Grannytoddy, Somewhere there is a thread that has a fabulous picture of a claw-footed tub someone turned into a water feature, shower head and all. But can I find it? NOPE!! I've searched and searched. I would think that the plumbing for the shower head would be just standard stuff from Lowes or HD. A picture I saw one time had one of those very large rainforest type of heads. You could also make one yourself with a horizontal pipe with lots of holes drilled in it so it creates a veil of water falling down. Another option might be to have a hand-held type of shower mounted to a decorative pole or a tree or something like that. You will need a pump that is strong enough to raise the water the heighth of the shower head. You will also want a filter that will prevent the pump from clogging. I agree with butterfly that weekly partial water changes will help keep the water tolerable for the fish. At least partial shade would be a good idea. A bath tub is deep enough for a beautiful water lily. The main concern is to make sure the drain is well plugged. I would probably get into over-kill on that hahaha As far as fish go, I doubt any fish would survive MN winters in an above-ground tub. You could bring them in for the winter as butterfly suggested or put them in your friend's pond for the winter. After losing my fish a couple of winters ago I am now doing that; put them in a friend's large pond for the winter and bring a couple of fish home for the summer. Some people paint the outside of the tub. I have thought it would be fun to paint fish swimming around with some plants in pots that are lined up with real plants that stick up out of the pond, like elephants ear or umbrella plant. hahaha This sounds like a fun adventure. Please take pictures when you are done.

Hi Bluegirl: You are right about "the professor told us that iron oxide is unavailable to cows." I already tested iron sulfate on my rhododendrons ... didn't green up, but leaves turned brown, and the plants died. Iron sulfate burns root fast, it's very acidic, but plants can't use that. Chelated iron is in a form that plants can use. That's why I use Wholesome Organics molasses with 20% chelated iron, 20% potassium, and 17% calcium ... that greened up Excellenz von Schubert rose immediately. That rose is known for chlorosis and prefers acidic soil. People make the wrong assumption that lime added to tap water provides calcium to plants. They don't realize that form of lime, calcium oxide, is unstable, and binds with iron, phosphorus, and potassium ... making plants yellowish. See below from Wikipedia: "Calcium oxide is made by the thermal decomposition of materials such as limestone. This is accomplished by heating the material to above 825 °C (1,517 °F),[5] a process called calcination or lime-burning, to liberate a molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2); leaving quicklime. The quicklime is not stable and, when cooled ... after enough time, it will be completely converted back to calcium carbonate .... Calcium oxide is a key ingredient for the process of making cement." Calcium hydroxide is calcium oxide mixed with water. It's used in fresh water treatment for raising the pH of the water so pipes won't corrode. My tap water in my last house was neutral ... roses bloomed OK when watered with tap. But my tap water in my current house, alkaline soil, is hard-well water, pH 8. The soil where I watered with tap turned concrete, compare to the soil where it's just rain water. The practice of adding calcium hydroxide to water to prevent pipes from being rusty, is what glue up clay soil further, and raise the pH. Thus I get less flowering when watered with my tap (pH 8), versus rain water (pH 5.6). I put rock-hard limestone clay under drain-spout where rain water pours ... they become fluffy fine particles. Rain water (pH 5.6) through time can convert limestone into gypsum ... I already double- checked with the chemist in the Soil Forum. Gypsum occurs naturally and also is made by reacting sulfuric acid with calcium carbonate. Too much gypsum can hurt. Here's an excerpt from link below: "From intensive field observations of gypsiferous soils in Iraq, Smith and Robertson (1962) found that root growth was inhibited where the gypsum content of soil was over 10 percent." "Van Alphen and de los Rios Romero (1971) conclude that up to 2 percent gypsum in the soil favours plant growth, between 2 and 25 percent has little or no adverse effect if in powdery form, but more than 25 percent can cause substantial reduction in yields. They suggest that reductions are due in part to imbalanced ion ratios, particularly K:Ca and Mg:Ca ratios" K stand for potassium, Ca stand for calcium, and Mg stand for magnesium. That's why I use gypsum (17% sulfur and 22% calcium) to break up hard clay at the bottom of the planting hole .... and use sulfate of potash (23% sulfur and 20% potassium) to neutralize my pH 8 tap water. My pH 7.7 clay soil is tested exceedingly high in magnesium, Mg is what makes clay sticky. Calcium and potassium together help with best bloom formation. Below is a bouquet of roses: Radio Times (pink), Crown Princess Magareta (orange), and Paul Neyron (dark pink). They are fertilized with gypsum and sulfate of potash. Here is a link that might be useful: Effects of gypsum and calcium carbonate on plants This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Thu, Oct 31, 13 at 11:55

I hope you find something. Mine lasted a year and a half. So I ordered new ones and have been waiting 7 months for delivery. I thought Brinkman was a high quality grill

Here's how I season my large Jambalaya pots (AKA wash kettles, gypsy pots, hog pots).......some as large as 30 gallons. Clean the interior with Bar Keeper's Friend followed by a second water washing with Liquid detergent then a good rinsing. DO NOT skip this important step. Then warm your pot over an outdoor burner using a small flame. Then intent is to "warm" your pot on the bottom and sides and completely dry it. Allow your pot to slowly get HOT. Put a little lard (or Crisco shortening) in the pot and when it is melted.....CAREFULLY smear it completely around the pot....both inside and outside......using a wad of paper towels. Wipe off all excess lard....no puddles allowed. You only want a "thin" coating of lard. THIN is important. Then using a PROPANE torch heat the pot "evenly" and completely around it. After it gets hot all over....start working the torch in smaller areas...heating that "small area" to the smoking point of the lard. As you do this, you will see it turn black. Don't heat any longer after it turns black....move your torch to another adjacent area and repeat. Continue to keep your pot hot by heating completely around it with your torch....then focus on a smaller area again. Do not let your pot overheat in any one area to the point of where the seasoning flakes (or burns) off. It is important that you do not burn off the seasoning that you just laid down. The more you do this....the better the seasoning layers will develop. FYI, on a very large pot I use the kind of propane torch that they sell at Harbor Freight for de-icing driveway or for burning grass. For smaller pots I use a smaller propane soldering torch. To prevent future rust in storage and to help further develop its good seasoning layer. Coat the interior and exterior of your pot lightly with some melted lard (purchased stuff...not bacon fat). NEVER EVER coat your pot with regular cooking oil as IT WILL eventually get sticky, gummy, and go rancid. There is nothing worst than that rancid taste in your cooked food. You can prevent this from ever happening by simply using either Crisco shortening or purchased Lard for coating your pot between use. ......grapeseed oil is highly recommended for indoor oven seasoning (less smoking). Best of luck to you in your outdoor cooking adventures. Dan Semper Fi-cus