I have only fermented in buckets and have had great success with them. That said I have never been able to see the krausen mid process.
My concern is that I have had zero airlock activity since 4/19 when this extract batch was first brewed but when I put my ear to the bucket I can hear the bubbles moving about.
Here are two pics I snapped a few days ago and this morning. The bubbles in the krausen never seemed to pop...
This was approx. 3 days ago

And this morning.

My concern is that I have had zero airlock activity since 4/19 when this extract batch was first brewed but when I put my ear to the bucket I can hear the bubbles moving about.
Here are two pics I snapped a few days ago and this morning. The bubbles in the krausen never seemed to pop...
This was approx. 3 days ago

And this morning.
