dang it....I had a really well though out response all done, and my internet explorer crashed. So I'll try again...lol!! First...a few comments regarding how koi ponds compare to aquariums. Normally, aquariums are lightly stocked with small fish. It's really easy to keep the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle operating perfectly in a correctly stocked environment. Same as a rock bottom pond...lightly stocked and properly maintanied it can work. In a pond's bio filter, ammonia is converted to nitrite and then to nitrate. Nitrate is most easily removed froma koi pond by way of regular water changes. Ever try to keep an aquarium with goldfish? Many goldie keepers I know keep no gravel in the tank at all, because of maintenance. That gravel gets really filthy very fast. I had a lovely goldie tank once....and gave it up. the maintenance was a nightmare! I'd rather deal with a huge koi pond any day of the week. Some people are reporting sucess with rock bottom ponds and no maintenance. Again...it is directly related to stocking levels. I hope these ponds continue to perform well for years to come, but for the vast majority of people, they will not. Most watergardeners install their ponds (and rocks) and then run out and buy a bunch of adorable little 5" long koi. The koi grow.....fast. They produce mountains of fish waste, which all gets trapped in the rocks. But because the pond looks clean, the owner is lulled into a false sense of security and does not think that there is a thing wrong, until the fish start dying or the fins start rotting off. Then they do one of two thing....they learn where they went wrong and correct their mistakes, or they just buy new fish (which is unfortunatly what most people do). Matt...you are on the right track with your new pond. You certainly can install your bottom drain now and add the rest of the system later. But instead of using a pipe cap, install a 4" ball valve on the end of the line. The water can't be permitted to sit stagnant in the unused drain line for too long or it will start developing the dreaded hydrogen sulphide gas. Opening that valve every couple of weeks and allowing the water to flow out for a couple of minutes will prevent the problems. I am attaching a link to the Atlanta Koi Club's web site. They have an excellent pdf that explains a lot about how a koi pond works, water quality, stocking levels, how much biofiltration is needed and many other wonderful facts. Cindy

If you're interested in the Precision Dispense option (from the three models whirlpool trainee pointed out), the WFW96HEA looks like it might offer some good features. Both offer 4.30 Cu.Ft drum, 1400 RPM spin speed, stackable, The WFW96HEA offers: 12 Wash Cycles (instead of 13) Has Pre Soak 30 min, 8 hour, 60 min (No Pre Soak on other) 4 Soil levels - Extra Heavy (instead of 3 no Extra Heavy) 3 speed 1/2 horsepower (instead of 1/3 horsepower) 5 spin speeds (instead of 4 on the other) LCD count down indicator The WFL98HEBU offers: Bulky Items, Hand Wash, Jeans, My Cycle, Rinse/Drain A LCD information window. For $200 less the WFW96HEA offers a lot of features. With the WFL98HEBU you're paying for the LCD screen. Samsung makes eye catching machines but I read a lot of issues with them not standing by the customers after the sale and when you have issues (same with LG). Parts seem harder to come by, machines are made in Korea. Here is a link that might be useful: Precision Dispense

Hi Linaria - I've never seen H non-scripta in a 'normal' garden, only in the wild or somewhere with very extensive grounds. They look best seen from a distance, en masse, in a woodland setting where what happens after flowering is not relevant. You need a lot of them to get the misty blue effect. In small numbers, though pretty, they don't make much impact imo. We have a problem over here with hybridisation watering down the native species. One other point. If your local garden centre is selling H non-scripta I'd want to be absolutely certain they're not dug from the wild.

Reading back on my post 2-1/2 years later, I am a bit shocked at how far I moved from there... I ended up purchasing a 36" Wolf induction cooktop, Wolf 30" M-series oven, and Wolf convection-steam oven. Despite kaseki's very fair warnings that induction cooktops have a notable failure rate, leaving one with a unique cutout in your countertop that is very limiting, I went with the Wolf cooktop because I liked its configuration, and its price, though costly, was a better value than other $$$ brands. I gave up on the Benchmark bc it had consistent negative feedback on a few features. I gave up on Thermador as a brand bc it had more consistent comments that Thermador customer service was lacking, and its oven models lagged behind other company's in innovation. For example, their combi-steam oven (and Benchmark's), had a water container that took a lot of space from the oven. However, I will note that one GW poster rigorously tested the Wolf, Thermador and Miele ovens in one showroom (~1-1/2 years ago), and felt that Thermador was the most even-baking, even if their convection fan technology was not the obviously best-designed. I went with the Wolf convection-steam oven bc it offered more useable space and was a lot less maintenance/easier to clean than the Miele, although it has fewer features and lacks a broiler, as the Miele has (although I originally thought the lack of a broiler in the Wolf was a deal-breaker for me). I went with the Wolf M-series oven bc I needed to stack my convection-steam oven and 30" wall oven. While I am not certain that I won't have problems with blue porcelain crazing and cracking, Wolf has had a long time to work on the issue, and it is an entirely new design from the L-series with the porcelain issues. We STILL haven't gotten our kitchen up and running, and are in the last 2 months of a 3 year building process (way too many problems!). I will add that in the last year, I once again started thinking that I should have put a Wolf convection-steam oven in my island and purchased side-swing double ovens where my 30" wall oven and 30" (front) convection-steam oven are stacked — and I would have come out significantly ahead in ergonomics and $$. I hope this summary of my decisions catches someone at the right time in their decision-making! Sorry to veer off from Thermador and Bosch here, but I seriously considered those brands, so summarized here.