nancy_pnwzone8(OR zone 8) ps here are some links if you're interested. Wolverton Environmental Services http://www.wolvertonenvironmental.com/ Plant Air Purifier http://www.plantairpurifier.com/ Andrea http://www.andreaair.com/ Inside Urban Green - What did Bill Really Say? http://www.insideurbangreen.org/2009/11/my-entry-1.html Phytophilter Technologies http://www.phytofilter.com/ Plants are the Strangest People - Indoor Plants as Air Purifiers http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com/2008/04/indoor-plants-as-air-purifiers.html Kamal Meattle: How to grow fresh air http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmn7tjSNyAA (i would be remiss for posting this link without providing more info. in this TED talk, it sounds like they just added some plants to a big office building, like you would see in a typical cubicle farm, and - shebang - the air was cleaned. what he doesn't show is that they have a full on indoor grow op with high intensity lighting and full hydroponic plumbing. the grow rooms are tied into the building's HVAC. there was another video that showed the set up but i can't find it now.) I would add these links: 1. Wikipedia Houseplants together with the medium in which they are grown can reduce components of indoor air pollution, particularly volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as benzene, toluene, and xylene. Plants remove CO2 and release oxygen and water, although the quantitative impact for house plants is small. Most of the effect is attributed to the growing medium alone, but even this effect has finite limits associated with the type and quantity of medium and the flow of air through the medium.[25] The effect of house plants on VOC concentrations was investigated in one study, done in a static chamber, by NASA for possible use in space colonies.[26] The results showed that the removal of the challenge chemicals was roughly equivalent to that provided by the ventilation that occurred in a very energy efficient dwelling with a very low ventilation rate, an air exchange rate of about 1/10 per hour. Therefore, air leakage in most homes, and in non-residential buildings too, will generally remove the chemicals faster than the researchers reported for the plants tested by NASA. The most effective household plants reportedly included aloe vera, English ivy, and Boston fern for removing chemicals and biological compounds. Plants also appear to reduce airborne microbes, molds, and increase humidity.[27] However, the increased humidity can itself lead to increased levels of mold and even VOCs.[28] When CO2 concentrations are elevated indoors relative to outdoor concentrations, it is only an indicator that ventilation is inadequate to remove metabolic products associated with human occupancy. Plants require CO2 to grow and release oxygen when they consume CO2. A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology considered uptake rates of ketones and aldehydes by the peace lily (Spathiphyllum clevelandii) and golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum.) Akira Tani and C. Nicholas Hewitt found "Longer-term fumigation results revealed that the total uptake amounts were 30−100 times as much as the amounts dissolved in the leaf, suggesting that volatile organic carbons are metabolized in the leaf and/or translocated through the petiole."[29] It is worth noting the researchers sealed the plants in Teflon bags. "No VOC loss was detected from the bag when the plants were absent. However, when the plants were in the bag, the levels of aldehydes and ketones both decreased slowly but continuously, indicating removal by the plants".[30] Studies done in sealed bags do not faithfully reproduce the conditions in the indoor environments of interest. Dynamic conditions with outdoor air ventilation and the processes related to the surfaces of the building itself and its contents as well as the occupants need to be studied. While results do indicate house plants may be effective at removing some VOCs from air supplies, a review of studies between 1989 and 2006 on the performance of houseplants as air cleaners, presented at the Healthy Buildings 2009 conference in Syracuse, NY, concluded "...indoor plants have little, if any, benefit for removing indoor air of VOC in residential and commercial buildings."[31] Since high humidity is associated with increased mold growth, allergic responses, and respiratory responses, the presence of additional moisture from houseplants may not be desirable in all indoor settings.[32] sourse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_air_quality#Effect_of_indoor_plants 2.Critical Review: How Well Do House Plants Perform as Indoor Air Cleaners? Dingle et al. (2000) reported on a field study of three portable office buildings in Perth, Australia to test removal of formaldehyde by plants. Five plants (five species) were added to each room every two days to a maximum of 20 plants (at 2.44 plants per m2) after nine days. Two adjacent portable office buildings were used as controls with no plants. The mean formaldehyde concentrations were about 850 ppb, except with 20 plants. The authors state that the results show “no change in formaldehyde concentrations with the addition of 5 or 10 plants in the rooms and only an 11% reduction in formaldehyde concentrations with 20 plants in the room.” They did not indicate that this reduction was statistically significant.... With this caveat firmly in mind, it is hardly surprising that the HBI study failed to find any effect on pollutant removal by plants, despite a reasonably strong study design in terms of using controls. The study by Dingle et al. found only an 11% reduction in formaldehyde with the highest loading of plants (20 plants in a room or a loading of 2.44 plants per m2), which is not feasible in the real world and is probably not statistically significant. ... Sourse: http://www.buildingecology.com/articles/critical-review-how-well-do-house-plants-perform-as-indoor-air-cleaners/ I think people overestimate the ability of plants to clean the air. That's why EPA don't write about plants as cleaner at all: Epa wrote about Mechanical air filters, Electronic air cleaners, Gas-phase air filters, UVGI cleaners , PCO cleaners, Ozone generators , Portable air cleaners but EPA don't write about plants as cleaner at all.Sourse: http://www.epa.gov/iedweb00/pubs/residair.html If you use plants as cleaner You need to test air inside your house or flats. You need to use complex devices to test air otherwise you may find that you don't have any benefit from plants at all. And this is only placebo. You can spend your time for nothing. Only complex devices to test air inside your houses or flats can help you. Please don't trust so much NASA or Wolverton. Be critical. To read Critical Reviews too. Сheck the air in your homes with complex devices.

Frogman4 is exactly right. I would say that when you pumped water out of the pond the pump was able to pump all the air in the pump hose out and when the pump was turned off it kept siphoning water out the overflow. It would continue to siphon water out until the water level in the pond got down to the same level as the end of the hose in the overflow. It could be the garden hose but that is less likely. For that to happen the pond level has to be higher than the facet on the house and there has to be an anti siphon valve on that facet. I have a client that called me about a large pond that we built for him. He said that the pond went down overnight about 10". On this pond this is about 3000 gallons. I asked him if he had put water in the pond the day before and he said he had. I asked him if he had removed the hose from the pond. He said he had. I asked him again are you sure that you removed the hose from the pond. He swore that he had and was sure the pond was leaking. The pond was under warrantee so we went out to find the leak. We spent 6 man hours looking for a leak and could not find it. At which time I got the laser out and checked the water as compared to the house facet 70 ft away. The leak was the exact height as the house facet. Filled the pond up and no more leak. Mike

DRAGONFLY - As for watering, I water from the bottom until final plant out. Then, unless I have the plant in a SWC (I build my own), all watering is from the top. And you're right, I judge each plant individually as to its needs. I am fully retired now and have all the time I want to spend on my hobbies. I'm happy you found the spreadsheet useful. Don't forget to change any data values to reflect the world of growing tomatoes where YOU live. Also add any toms (or ??) to track your garden's results. NATURALSTUFF - My plants are normally still bearing fruit at first frost. If you give a plant all of its needs, it doesn't have to go "rootbound" in a container. Rootbound plants are telling you that they are not receiving all of their needs, and they're extending more roots to try and find what they need. Last year, the last plant to go was a Cherokee Purple that was in an 18 gallon plastic pot. The plant had four toms left and they eventually ripened on the kitchen counter. I only had 23 containers last year, but they produced more than 270 pounds of tomatoes. I think that's a pretty good yield. I had plenty of tomatoes here at the house and gave away enough to have my neighbors knocking on the door this spring saying I should not forget them this year. I control the heat of "Hot-lanta" by giving my plants some shade when the sun's intensity is its strongest. I also don't allow the sun to have much direct contact with the few black nursery pots that I'm currently using. Watering in the AM also helps offset the heating of the container. Each grower needs to deal with the environment they are given. I've grown both in the ground and in container over the last 55+ years and have decided now the potting mixes and fertilizer/soil amendments available are far better than growing in the ground. So, even if I could have my dream 5 acre tomato ranch, I would still grow in containers - lots of containers. I mean, just think of all the soil-borne diseases that you eliminate. Anyhow, I hope the season goes well for all. Take care Ted

I am in Maryland myself but am not in this field. Are you in Montgomery County by chance (I do know of a few companies here)? The XL800 is a good thermostat but not as capable as the IAQ from Honeywell. The XL800 is a VisionPRO that says Trane on it, just not the VisionPRO IAQ which can slow the blower down to control humidity. Any mention of adding a 4-5" air filter for each unit? Good addition for better filtration and only needs replacement 1-2 times a year. Regarding coils, that's hard to answer, since leaks can happen in any brand once in a while. I would not have a problem with using either brand, I'll say that. I would not worry so much about what kind of compressor the outdoor unit has, scroll or reciprocating (though scroll is the industry preference nowadays, in the 2 ton size reciprocating compressors seem to be rather efficient). The 2-stage operation of the scroll in the Rheem is what gets you more efficiency and will provide you with better comfort during the summer since it can run during low stage mostly. I say "more comfort," but it's not significant insofar as the Trane with variable speed air handler and IAQ thermostat will provide very comparable results. Hopefully others here can give you their thoughts as to which way to go, but I think they'll share the same opinion that it's the installer that matters most. If you're in Montgomery County, I may know some of the companies you've gotten quotes from. I know a couple of companies I "would" get quotes from.