I started with a 35 gal preform. I have since added a 90 gal, 160 gal and 750 gal stocktank, all above ground. I haven't a clue...but...last year when I was starting up a new stocktank and had to add my fish before the new water cycled, I was told that the good bacteria live on the pots and soil of my lilys. Everything worked out for me. IMHO...which isn't worth much...I'd go ahead and do at least a large water change since the fish are still indoors and let everything start doing whatever it does before you have to move the fish back outside.

I have read the attached links and I am still confused. I thought I read last year that an outdoor burner was not recommended. I have a glass top range so I need to use something else. I have a turkey fryer burner, a large burner on the propane grill, a two burner stove on folding legs that brings it up to stand-up height and it runs on a propane tank. I have a electric counter top double burner but not a professional one. I have an inside location with a concrete floor that could serve as a temporary canning kitchen and not have the heat and steam inside the house. I would love to fix an area that is perfect for canning, but I'm not quite sure how to do it. The building is a small guest house and has both gas and electricity and I even have a fairly new electric cooktop that I could add, but I think I would rather have a gas stove. By making a few changes, I could probably fit in a small gas apartment range. Natural gas is only a few feet away and so is a 220 outlet that runs a clothes dryer. I live in an area that is prone to ice storms and loss of electrity, and when that happens, we turn on the one gas heater in our house to keep the pipes from freezing, and we move to the other quarters that have gas heat and a gas water heater. We have used the two burner stove (for cooking only) inside and lived in relative comfort but it is really designed for outside. I think I will add a sink that is easy to fill large pots with, like I have in my kitchen, but the sink with have to be small. I will never have enough counter space but can always set up a folding table as a work surface, and I have one small butcher block cabinet that is mobile. A natural gas stove would give me a 'storm backup' without having to bring in the propane cook stove. Last year most of my canning was BWB but that isn't always the case. In the next couple of months I plan to complete this space so I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. This is a small space, but I think I would like being able to can there instead of having it all over the kitchen. Ideas?

Cracks from freeze/thaw in asphalt only happen when the base is poorly constructed and does not drain properly and/or no crown on the drive was achieved when installed or the material was improperly compacted. You have a higher chance of this with a cold roll drive than a hot roll one. With a properly graded lot with ditches or swales, a properly compacted gravel/stone base that reaches deep enough, and a crown in the asphalt, any water that falls is directed away from the drive and you will not have cracks or frost heave. There are way too many cost cutting fly by night people doing asphalt installations who simply do not really know what they are doing and that is why you have issues with asphalt drives. Done properly, an asphalt drive is more durable than a concrete one. Done poorly, it is not. Far more are done poorly than done well so this is not a place to cut corners. It's just like painting. It's all about the 90% of prep that comes before. The last 10% is about the skill of the compactor and the quality of the product. I do live in the South, but not the Deep South. We get several months of below freezing temperatures here, most often at night, with daytime winter temps rising back above freezing into the 40's, or like today, the 60's. (It was 27 the night before last with a high of only 34 the following day and then the warm front with tornadoes came through.) We deal with a daily freeze/thaw cycle instead of a more seasonal one, although we do get 1 out 5-6 winters when the daily temperature remains below freezing for a period of a couple of weeks. Our record low temperature is 13 below 0, and 0 itself is seen 1 out of 10 winters. We also get periodic ice storms, which are worse for wear and tear on just about everything than snowstorms. The longevity of my drive is due to it's proper construction, not the fact that it has never been subject to freeze/thaw conditions. There are asphalt drives in 10 year old subdivisions on the outskirts of town that are already failing. It's because they were poorly constructed.

I had the same problem with my vented gas fireplace and found someone that recommended auto firewall rubber. This can withstand a tremendous amount of heat. I purchased two, 2 fireplaces, patches of it off amazon and stuck them to the top of my stacks. This worked out GREAT!! It has been over a year and they are still attached. The adhesive is industrial strength. Now all I need to do is solve the wind sound on windy days. Hope this helps!