Waterbug_guy, I decided years ago that I prefer the KISS method to water gardening, which is when I put away the salt and testing kits. I decided not to fight the natural water conditions I had, although way back then there all kinds of people telling me to do something immediately to drop my pH which they felt was too high, add salt, and test daily at least. I decided that was not what I wanted, and my fish and I have been content with that decision for about a decade. So I certainly agree with a lot of what you have said. You are also certainly more knowledgeable than I about how much the actions I took could have altered my test results. I can not rule out user error because no matter how simple the test I am simply cable of erring. But my initial thought WAS that my ammonia had been high and the filter was kicking in and taking care of it, and the water change and plants helped. But I am not disregarding what you said, because I am just not as up on testing and treating those results, in part because I chose not to g0 that route years ago. Like I said, it really doesn't seem very important any more. But I am going to continue testing at least a few times a week for a while and will try to remember to do it right before and after cleaning the filter. I would be interested to see what the results are before starting the filtering next spring with the fish load I have, as well as from the time I start filtering until the WH take off again next year. I wonder if I am having periods of high ammonia levels before the bio filter really gets going again, when I only have a few small WH. Something to maybe keep an eye on in the fall once a frost has starting the kill the WH, as well. Especially once I put the filter away for winter. Joecd, as far I am concerned any filter that harbors the good bacteria that can change the ammonia in the pond to nitrite and then nitrate is a type of bio filter. There are almost as many ways of doing that, it seems, as there are people with ponds. One way is to purchase a canister type filter that has media inside for these bacteria to grow on, as I did. There are also many types of homemade biofilters, and most surfaces in your pond probably do that to some extent, as a well. But most people I have heard referring to a biofilter are referring to a separate filter that is specifically designed to do that, whether it is a purchased filter or a homemade one, rather than to the natural bacteria on the surfaces in the pond.

I have been reading this thread with interest. I am amazed that professional cleaners are just using stuff they buy off of the grocery store shelves. This stuff just doesn't work well at all. I don't do cleaning for a living, but working in restaurants, we do have to do all the cleaning around the place. Professional products work a hundred times better. I am lucky, I can order professional cleaning products for myself, for my home, through my employers account. If you have a cleaning business you can order directly for yourself. I have a friend who does have a home cleaning business and sometimes she asks me to go out on jobs with her, to help her when she does not have enough staff. She was using junk from the grocery stores for her cleaning jobs. I couldn't believe it. I showed her the products I have, and showed her how well they work, and she was amazed. Although every restaurant I have worked at may use a different line of professional cleaning products, The BEST I have found is by North Woods: http://www.northwoodstm.com/his/index.shtml Over the years I have converted new empoyers to their produsts. I even give their products to friends and relatives and they come back to me begging me to get more for them. They do appear to cost more when you look at the prices, but they are much more concentrated that the ordinary stuff you buy at the store. For instance the Dew Drop laundry detergent used only 2 ounces per 50# of laundry. Their Blue Ox cleaner is only 3 cents per GALLON (!) when diluted. AND this is some of the best stuff out there for cleaning. They don't spend money on TV commercials. They don't print coupons and send them through the mail. They don't rent shelf space in stores. (Yes, shelf space is often rented in stores.) They don't have fancy packaging. They don't sell through a pyramid scheme. The Fireball spray degreaser works like magic. I just pulled my refrigerator out from the wall the other day and used it on the back of it. The greasy dirt just ran off. I first sprayed it with some Mr. Clean that I use for quick wipes of my counter and the Mr. Clean barley put a dent in the built up greasy dirt. Fireball zipped it right off. No other cleaner can do what this stuff does. I just used it on my keyboard today and it is squeaky clean white again. None of the store bought stuff does what this does. Sure, the store bought stuff will clean things OK, but not great. The Brilliance they sell cleans glass and ceramic like nothing else and never streaks. They have a window cleaner called Clarity that beats everything. They have a hand protectanct called Force Field that is great for protecting hands when doing cleaning tasks. I have no connection to this company. All of there prodects that I have tried have surpassed my expecations. They only sell to businesses. There may be other companies who sell *professional cleaning products* that are just as good and are just as economical. I haven't tried them all. North Woods has become my preferred cleaning product. I have never used North Woods carpet stain remover, because I am rather loyal to Carpet Science, which is also a *professional cleaner* made by Johnson Wax Co to sell to businesses. I love Carpet Science and I used to obtain it through one of my employers, but I see now that office supply places online carry it. It's great for spot cleaning on carpets. I used it to clean my white linen lampshades after trying to use Tide on them. Tide did nothing. Carpet Science made them look new again. But my point is, is that if you are running a cleaning service you should be using professional products that work better and in the long run will be cheaper. Even commercial paper towels are better and cheaper in the long run, than Bounty or what ever popular brand is advertised. http://www.rightlook.com/browseproducts/Blue-Heavy-Duty-Paper-Towels.html The only gorcery store item I would recommend is the disposable toilet cleaning brushes. Sure, it is cheaper to just use bleach and carry a crusty, wet, toilet scrub brush from job to job, but it is rather gross. I wouldn't waste my money using them at home but my friend who has the cleaning service uses them because she doesn't want to carry around a smelly toilet scrub brush. And you wouldn't believe how many people out there *do not own* a toilet scrub brush. Really. She always brings one along. I would also recommend using Bar keepers Friend or Zud. These contain oxylic acid rather than chlorine bleach and will *eleiminate rust stains* and work well on grease. I think Zud is the better of the two but it is harder to find in the stores. You can order BKF cheaper by the drum 200# for $150 or 25# for $30. If you have a cleaning service you will have no problem going through tht much in a short time. An easier way to clean is to get cotton gloves and spray your cleaner or polish on them and then go over everything rather than using a bulky rag. It's a breeze to clean lamps and figurines and even mini blinds with this method. As far as hardwood floors go, the guy who refinished my wood floors told me to never use Murphy's Soap with water on them. He recommended Bona and gave me a sample with the microfiber mop. I have used it ever since. It cleans very well and does not damage the floors, after all how dirty are wood floors going to get? Kitchens, bathrooms, and entryways are going to be either tiled or have vinyl floor coverings on them, because they need to be scrubbed. Wood floors don't get filthy like they do. Any comments?

LG LCE30845 induction cooktop (since 2008). It replaced a Jenn-Air induction cooktop that we purchased in 1999, so we are almost a third of the way into our second decade of induction cooking. Pros: o Exceptionally skinny under the countertop, even slimmer than our former Jenn-Air; we keep all of our spoons, spatulas, etc. in a drawer immediately under the cooktop. o Relatively low current draw: rated at 32 amps, which gives an extra margin of safety for our 40 amp wiring. o Relatively quiet, and the cooling fan vent is above the counter and does not vent into the space below the counter. o Inexpensive (relative to the "my cooktop can whip "your cooktop" bragging rights brands) and inobtrusive (no "styling" gimcracks to call attention to itself). o True bridge burner: a third element activates between two round elements to make a continuous large oblong element for a griddle long enough to cook bacon without bending the slices. o More than ample power for any task we ever have thrown at it. Cons: o Cooling fan on/off is related to whether an element is on or off, not according to the actual temperature (that is, it is not thermostat-controlled). So far, this design decision has had no adverse impact. o Liquid spills onto the touch control ares confuse the cooktop's logic, requiring a power off/on cycle. o Steps between power settings on the burners seem to fall short of full linearity: that is, the step between, say, the 3 setting and the 3-1/2 setting seems to be a slightly larger increment than the step between the 3-1/2 setting and the 4 setting. (But that is a difficult matter to test objectively.) o It's an LG, which means that if the cooktop ever needs to be serviced, Lord help us; LG customer service is nonexistent. (We have been lucky so far.) BOSCH convection wall oven (circa 2000 vintage) mounted under-counter in a standard counter cabinet. Pros: o Short vertical dimension allows us to have a shallow drawer underneath the oven for spare oven racks, cookie sheets, etc. o Analogue controls. Personal preference: we prefer visually assessing settings from the position of dial pointers to reading digital settings and we prefer turning dials to fingering touch-pads. o Concealed bottom element under the oven floor so inside-oven drips land on easy-to-clean floor instead of on or under the heating element. Cons: o None.

If pollinated, then "yes" the Peperomia will produce seeds. What you are seeing is not "a" flower but rather what botanically may be referred to as a "rachis" -- a stem bearing numerous minute flowers. Each of those little bumps give rise to flowers. Individual flowers are so tiny, you basically need a really strong magnifying glass or a microscope to get a good look at them. Depending upon the species or hybrid, the flowers may be green, white, or red. Here's and example of my Peperomia prostrata in bloom. Those little red dots are the flowers -- and I took this photo through a magnifying glass. They're that tiny. Sunlight varies considerably by latitude, region, and season. For example, in the summer, the light from my balcony is strong and hot. I have had some orchids burn sitting by the glass doors. During the winter here, we can go days or sometimes even weeks without a glimpse of sun -- just gray overcast. During that time, the light is so weak that high light plants or even medium light ones may etiolate. In addition, keep in mind that the glass itself cuts down on the amount of light entering your home. And then there is the simple fact that plants need time to adjust to sudden changes in conditions -- especially light intensity. Think what would happen to a Caucasian living in the Great White North who, after being indoors for months, decides in early March to go vacation in Arizona. What will happen to them when they go on that 15km afternoon hike in the desert with no sunscreen?