Any fish will eat mosquito larvae, but if your water has movement from the pump, the mosquitos will not lay their eggs. Zebras and guppies are tropical fish requiring water temperatures above 70 degrees. They would be okay if you're willing to bring them inside to a heated tank when the temperatures drop below 70. However, the guppies will probably be too slow and will likely wind up as turtle food. Zebras are fast, though. My feeling is that you might do better with a couple of comet goldfish or mosquito fish. Both are prolific breeders. Just be careful that you don't get overstocked. As for plants, pretty much any aquatic plant that strikes your fancy. Personally, I like blue pickeral and black magic taro, but there are lots of other plants that will do well. Just choose ones that will do well in you pond's location, i.e. shade or sun.

First, your neighbor may be living in the building because he, too, likes the great rent and convenient location. Or he may have moved in years ago, before the building became full of college students. So just his presence in the building is not creepy. But, as to how to deal with his banging on the wall--this seems to be the major complaint? Start documenting. Every single time he bangs on the wall, note the time and date and what you were doing. "11 pm, Tuesday, Nov. 25. Reading in bed. BF out at library. Banging on the wall started at 11:04 and continued until 11:15." Note the screaming, as well. And if it wakes you up or is loud enough that you need to turn up the tv, note that. Get two or three weeks of documentation. Call the office and set up an appointment with the manager to go over this. Don't say what the appointment is about, if you feel she will refuse to see you about your neighbor. If you absolutely cannot get an appointment with the manager, copy your documentation and mail it to the manager, registered mail (or some other way that requires the office to sign for and acknowledge the mail). Ask them nicely what they are going to do about the problem. It would be best if you could also indicate what you would like the management to do--get the screaming and banging to stop, move you to another unit. That gives them something concrete to work with. "I have a creepy neighbor and don't feel safe," is completely subjective. There's no way they can go to this man and say, "Don't be so creepy." But they can go and tell him to stop banging on your walls. Call the police on the non-emergency number and ask if there is anything they can do. This is really dependent on the laws where you live. Whatever you do, do not call the neighbor creepy or dangerous. People will be less likely to work with you when you are making judgements about him. Stick to the facts and to the behaviors you want changed--no more screaming, no more banging on the walls. This is completely reasonable. To ask for him not to look out the windows is not reasonable, and will likely get you less help, rather than more. At the very least, if this is a large building, the management should be able to move you to a different apartment at some point.

This is strange but I just had my husband paint our master and guest bedroom. I wanted the desert nomad in the master and kilim in the guest but I wasn't home and he swaped them. i like the desert nomad better. The kilm is lighter than I wanted. The living area of our house is Valspar "smoked oyster" which is darker more brown gray. I like a grayer look myself.

btydrvn, thank you : ) I think everyone has different needs, and want different 'styles'. I think yours is manicured, clean looking, whereas ours is 'quaint', and more on the casual side. And I agree, if you want less care, don't get fish! I hear you about fencing and the wildlife. Ours is in the city but close to the mountains, so not a true city atmosphere or neighborhood. Still, our neighbors are close, so we put in a privacy fence. It's not prevented most the wildlife, but the wild turkey and deer no longer visit, and yes, that makes me sad, too. We live in bear country, but have had no visiters to this house, thankfully. Austin, a 16" waterfall should be absolutely fine for bringing oxygen into your pond. Our single pump moved twice the amount as our pond holds, and therefore runs the pond through the filter skimmer and biofilter more than once a day. For your pond, 3 ft to 3-1/2 feet should be sufficient for goldfish (and good choice, there, as Koi are gorgeous, but very destructive to plants). Remember, you will most likely have to get into that pond at some point. You might consider digging out a shelf before your liner goes in) for some container bog plants (dragonflies love those). You just cut a shelf out with a shovel, you cannot add one really as the soil will be too loose and it might 'tilt' over time. Consider some type of cave for your fish, either a purchased one or one of your own making. They need protection from the sun in the winter when your plants are died back, and protection from the sun in the early spring when your plants are growing, and protection from wildlife. You need plants. They provide shade and much needed oxygen. Hardy water lilies, which you'll trim back in the fall and lower to the pond floor. They should survive and come back in the spring. The pond plants will keep your pond healthy, balance, and your fish healthy and alive. I strongly recommend adding plants first (lilies, underwater, bog) and giving your water and pond a full 2 weeks minimum to age. We waited 4 weeks. Then add your fish. Google how to introduce fish to a pond. Get them from a reputable breeder. Comets, shubunkins - any non-fancy goldfish (though I think those look fancy!) will be fine. If even one fish looks sickly, or swims sideways, do not buy any! Go elsewhere. That is nothing but heartbreak. Pond stones provide aeration. We have a couple we use all summer and winter. Water... your water needs balancing, which is why the wait. You can and should get a water testing kit... however, there are 2 schools of thought there. First, overfeeding can cause an increase in ammonia, so don't overfeed (get the food that koi eat, pellets that float on the water), and net up any left after a minute or two) and do test ammonia levels. PH levels - some people panic over those. Without going into massive detail, goldfish are hardy boogers, and I've have 2 ponds with extremely high PH levels... eventually we just put the fish in and they thrived. High PH levels are common discussion on another forum, and I wouldn't stress over that at all. It's only when PH levels go up and down within the same day that it becomes dangerous for fish. Most don't. Mostly, don't stress : ) Overwinter... Easy. Around the end of summer, you can add Pond Salt (google it) if you wish to increase the fish's slime, which is a protective coating. Not necessary, but nice. Lower your lily plants to the bottom of your pond if they aren't already there, and cut off all dead and dying pads, flowers, stalks. Add a couple pond aeration stones if you don't already have them. Start decreasing feedings as the temperatures turn cooler. When you pond water temperature reaches 45 - 50 F (7-10 C) and pretty much stays there or lower, stop feeding your fish. Nothing. No matter how much they beg, and they will. They will go into a sort of hibernation. They can get any needed nutrition from the algae in the pond. If is warms up to summer like temps for a brief period, don't feed them during your winter months. Even if they are swimming around more. Stay calm, if you can't find a fish or 5. They hide. They sit at the bottom part of the pond and barely move. You can get a pond warmer if the aeration stones aren't strong enough to keep an ice 'hole' in your pond. Again, even in hibernation, fish need oxygen. As the pond warms up in the spring, when it becomes warmer than 45-50 F (not the outside, temp, the pond temp) you can resume feeding... slowly at first, then your normal schedule. One last thing... never, ever slap your open hand on top of the water, never slap a board on ice to break it up, this creates minor shock waves, and yes, that can kill a goldfish : ) Do teach them to come to you when you feed them by gently tapping the water with a finger each time you drop in food at your pond's edge. Soon they'll follow you everywhere in the pond, mouths open, telling you they are starving! Lastly, gold fish won't starve : ) Enjoy your pond!