dang it....I had a really well though out response all done, and my internet explorer crashed. So I'll try again...lol!! First...a few comments regarding how koi ponds compare to aquariums. Normally, aquariums are lightly stocked with small fish. It's really easy to keep the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle operating perfectly in a correctly stocked environment. Same as a rock bottom pond...lightly stocked and properly maintanied it can work. In a pond's bio filter, ammonia is converted to nitrite and then to nitrate. Nitrate is most easily removed froma koi pond by way of regular water changes. Ever try to keep an aquarium with goldfish? Many goldie keepers I know keep no gravel in the tank at all, because of maintenance. That gravel gets really filthy very fast. I had a lovely goldie tank once....and gave it up. the maintenance was a nightmare! I'd rather deal with a huge koi pond any day of the week. Some people are reporting sucess with rock bottom ponds and no maintenance. Again...it is directly related to stocking levels. I hope these ponds continue to perform well for years to come, but for the vast majority of people, they will not. Most watergardeners install their ponds (and rocks) and then run out and buy a bunch of adorable little 5" long koi. The koi grow.....fast. They produce mountains of fish waste, which all gets trapped in the rocks. But because the pond looks clean, the owner is lulled into a false sense of security and does not think that there is a thing wrong, until the fish start dying or the fins start rotting off. Then they do one of two thing....they learn where they went wrong and correct their mistakes, or they just buy new fish (which is unfortunatly what most people do). Matt...you are on the right track with your new pond. You certainly can install your bottom drain now and add the rest of the system later. But instead of using a pipe cap, install a 4" ball valve on the end of the line. The water can't be permitted to sit stagnant in the unused drain line for too long or it will start developing the dreaded hydrogen sulphide gas. Opening that valve every couple of weeks and allowing the water to flow out for a couple of minutes will prevent the problems. I am attaching a link to the Atlanta Koi Club's web site. They have an excellent pdf that explains a lot about how a koi pond works, water quality, stocking levels, how much biofiltration is needed and many other wonderful facts. Cindy

Very nice. Really like the rock shoals, DW has a very good eye. Using big rocks is smart. Once algae covers the rocks a bit they tend to disappear a bit, bigger rocks disappear less. Some things you might want to consider... It looks like there are some gaps in between rocks that could be filled with a little bit of mortar. I know the look you're going, you want natural not mortared rock wall, so you don't want to grout them all. But when they're underwater things change. Just like in natural gaps will fill with muck. And you won't be able to see these gaps as well even with no algae. Not a big deal but imo, better to fill with mortar. You can still leave deep gaps, but they can be filled a bit. At least as far as I can tell from the pictures. Not saying this is important at all. The cracking mortar isn't a big deal of course. For other readers... Reducing water in mortar reduces shrinkage. Like dry mashed potatoes. Two 1/2" coats would reduce shrinkage. Or doing small sections. Each section shrinks and then an adjacent section is done. The shrinkage crack would happen where it's thinnest, over the folds. You can fill the larger cracks, like say more than 1/16", if you liked. This is a good idea to lock it all down, but not super important. What is kind of important is to wait 3 or 4 weeks before filling with water. 4 weeks is best. You can wet it down right away, a little standing water would be OK. There is a lot of debate on whether keeping cement damp is needed. 30 years ago it was a requirement. Cement never stops curing and it does need some moisture. So to me, in summer, I do think it helps. And it's so easy being at the bottom of a pond. The 3 or 4 weeks are needed for the crystal structure to form enough to be fairly waterproof and to completely enclose the lime. If you add water too soon the lime can leach out and weaken the mortar a lot. People fear the lime leaching out and causing high pH and can be a small issue with uncured cement. But the weakening of the mortar is of more concern imo. Before filling the pond hose down everything. Mortar, rocks, liner, until there's a few inches of standing water. No reason to scrub anything or use anything other than water. Let that sit for 12 hours or longer. Pump out that water. Now you'd be ready to fill the pond. This wash down gets rid of dirt and mortar dust and gives any surface lime a chance to dissolve into the water. Some people might tell you to wash the mortar with acid to "remove the lime". An acid wash has the opposite effect. The surface of cement reacts with CO2 forming a kind of "rust" called calcite. The CO2 can be in the air or water. Calcite has a pH of about 7 and helps seal the cement beneath. An acid wash would dissolve the calcite leaving fresh brand new cement with a surface pH of 12. Formation of calcite is also why you don't want a lot of standing water during the cure. You want CO2 in the air getting to the cement.

Well, if ya get it for free--here's what to do: (Remember, if it was completely submerged for 3 years, it might not be too bad inside the engine, etc. Seals keep the oil in and water out of the tranny. Only thing you can do is first--don't pay any money for it! Then if you know anything about engines, take the engine out and take it apart, and look inside the lower end. If it appears very rusty, then use it for a boat anchor. Check the rest of it the same way. But i'd say, with that long under water, you'd might as well consider it as a lost cause. The transmission will probably be gone, too, so that leaves a bunch of rusty parts that are not worth much! If it had been fished out soon after it fell into the water, it could have been saved, probably! I know a lady who fell into 4 foot of lake water while mowing with her Wheel Horse tractor. They fished her and the tractor out, got everything dried off, including her, and both are still working!

You are replacing a 3 ton condenser? Unless your furnace has a var speed blower motor, you should stick with a good 13 SEER rated condenser. I notice you did not provide model number of evap coil. A big deal. I would not have a third party evap coil. Get the model number and brand for each quote and post back. Since the furnace is relatively new, is there a reason you did not get a quote on an Armstrong condenser and coil? That way you would have a completely matched system. IMO This post was edited by tigerdunes on Tue, Apr 22, 14 at 11:23