I also anticipated this might happen to me in a certain degree. Some measures I took to avoid this problem having is: Medium: My rocks are black lava rock and came in individual bags from Home Depot (the spongy porosity of lava rock deposits lots of nitrates for roots to gravitate to). They are specifically made for landscaping and growing mediums. It is more expensive but I had a friend who picked up his rocks from one of those places where you drive in a truck, weight it (so when you weight out they know how much you picked up), and back it up into a stall with a mountain of gravel you use a motor shovel lift to fill up with. He found a lot of tainted stuff when he concluded he needed to perform an all around chemical test on the water he contaminated with this gravel. It ended up having a lot of other stuff we couldn't agriculturally test for. Introducing living organisms into new habitations: I am told that whenever you transfer primitive aquatic life into a new environment they should be stabilized from any sort of shock. Shock meaning so scared and frightened by sudden change that primitive creatures will not facilitate their niche in a routine that sustains them for the duration of stabilizing (or other organisms piggy backing). 1: I introduced 30 fish at first into a 200 gallon system, and about 10 gallons live (pipe, sump, and whatever is left in the bed below your bell siphon shut off level). The rule of thumb is about 1lb fish per 3-5 gallon, or roughly something like that. My fish tank holds about 60 gallons (growing bed is 1' by 3' by 7 1/2' with 9" cycle, and 3" water table. The fish have a metabolizing rate and this is what governs the colonizing speed of the bacteria that Hex2006 is referring to. After a week I introduced 60 more goldfish. I lost 3 fish in the process by natural selection (hypothesis based on the 3 were some of the very smallest of the group and looked underfed). >>>Do I put plants in the medium while cycling? >>>Couple of lettuce plants or something?I let my system cycle for 3 days (one cycle to fill is 12 min, and to evacuate the grow bed is 8 min). This roughly states that the speed in which I can expel the water from my grow beds will be about 1/2 as fast to fill it, after calculating out of boredom from sitting for hours calibrating different down pipes and bell siphon (i guess algebra paid off after all...). I did in fact have "some" plants in it when I did. So the methodology will seem backwards here, but I ask, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Hence I added what I had left over of "fish chum" but it was actually product vigorgro that was basically emulsion of fish from a blender, yum (I stopped using it because it stunk up my indoor HP system). This fed the plants I had in the system for three days and started the cycle. I later balance the pH before adding powder soluble HP system 'nutes'. The plants I had in first were lots of snap string beans, beets, and lots of collard greens. For time of year I was building this, I used plants familiar to me that had high metabolite and are easy to propagate in lava rock. >>>First off do you have a fresh water test kit? You should get one if you don't have one.should = MUST >>>Second how much are you feeding the fish? You should look up the proper amount for the type of fish you have.Fish in new habitats should be allowed to almost starve til the end of the 2nd week (or later if colder), until you start seeing a rise in pH above 6. Fish must actually create their OWN environment assimilated from their own feces to feed the bacterial colonies that will reside in the symbiotic niche between micro organisms, the fish, and your plants. Most your plants have much of the same chemical compounds, but fish being a carbon based organism will obviously have a more complex compound of chemicals, especially what you feed it. A. Starve the fish for more then a week B. Start feeding the fish very little once the water start to look clearer (the fish breath through their gills, and whatever small particle they filter, they eat; even microscopic beyond eye threshold. C. Always under feed the fish; if after feeding there is still food floating or at the bottom, skip a feeding (a day). D. Keep it organic, no store bought stuff for your fish that comes in a box. The fish poo > nitrites > nitrates > plants > then into your mouth... Trash in trash out. Keep it fresh. I eat a lot of rice, and always have left over rice. Cereal that goes bad (avoid honey and fruits: corn flake are ideal, bran anything). Crumple it up for the fish to eat bite sized; stone and mortar. I have built a few AP systems for friends, and even built a gazebo deck around a fish tank at a buddies. This is proven advice. I have a question for you if you still check this thread: Where is your sump? Your garden bed seems to drain right into your fish habitation. I've been told not to do this. There should be a intermediate percolation that dilutes both incoming solutions between the two. Not that it's toxic, but it does cause fish to feel shocked and imbalance within their habitation. Ammonia, oxygen, and other impurities, like living in LA then suddenly at the base camp of the Himalayan as a human analogy. I also just personally think fish would not like listening to the hum of a hydro pump (whatever size it may be) 24-7 LOL! I will post follow up links to pictures: Here is a link that might be useful:

Personally I like giving a gift that I know they'd like - if they registered then I search the registry for a gift that's a "one of" - like a Waterford pitcher or an appliance. My favorite is giving a KitchenAid mixer because I know how much I love mine. The only time I buy place settings of china is when it's someone I barely know and I'm not personally invested in whether they remember what I gave. As for cash - this is always a tough answer because the 'usual' amount varies so much depending on region and economic abilities of the giver. After several years of no weddings we recently had several and I am so thankful to my girlfriends who answered this same question honestly. They also said $100 a person. I think we're in the same area - southeast PA and for a family member or close friend's child we usually give $200 even if we don't attend. One of my kids had a formal wedding last fall in Kennett Square and the most of the cash gifts they received were in the $150 to $200 range. I hope this helps. Good luck.

I was in Hancocks fabric store yesterday and they had a new Ott light on sale for 9.99. Usual cost $19.99 but they had on sale for 50% off, otherwise you could use a coupon.....a good deal. It is pretty small and has a clip on the back, flip open top, and runs on 3 AAA batteries. The light is incredibly bright and would be good for hand stitching type work, knitting, or anything you do that needs a bright light. The lady in the store suggested using it in your handbag so you can see what is in it. My bag isn't that big but I can see if you are in the dark and need something in a tote bag....anyway I bought it basically for my Kindle and it works great. Also got one for my Mom's stocking. Anyway, a new and different idea for a $10 gift. Here is a link to the mini lite. Murphy Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.ottlite.com/p-280-led-mini-flip-lite.aspx

Slowmedown, I remember last Christmas , a group was purchasing items from us at a flea market and said they were putting them in shoe boxes. I guess I should have ask then, I just thought it was for kids at their church. Is there any particular item that you are looking for ? If I can help you out in any way, please let me know. Spiderwoman, I checked out a magazine at our local bookstore and didnt see anything in it, but I just kinda thumbed thru it. Thanks for the info, I will check again and see what I come up with. Ladyronnie, Man .. am I ever glad that you posted for Jerrysartrama, I looked at this one this morning and bookmarked it to go back and order from it, it has been a busy day and I completely forgot about going back to it. I just went and ordered some of the brushes that he can use. It looked like good prices to me, I really do appreciate all of your help and if there is anything out there I can do for anyone just let me know. By the way........ a bowling center not to far from us, told me that any of the bowling balls that are on the racks, that does NOT have the bowling centers initials on them, have been left by customers, and they are free for the taking. You might check with your local bowling center and see if the same applies there. Some of them are so pretty that you dont want to mosaic over them ! But... they are FREE ! Just a heads up and its worth checking out. Thank you so much for all of your help, and still just one post on the painting board ! Sandra