Mike, Thanks for the heads up with the EA UV for the Savio. I know you've had a lot of trouble with the UVs so I'm sure you know all about them. My Savio is post-recall and I've had tremendous results with it, running it only a week here and there at times. I'm sure if a homeowner truly had a problem with a Savio UV, post recall, that this would make for a nice lawsuit. It would be hard for me to imagine a better setup for a UV than the private chamber utilized in the side of the Savio skimmer. It is just a nice design - and it works for me. I'll look into the EA UV unit when it becomes time to replace my bulb/lamp. Vickie, I feel I'm right ahead of you on your issues since you're doing roughly the same thing I did last summer, and we are using some of the same equipment. You are correct in thinking that our climate and setups are going to be perfect for all kinds of algae growth. We'll get algae early in the year, pre-spring for sure when nothing else is growing and the water temp is cool. Then because it is a new pond you'll have the algae out competing the young, small plants you pot in both your bio-falls and pond. It will take weeks for the bio-filter we have to even come close to doing a job on the extra nutrients our water has... and it still won't keep up except once you get tons of submerged or floating aquatic plants established. Mikes recommendation on WH is a good one but unlike him I wouldn't worry too much about the fish mixing w/ the WH because with that size bio-falls you're going to need all the extra filtration you can muster! I would put them everywhere you can, or are wiling to accept, and then fertilize them the way drh1 recommends, search stump remover - I use Gordon's, because last year without it my new pond only did so-so with the WH and I think it was because they didn't have any extra help. This year with David's (drh1) recommendation of a tspn a week they are absolutely thriving with big long floating roots (filtering). Now even though I seeded my biofalls media with Microbe-Lift several times last year I was still having some green water. It went pea-soup green about six days after the initial filling. Then it went CLEAR overnight about six days later. But because my bio-falls box, same as yours, isn't so big and the plants outside of it not so established I started to get a little green water again and some string algae on my stream and rocky areas. I got the Savio UV from www.practicalgardenponds.com and added it to my skimmer box and it really did well, for me. I still battle the string algae but I'm resigned to that fact since it is largely a problem of lack of fine filtration. I've changed out my filter media (was lava rocks) in my bio-falls a couple of weeks ago, going to Springflo media instead (started over on the biofiltering as a result). I'm cleaning my prefilter in my skimmer more often, sometimes when I add H202 or stir-up the mulm in the pond I'm cleaning the pre-filter twice daily, just depends. I also added some activated charcoal to the skimmer box recently. Because I was trying to get a hold of the string algae problem I may have had more and more mulm accumulating on the bottom of my pond, or maybe even having some of it become suspended in my water and floating; so, I did add a Pondcare product known as Accu-Clear to help bind the small particles together and I think that has helped with filtration and water clarity. I'm just hoping that with a couple of good sweep-outs of my pond, yes sweep as in using a broom, I hope I can get ahead of the detritus that accumulates. And I have to say, I fear for you in as much as I see you have installed a rock bottom to the pond. I know there are many that do but I would be too worried that this is going to make maintenance tougher. I think that it is smart that you stay proactive with insisting on relatively clear water because having particulates and other growths floating around makes it harder to get back to that CLEAN SLATE look you started with in the beginning. Good Luck, I hope that some of this information can be used to your advantage.

This decison was the biggest issue before we started to remodel and really held us back from starting sooner (we are now in the middle of it). We wanted to gut the bathroom ourselves but heard how hard it was to get the cast iron tub out. Ours was pink. We had bathfitters come, and the quote was over $3,000 for a custom tub and wall surround. Then we got a quote for reglazing -- $300. He said he would only do it in our downstairs bathroom where we have a window, but will not do upstairs becuase he won't use the chemicals where there is no window -- too dangerous to his health. So we were kind of bummed because getting the tub out from upstairs will be a bear. We were pretty set on reglazing because the downstairs is a guest bathroom and the bath/shower isn't used that much -- unless we move downstairs when we are old :) Then our plumber came to give us an estimate for the rough plumbing -- he suggested not reglazing because it doesn't last, and said here's a hint, take a sledgehammer to the tub -- which we did and it came out in 6 pieces in 1 hour -- and the town took it from the curb. He also begged us not to get our faucets from the big stores so he wouldn't have to rip our walls out in a few years. So now we have a new Kohler white cast iron tub downstairs and are not afraid to face the upstairs bath remodel. We will most likely get Americast upstairs because it is lighter. Just wanted to let you know what we found out about reglazing and an easier way to get the old tub out.

I suggest that the husband talk to his wife's doctor and see whether they can formulate a clear plan for hospitalization and treatment. I also suggest everyone around her stop talking about her weight, and stop talking about eating/food, and try to overcome any anger they might have (for some reason the illness does give rise to anger in concerned family members and friends, perhaps due to the helplessness that they feel). Instead, tell her how much she is loved, how she is worthy and needed, and how everyone wants her to be healthy (again, don't talk about her weight or food--focus on her happiness and health). I think that chronic eating disorders are much harder to treat than acute disorders, from my experience. My daughter nearly died from an acute onset of anorexia (at the age of 12). My sister had anorexia as young woman (lost her hair, her periods stopped) and still struggles. And my sister-in-law has battled chronic anorexia as an adult for years, recently seeking out therapy. My daughter finally turned a corner after being treated with medication to battle the obsessive-compulsive aspect of the disorder, but it took hospitalizations, several years of constant care, all kinds of treatments and therapies, and some backsliding, before she could regain her health. Often anorexics have a harsh inner voice that tells them they are fat, ugly, should die, etc. and combating that harsh voice is important (another reason to flood the individual with affection--they are already dealing with a conviction that they are not worthy or are flawed). It is a dangerous and terrible illness. My heart goes out to this family, and to your friend, and I do hope that she can be treated.

"Can I buff in a food grade mineral oil, coconut oil, bees wax or the “board butter” that my husband uses on his cutting boards?" Yes, you can, but why would you? Corian doesn't need any topicals, but if you've got a darker color and want a bit more shine and water beading, make a little room and get some Countertop Magic, please.