 W83 55.986 990 ft 10/10/2010 (http://botany1112010.blogspot.com).


After adding the water, I used a pipette to distribute the water source's soil along the bottom of my tank. Then I inserted Plant A: Fontinalis sp. a moss and Plant B: Utricularia gibba L. a flowering plant. 


Observations
Day one's observations yielded few interesting creatures except for two to three annelids, according to Mr. Kenneth McFarland. He said that annelids are recyclers, continually eating and composting. These worm-like, non-green organisms actively weaved their way through the caramel grainy soil throughout the lab period. The annelids remained in the soil, leaving the water relatively clear with no distinct sightings of other organisms--dead or alive.