Day 5 of columns since adding mud

I'm posting these photos of Day 5 since I added the more correct portion of mud to water. Already I seem to be getting quite a bit of activity if the water color itself has anything to do with it. I am also seeing small blotches of dark and light color on the side of the columns that get more light. I should point out that my kitchen window does not get a lot of light, so it will be interesting to see how well my columns do.

Shown here are the two columns side by side. The column on the left is the chemosynthetic bacteria experiment (CA) and on the right is the traditional Winogradsky column with grass as the carbon source (WA).



The WA experiment still has fairly clear water, though some algea seem to be growing in it. A layer of brick red growth seems to be forming on the surface of the mud. Color changes that appear to be due to growth of bacteria may also be occuring within the mud column where grass is available.


The second column, the CA experiment has a darker red coloring throughout the water column, the coloring should be. Is this growth due to cyanobacteria or other algea? In the "aerobic zone" at the surface of the mud, a thin film has emerged. The color is greenish. In this column, the indication of bacterial growth on the filter paper is not as immediately apparent, though there are some color blotches.