I have finished major part of the project, still need to fix small things like paint work on the wooden boarder, arbor over waterfall, rails, aquatic plants and fish. here are some pics; Mia, thanks again for the pump and filters, it is working great, lift lot of water. Thank you all for all those tips to make it happen. Here is a link that might be useful: Hot Bath Tub Water Garden

--- "Yeah I'm in PA, not to far from NJ and Philly. I'm looking for a used hot tub, I didnt want to outlay 8k in these uncertain times. So I thought I could find something that would last us a few years until we get out of this awful recession. I am holding out for the right deal and I dont want somebody else's junk. A moving sale would be ideal!" --- Why not place a few ads stating that you're looking for a used hot tub? There may be someone near you who doesn't use their tub and would welcome the opportunity to have it removed. I'm a home inspector. It's not unheard of to find a hot tub staying with the house and the buyer saying that they don't want it. Maybe you can contact some home inspectors in your area and offer them a finders fee if they would run into a similar situation and you work out a deal for a tub. --- "How on earth did you find the website design on a msg board? You are a true inpector indeed. I dont even think it's the 'real' Whirlpool name that we all know since they are using a hyphen in their spelling." --- I Googled the name. That message board was the first result - ahead of the website itself. Now THAT tells you something. I think it's safe to say that the appliance company is in no way related. --- "I read your post twice, I only see one contradiction where they say 'they work with whirl-spa manufacturers' but their biz name indicates THEY ARE the manufacturer. Plus on their 'About Us' page they indicate they are the 3rd largest spa manufacturer in the world. They certainly dont appear to live up to that, per their dinky site." --- Well, -I- went back and read it carefully, and it's only four. Oops. You picked up the most blatant one. Two of the others are similar: They claim to have been contracted to liquidate excess inventory, but yet they also claim to be the manufacturer, and they take pride instead of we take pride. Also, the claim of selling dirt cheap to avoid additional storage and transportation fees does not jibe with the reason they are being liquidated. There are also a few minor errors that a large, legit company simply wouldn't have on their website, such as capitalizing dealer and not capitalizing Home Depot. For having been in business 15 years, it's mighty strange that the domain name has only been registered since July 15, 2008. It was registered through GoDaddy, something that I doubt the third largest spa manufacturer in the world would do. A whois search revealed the registrant is Lianna Lawson. Ms. Lawson had a candle company called Winning Wicks that she apparently operated out of her home in Jonesborough, Tennessee. I say HAD, because there doesn't seem to be an active web site for the company. I'm guessing that the candle company folded and she's now selling hot tubs out of her house, over the internet. Joe Here is a link that might be useful: Winning Wicks

I've done showers that had all kinds of windows. I'm not saying it can't be done. BUT. be aware there's a risk associated with it. <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Bill_Vincent/media/Flaherty033.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt=" photo Flaherty033.jpg"/></a> <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Bill_Vincent/media/Allen120.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt=" photo Allen120.jpg"/></a>

I figured I should post a follow up in case it can help others in a similar situation. For a heavier bather load we might have considered a UV or ozone system, but seeing as we were new to owning a hot tub, we were hesitant to invest the money to upgrade the system (from what we could find, it would be at least several thousand dollars) when we had no idea how much use the hot tub would get. It did take several months and a few flushes of water for the hot tub to stop smelling heavily of chlorine. We did a few weeks of letting it run with some soda in the water with no bathers, to try to remove the odor and replaced the filters completely. We decided to try Ahhnatural's system for the tub, and it has worked beautifully. I would probably consider the hot tub usage light, and we've enforced quick pre-showering with no problems (our guests were happy to use a hot tub in a pretty backyard, so no fuss about needing to pre-shower). That being said, the hot tub is a pleasure now. We've shocked regularly, and extra after holidays when the tub had extra use with guests. We've occasionally used an enzyme designed for hot tubs. We have no slime, no smell and clear water. No dry skin or rashes. We don't find we need to check on it often when it's not been used. In addition to my being able to use it safely, my family members don't smell of chlorine to make me ill. While I'm sure those who would not like to pre-shower or those with small children that might pee the tub may need chemical treatment, for those who are sensitive to normal hot tub treatments the Ahhnatural system has worked well for us. I paid full price for their system, this isn't a paid endorsement and I've not spoken to them since I did my online order, so aside from my favoritism for non-chemical systems, I feel this is a fairly unbiased review. Hopefully it will help someone else.