Susan I think chemicals are bad for your pond and I have been ponding for many years. I don't know what Microbe Life or GreenClean contain so I am not sure if they are harmful. But the best way to keep a pond healthy and happy is to keep if free from debris that settles on the bottom, filter the water and make sure it has lots of oxygen. If you don't want to add filtration the concentrate on debris removal and water changes. There are so many ways to filter your pond. Many people vacuum the pond bottom, some use retro-fit bottom drains to keep the bottom clean and those who are newly installing a pond will include a bottom drain to their ponds. Filtering the pond is important to keep maintenance at a minimun. You need to remove as much debris as possible with a good filter and make sure you have biological filtration as well. For example I have two circuits of filtration. My skimmer has a 57 watt UV light and all the water that is drawn from the surface goes to a big DIY filter that uses foam, plants and Savio springflow to help with the mechanical filtation and the biofiltration. My bottom drain goes to a settling pond in which the debris settles to the another small pond and it is cleaned out a few times a year. Since your pond is concrete then a retro-fit bottom drain could help. But vacuuming would work as well. When I first started out ponding I would vacuum my pond with a pump that I held with a small rope. I used that and a net to get out debis. Very low tech but worked well. I would then add fresh water to replace what I had taken out. Years go by and I have experimented with underground filters, Bead filters and DIY filters. When I rebuilt the pond (a few times I admit) the bottom drain attached to a seperate pond made maintenance much easier. So you just need to find the type of filtration that suits your needs. At the very least keep the bottom clean and do some water changes during the season. This is a very simple way to keep your pond healthy. Also the catfish will not hurt your fish. When I had my catfish he co-exsisted very well with the Koi. RIP Wayne. Lisa

Boy is CA in big trouble. I found this today: SACRAMENTO What budget crisis? As California faces what one official this week called a complete meltdown of state government, some lawmakers have their minds on other matters. Such as creating a blueberry commission. Or standing up for pomegranate juice. And, in what passes for health reform in the nation's most populous state, ensuring that the name tags of medical workers are in an 18-point font. Those are among the hundreds of bills being debated in the Legislature as the state faces a $24.3 billion deficit and the prospect of running out of cash by late July. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has urged lawmakers to act swiftly so the state can pass a budget before the fiscal crisis deepens. The lawmakers' attention on less pressing issues some of them much less pressing earned a rebuke from the Republican governor. He even endorsed the idea of converting the Legislature to part-time status to focus lawmakers' attention on only the most important topics. If lawmakers worked part-time, he said, "they would probably concentrate more on the serious work and not some of the bills that come down . . . for creating a blueberry commission and so on. There would not be time for that," he recently told the editorial board of The Sacramento Bee. Among the more eyebrow-raising bills pending in the state Legislature are ones that would: # Ensure that juice sold as "pomegranate" is 100 percent pomegranate. # Teach ninth- and 10th-graders about the value of organ donation. # Ban toy cigarette lighters. # Require day cares to serve only healthy food to children. # Mandate 18-point font on health workers' name tags. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, a Democrat from San Francisco, is the author of the name-tag bill and another that would establish a commission to promote California's growing blueberry industry. The commission's $1.2 million annual budget would come from a surcharge on blueberries. A spokeswoman for Ma declined to comment on her bills. In a written statement, she said the Legislature is working on measures to improve education, increase access to healthcare and keep jobs in the state. She did not mention blueberries or directly refer to the name-tag requirement. The leader of the state Senate, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, said he is not "spending a moment on any of those measures" as he concentrates on the budget problems. "I understand the perception. But at the same time, this is a body of 120 members, and the members are entitled to bring forward their ideas," said Steinberg, a Democrat from Sacramento. "I would hate to see the day where any leader or any system said to people, 'You can't introduce the following idea.' This is democracy." Legislative leaders said they are having daily hearings on how to close the budget deficit, even if individual lawmakers are promoting their own bills. They note that nearly all bills with multimillion-dollar price tags are off the table this year as California faces deep spending cuts amid a sharp decline in tax revenue. Schwarzenegger has proposed eliminating healthcare for 1 million low-income children and the program that helps welfare recipients find work. Billions of dollars are expected to be cut from education, and 5,000 state workers face layoffs. Nearly all government employees have been ordered to take furloughs and salary rollbacks that amount to a 15 percent pay reduction. Not all legislative action has been easy to mock, said Shannon Murphy, a spokeswoman for Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles. The Assembly has passed bills to help California collect billions in federal stimulus funding, offer financial help to counties hit by last year's wildfires, and place tighter regulations on mortgage brokers. "This is not business as usual," Murphy said. In a typical year, California lawmakers introduce about 2,800 bills and approve about a third of them, slightly ahead of the national average, said Brenda Erickson of the National Conference of State Legislatures. There also are limits: 50 bills per lawmaker per session in the Senate and 40 in the Assembly. That's far short of the five-bill per lawmaker limit in Colorado, but stricter than most states, Erickson said. The 455 bills the California Assembly approved last year cost the state's general fund $5.9 million, compared with an eight-year annual average of $644 million. In the Senate, which passed 964 of the 1,726 bills introduced, the cost to the general fund was $3.6 million, according to the Senate president pro tem's office. How many bills Schwarzenegger will sign into law is unclear. Last fall, he rejected 35 percent of the bills sent to his desk, explaining that the record-long budget impasse over the summer left him time to evaluate only the highest-profile bills. History could repeat itself this year as lawmakers try to set aside deep ideological differences and find common ground to balance the budget. Time is not on their side. On Wednesday, state Controller John Chiang released a statement saying tax revenue in May was $827 million below projections. The state is "less than 50 days away from a meltdown of state government," he said Schwarzenegger could use his authority to call lawmakers into a special session that would prevent them from taking up any items unrelated to the budget but so far has not done so. While the governor has made clear his frustration with the slow pace of negotiations, he has expressed confidence that will change as the financial deadlines draw near. "I know they will speed up and they will take this seriously," Schwarzenegger said.

This supposed buildup of detergent is usually caused by overdosing in the laundry and it'll happen whether you use liquid or powder. If you did it before you may do it again but the FL will be more visible. It's a good idea to do a rinse & spin on a few loads to get an idea if you have a problem. I find it so comical to read the threads where FLers scream that you MUST use HE detergents in a FL, yet there's another faction that tout Charlie's Soap, which is NOT HE. (It's "HE Compatible", like many others). That said, your detergent needs will vary from others due to your unique circumstances. You'll need to experiment to see what the level is that's good for you. Look for limited suds in the water while the cycle is going but also pop the door open and take a feel of the water for a "slippery" feel to make sure you have detergent in there. To get a good start, Tide HE powder is cherished by many, though Cheer powder is loved by many too. The good thing about both of them is they both have enzymes to help with cleaning. Though it's not mandatory, contrary to the statements made by some, it's still a good idea to go with HE, especially while you're getting used to a FL. You'll find the wars over detergents rage on much like the FL vs TL skirmishes. Expect a learning curve. Expect a time or two of oversudsing while you get used to it and even while you own it. It'll happen. Don't panic. It's an appliance, there to serve you. Enjoy your new machine.

I'm a first time buyer that is in escrow right now. We came into the market because it was the right time for us. I did a lot of comparison shopping to make sure I got the best deal for my price range. Unfortunately, it was a REO that had the best pricing. Owners' prices were a little too high for us:( Important things for us were: 1. Move in ready for the most part. We wouldn't know how to really fix a lot of things. Cosmetic things are okay. 2. Good schools. For me, they needed to be over 8 on API. Some may be more finicky and want higher scores. 3. Nice area. I didn't want to bring my family to a shady area. Sounds like you're in a nice area. 4. Pluses are the icing on the cake but not crucial: Updated countertops, hardwood floors etc. Every area is different though and in my area, was not a requirement and I was fine with the Pergo flooring (which was a preference for me over carpeting in the social areas). Carpeting was nice in the bedrooms. This is highly objective though and definitely different expectations from the economic downturn. In an upscale area, I would anticipate hardwood floors. 5. I preferred for owners to not be present during the showing. It was a little awkward and I was more likely to not spend that much time there because I felt like I was intruding. 6. I did notice the little things like the smells in the house. Maybe a candle or infuser to make it smell pretty but not overpowering. I remember one house smelled like they were baking and I really liked it. 7. I came across one house that had an angry pet, so if you have an angry pet, maybe take them with you. 8. Keep it BRIGHT inside the house. I was much more drawn to a house with a lot of light. If it is dark, it feels depressing and clausterphobic. 9. Be flexible: Be open to covering closing costs, fixing little things. Open to including washers/dryers/refrigerator as negotiation. Many first time buyers don't have those appliances yet. I know this is a long list but I'm just giving you as much of my insight. In the end, the most important part of this was finding a house at a great price. I BOUGHT the house with lots of light, clean, minimal work, with no appliances and they covered my closing costs and offered a carpet allowance we used as a discount on the purchase price. The flexibility was crucial. Good luck in the Spring!