That's exactly it; thanks much! I wanted to find out if it had any toxicities for my baby turtles & fish -- looks like it's safe, though I'll need soft substrate for the roots & some sun-exposure =) Thanks again... This post was edited by Revan on Sun, Jul 28, 13 at 18:08

Yes we did have a uv running but we don't know how old it was. It wasn't burnt yet but when our water started to go green, that was the first thing we thought. The previous owners left all the equipment but we never actually spoke to them Soweto have no idea how old it actually was. Today the pond is most definately clearer than it was yesterday. I can see the bottom again which I am happy about. I guess I'm not looking for a crystal clear pond, I just want to be able to see the fish. I'm honestly really loving the pond and our daughter and I have named 4 of the 8 fish. So far we have Goldie (a golden colored butterfly koi), Shimmer (a silver butterfly koi), Domino (black and white koi) and Spunky (a white comet with 2 orange spots on the back). My husband thinks we're totally nuts!

Zackey - You have a good "horse sense" regarding plants. Seems you are doing everything right - and not believing in old wives tales. you can start fertilizing - weak solution 1/8 teaspoon per gallon - use no urea fertilizers - or you can use some fish emulsion for now - also weak. We all need to learn basics first - and off the floor AV leaves is a good training material - because these big box store violets are pretty close to cast iron plant in a world of violets. But after you master it - the whole universe of growing fancy African Violets will open to you - not the ones that look like clones. You can grow minis, you can grow trailers - you can do green - and coral and yellow - very double - and star and wasp shaped - and you can grow all the species out of Africa - these are the blues you like - and you can grow oldies - and I really think that Blue Boy - one of the first hybrids - has the best vivid blue color... Happy Violet Journey to you! irina

If you start counting from the moment I started collecting Hoyas, it took a couple months, because I had javanica, which is quick to flower. After about 6 months heuschkeliana started to bloom nearly constantly. After about 1 year I had seen a fair handful of flowers, mostly from cuttings received with peduncles intact. I would say it's around year 3 that there is alway something blooming. I have come to believe that carnosa received its bad reputation because it is the most common Hoya. That means lots of people grow it without knowing its needs, then blame performance issues on the plant. If you give carnosa strong light (enough to turn the leaves pea green) it will bloom within 6 months - 1 year. I took a couple carnosas, which had grown for nearly 10 years without blooming, moved them close to eastern windows, and after waiting a year they could not be better blooming. This puts them in the average wait range for most Hoyas. :) I know I'm always talking about Pepeuve, but I find his documentation of fresh peduncle-free cuttings that bloom after 6 months very inspiring. It goes to show what the plant is capable of, whether or not the rest of us can replicate the growing conditions of Malaga. :P