A deep pond with vertical walls will go a long way in predator control. Once in a while you will get a heron who learns to just stand quietly at the side and spear the fish when they surface, but I have never had it happen here. And I have lots of big herons fly over almost every day. I have shade sails over the pond so that may help some as well. Kingfishers don't care how deep the pond is though. They sit in a near-by tree and watch for a fish to surface, then dive in and get it. Comorants, Anhingas, and Ospray fish like that too. But I have never had an issue with any of those birds either. So you are new to koi keeping? Are you building this pond yourself or having someone build it for you? Do you understand the use of bottom drains that tie into filtration to keep the pond bottom clean? A koi pond, in otherwords a pond designed to provide the optimal environment for koi, differs greatly from a water garden. A properly designe koi pond can be VERY low maintenance. My biggest pond is 9000 gallons yet maintenance takes only 15 minutes a week at the most. You are in the perfect position to plan this thing out now and make it a wonderful habitat for the koi. I am attaching a link to a pond forum that I moderate on. There are some pretty good pond construction threads there with loads of pictures. Check it out if you get a chance. My newest pond building project is there, along with some good DIY filters and such. Here is a link that might be useful: The pond forum

QUESTION I have been reading some stuff about concrete, and since I have lung problems (chronic bronchitis)I wonder what kind of mask or respirator I should use. One article said to use something that is rated for silica because of the lung disease silica can cause (silicosis). It scares me! What are all of you doing about this? ANSWER GOOD QUESTION! Hopefully everyone's wearing masks approved for use with silica - I am! Wear household cleaning gloves (like Platex Living gloves) when handling and mixing concrete and hypertufa. You can switch to lighter weight disposable gloves after mixing. Wet concrete and hypertufa are caustic to the skin and moist membranes (like your airways and eyes). Wear eye protection! We have mentioned all this before, all the instructions other members have submitted remind people to wear safety equipment, so I'm assuming that folks are doing just that. However, just in case... *climbs up on soapbox...* ANYONE working with portland cement, silica sand, silicon dioxide, silica fume, vermiculite, perlite, natural pigments and oxides, paints, sealers, admixes, or any other substances has a PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to acquaint themselves with the chemical properties, safety and environmental issues of those substances. Start by READING THE LABELS - the ENTIRE label!! Then read the MSDS sheets. People DO work with and around these products every day, but they are NOT benign and should NOT be used carelessly. You SHOULD be concerned about being around products like this, especially if you have an existing health issue. Use good sense, KNOW and FOLLOW safety procedures. Check out the MSDS sheet for concrete. When finishing (wire brushing, carving, sanding, etc.) cementious products (concrete & hypertufa), keep the object WET so that no dust is created. Wear the mask anyway - just in case. If you are working in an enclosed area - basement, garage, shed, be sure to use GOOD ventilation, a particulate air filter, and put washable mats at the entrance to living areas to avoid tracking dust into your living environment. Use plastic sheeting or bags whenever possible so that cleaning up mostly consists of carefully gathering the protective material and throwing it away. Vacuum rather than sweep. Wear protective clothing, especially when finishing objects. A lot of dust goes right into your clothing, so shower, change and launder immediately after working. If you do a lot of this work, have a couple of "work outfits" so you are not trashing and contaminating all your clothes. Those disposable paper jump suits are the hot set-up and are used extensively in the ornamental concrete industry. When transferring dry materials (pouring into storage buckets, measuring for mixing, etc.), create as little dust as possible. FAST = DUMPING = DUST. Instead of DUMPING a load of sand (crystalline silica dust) or portland cement into a mixing tub, PLACE the measuring container into the mixing container as close to the bottom as possible and SLOWLY SLIDE the material out of the measuring container into the mixing tub to create minimal dust. Measure your powdery ingredients into the mixing tub first, then add the heavier particulate matter (sand, perlite, vermiculite, etc.) on top of the cement, etc. When transferring ingredients from paper bags into storage containers, make a 6"-8" cut in the top of the bag and place the open end into the storage bucket. SLOWLY empty the bag into the container, raising the bag slightly as the material fills the container. Don't worry about trying to shake every little grain out of the bag! The savings is NOT worth the dust created! TRANSFER BULK MATERIALS TO STORAGE CONTAINERS OUTDOORS, not in your house, basement, shed or garage, then move the smaller storage containers wherever is convenient for you. Hauling the storage containers to your work area is good exercise! Working with these products does require diligent adherence to safety, health and environmental consideration, but there is no reason to be afraid to use them. USE COMMON SENSE!!! If you are still concerned, discuss your concerns with your doctor who might have more specific advice for you. Respect and follow good safety procedures and HAVE FUN. Rock On! :) *********************************************************** Definitely use something that is better than those "surgical" masks you see people wearing to mow the lawn. Read the label on the masks to see what they are certified for, and change cartridges as needed. Also, to minimize dust production, pre-moisten the perlite/vermiculite/peat. Put some of the damp stuff into the mixing container and make a "volcano". Gently put the Portland cement and sand into the crater and top with the rest of the other pre-moistened ingredients. *********************************************************** I've found that when you're making 'tufa, if you mix your first two ingredients, (Sand, peat, etc.) really well, BEFORE you add your cement, you greatly minimize the stirring up of cement dust. This is especially helpful when you're mixing large quanities in a wheelbarrow, for example. *********************************************************** I have my "concrete clothes" I slip into when I start to work with the product, take them off and shower immediately after, I can feel the stuff in my hair, dusting my glasses, always wear the approved mask, have now evolved to double gloving for my hands. *********************************************************** QUESTION Are masks necessary even when working outside? ANSWER YES, they are. Cement hardens from a chemical reaction between water and cement dust. Your lungs are super-moist and that cement dust is very, very fine - you don't want to find out the hard way how they are going to work together. I do all my work outside and always wear a mask. You only need your mask while you are mixing the dry ingredients. Once they are wet you can set the mask aside to do the actual molding and such. ************************************************************ MORE SAFETY ISSUES As I was scraping away on the inside of a pot yesterday, I had a *near miss* I wanted to share. Normally, I wear glasses, so eye protection is covered for most things. But, when I'm working on pots, the glasses often come off so I can see close up. I was scraping with one of those big utility knives with the breakaway blades, when the blade suddenly broke and whistled past my eye. Actually felt the wind of it on my skin! I dodged a bullet that time! I realized that the safety errors I had made are rather common, so I thought I'd share my brainless moment and hope it saves someone an injury. When we're using tools (especially makeshift tools not designed for the purpose for which we're using them) scraping and particularly sculpting, gotta wear dem goggles! They make 'em in all colors to complement the most colorful of 'tufa outfits, so fashion is no excuse to pass 'em up! I'm gettin' some hot pink ones for Mother's Day! Elton John, eat my dust! ************************************************************ I had a close call with a machete a few weeks back... kept slipping out of my hand. I took it back and am gonna look for one with a closed loop handle next time. Safety FIRST, fur shur! ************************************************************* Another tool to consider using eye protection is a hand held wire brush. Some people use the brush to ruff up the tufa. The wires do brake off and become flying missiles. Happened to me as a kid cleaning an ax head of rust, didn't know I had pieces of wire in my eye until the next day when I couldn't open my eye lids. Another trip to the hospital in my youth. ************************************************************* And it's not just the tools you have to worry about. I've gotton small bits of tufa mix flung into my eye as I was scraping with a wire brush - it hurt like h***. And then two weeks ago I was dipping cement out of the bag into my measuring containor when I caught it just right and *whoof* a cloud of cement dust comes flying up out of the bag and right into my face. Fortunately the hose was nearby and I managed to flush my eyes out before any damage could occur. I ALWAYS wear my goggles now when doing anything other than the actual molding. ************************************************************* The very same thing happened to me five days ago - there was a hole in a bag of dry concrete mix and as I was moving it the same thing happened - WHOOF - a cloud of dust came out and into my face. My eye got worse and worse and before the day was out I had to go to the local clinic. The young doctor rolled the eyelid up and found a tiny piece of grit EMBEDDED in the eyelid. Every time I blinked it was scratching the eye's cornea..... The dry dust from these mixes is quite corrosive and it must damage your lungs too if you breathe it in. I reckon that not just goggles, but a SARS type face mask are both good ideas. ************************************************************* More than a SARS mask - an ANSI approved mask for free silica! The "bag poof" phenomena is another reason I store my cement in plastic bags inside of buckets - I can deal with powdery stuff in plastic bags, but those heavy paper bags do unexpected things with cement! Portland cement is deceiving - something that is so darned heavy to move around SHOULD NOT be light enough to poof in your face!!! One of life's little contradictions, 'tufa style!!! ************************************************************* REGARDING GLOVES I had a very successful day Sunday working on the water fall in hypertufa. My gloves failed after the first hour, and I did not heed your advice and continiued bare handed for four more hours. Monday I could not use my hands at all. Very painful!!! *********************************************************** I was really good about all the safety precautions when I mixed and made my totem. However, when I unmolded the beads after 22 hours I didn't wear gloves. I spent about 10-15 minutes filing off the chunky edges till I realized the fingers on my left hand (holding the beads) were being eaten through. My pinky was actually bleeding. Won't make that mistake again; ouch. ***********************************************************

No electrical wiring FAQ would be complete without addressing the issue of subpanels. If, after reading the article below, you have any questions or feel that your situation is not covered by the article, please visit the Electrical Wiring Forum to ask any follow-up questions. A very special thanks to Tom_O for writing this article and sharing it with us. ---------------------------------- This is a general guideline about the installation of a sub-panel in a remote building, hopefully it will contain the information you need. At the bottom will be a list of items you can omit if the sub-panel will be located in the same building as your service entrance. Most of the requirements would apply to any structure, but I have aimed this at installations on residential property. If your installation is subject to inspection, you should talk to your local code enforcement official prior to starting work. Wire - Type and size You can use underground cable. The following capacities apply for copper cables: Cable ampacities - 60C temperature rating #10 - 30 amps #8 - 40 amps #6 - 55 amps (can be protected at 60 amps) #4 - 70 amps #2 - 95 amps (can be protected at 100 amps) If you elect to use cable, it will need to be protected from damage if it emerges from the ground on the exterior side of a building. This protection can be rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit or schedule 80 PVC. The protection must extend from the bottom of the trench to the height of 8' above grade, or where the cable enters the building, whichever is less. The preferred method is to run PVC conduit with individual conductors. The minimum size should be 1 1/4", as this will allow you to run up to a 100 amp feeder. The following capacities are for copper conductors with THWN, THW or XHHW insulation: Individual conductor ampacities - 75C temperature rating #10 - 30 amps #8 - 50 amps #6 - 65 amps (can be protected at 70 amps) #4 - 85 amps (can be protected at 90 amps for outbuildings. If this sub-panel is in a dwelling #4 may be good for 100 amps - see notes below) #3 - 100 amps Please see the notes at the end regarding wire ampacities and temperatures! Number of conductors needed For various reasons, it is best to run 4 conductors. This would be two 'hots', one grounded conductor (neutral) and one equipment ground (bare or green). Depth of trench For cable, you will need 24" of cover. For PVC conduit, you will need 18" of cover. While you have your trench open, you should put in at least one spare conduit (3/4" minimum size) for future use. It would be a shame to dig up your yard again just to run a phone line. Sub-panel main breaker At your remote building, your sub-panel must have a main breaker if there will be more than six breakers used in your panel. It is recommended to put in a main breaker even if only a couple of circuits will be used initially. If the main breaker is to be back-fed, it must be held in place by a screw or clip that will prevent it from being unplugged by hand. You can use a 100 amp breaker even if the size of the feeder circuit is less, however, check the wire range allowed for the connection to the breaker to make sure that the wire size you are using is within the acceptable range for that particular breaker. Grounding and bonding of the sub-panel At the sub-panel there must be no connection between the neutral bus bar and the equipment ground bus bar or the neutral bus bar and the sheet metal of the breaker box. You may need to purchase an additional bus bar for the equipment ground since many panels, especially those that come with a main breaker, do not come equipped with one. If the panel comes with a bonding screw or bonding strap, do not install it to the neutral. Depending on the brand of panel, you may need it to connect the ground bus to the sheet metal enclosure. At the remote building, you will need to drive two eight-foot ground rods located a minimum of six feet from each other and connect them to the equipment ground bus using #6 copper wire. The easiest way is to make one continuous run without cutting the wire. The rods must be driven in flush or below grade. The ground rod clamps must be listed for direct burial. It will say so on the clamp or look for the letters "DB". If you have any metal piping (except gas lines) in the remote building, you must bond it to the equipment ground bar, use #6 wire. If the connection is to a metal water line, the connection should be within the first 5 feet of where the water line enters the building. All connections must remain accessible, so if the connection will end up inside a wall, you must provide an access plate. I realize that some of the things I've included exceed the code minimum, but this is an attempt to make a "one size fits all" response without getting into a really long discussion. For a sub-panel in the same dwelling there is no need for additional ground rods or connections to metal piping. Also, no need for a main breaker in the sub-panel, regardless of the number of circuits. Unless you are running metal conduit, you will need to run a 4 wire feeder. Wire ampacity notes If you are installing a sub-panel in your house, the ampacity of #4 copper or #2 aluminum is 100 amps as determined by a special table in the code. However, in some jurisdicitons, there is a very strict interpretation of this table and these ampacities would not be allowed for a sub-panel in your house. If you aren't sure, ask your inspector if he will allow the ampacities shown in table 310-15(B)(6) or go up one size wire to #3 copper or #1 aluminum. The current carrying capacity of an insulated conductor is related to the type of insulation. Modern insulation allows conductors to be operated at higher current levels which generate more heat. There is a problem if you install the modern conductors into an older service panel as the higher temperatures could damage the older types of insulation. If your home was wired prior to 1985, you may have conductors with a lower rated insulation. If you have an older home or aren't sure, to be on the safe side, use the wire capacity table above that deals with cables. The larger conductors that you will use will now be in the same temperature class as the older styles of insulation. Circuit breaker notes Circuit breakers and panelboards also have a temperature rating. Most modern circuit breakers will be marked 60/75 C. This means that this circuit breaker can be used with wire being operated at its 75 degree C rating without doing damage to the circuit breaker. However (there always seems to be one of those), the entire panel must be listed for use at that temperature. Older panels will not have the higher temperature rating. In order to find out if your existing panel is rated for 75 degree ampacities, you will need to read all of those fine print labels. For us older guys, that means break out the magnifying glass. You cannot just stick a new circuit breaker into an old panel and assume that it will be safe. During your exploration of all the fine print, you should be looking for some indication that 75 degree wire can be used at its full temperature rating. What you're hoping to see is a reference to 60/75C for conductor sizes #14 to #1 AWG. If you don't see the 75 degree listing, then the wire must be operated at the 60 degree rating, therefore use the table above for cables to select the correct wire size. Article written by Tom_O --------------------------------------- Be sure to browse our other FAQ's for more information on feeders, wire types, grounding and bonding.

You will need a permit. The bedrooms will need egress windows, insulation, electrical outlets, and on and on. There are numerous codes you must meet. Good luck in Queens. If you don't - you will not be able to sell the home - because the new owners will not be able to get a certificate of occupancy.