We have men at work on the squid tank again today.

I caught up with Don, one of our contractors, just before he was heading off to lunch after a hard morning’s work on the tank.

He’s putting in a second pump and filter system into one end of the squid tank, to match the pump and filter system already at the other end of the tank. This double pump system is designed to improve the circulation of the liquid through the tank. The pumps move liquid through the tank very slowly, from the top layer to the bottom layer, filtering out any small particles in the process.

Don has been working on the squid project for many months now and knows the tank and the squid inside out. It’s been a change, and sometimes a challenge, to do this work in full view of the public. He’s got some good stories to tell about things visitors say about the squid. My favourite? – the number of visitors who ask him if the squid is still alive!

In case anyone is confused or in any doubt about it, no, the colossal squid is not alive, it is very much deceased.