Gloria.........please don't ever think your questions are pestering! That's what we all come here for......suggestions/help/opinions......so please, keep asking questions! I've had a lotus in a container and a lily in a container in the same 100 gallon stocktank before. its a tight fit but possible. But in your 300 gallon, you should do fine with a lotus and lily (in containers). The lily pads might collide with the lotus floaters, but that's not really a problem. The lotus, after they get their floaters, grow upright. Just be sure to put your lotus on the side of the stocktank where it won't shade the lower growing lilies. I know several of us have talked about having a lotus bog, but lotus grow just fine in containers that are set down into a stocktank. The lily continer should go on the floor of the stocktank, whereas the lotus container should be on something like a milk crate, to bring it so that the surface of the container is about 4-6" below the water's surface. Have fun!

You will love the RO Jamies! We have a dedicated drinking water faucet in the kitchen. Our RO tank is under the sink as usual but the filters are in a box on the exterior of the house. This saves some space under the sink and makes filter changes very easy. RO does waste water but since we use the faucet for drinking only we are not bing terribly wasteful. I drink much more water now than I did before we installed the RO, it tastes so good! I have just purchased a Brita water filter pitcher for my mother in England as she has been complaining about the quality of her drinking water. They seem expensive here, this one was 18 pounds sterling, about $30 from Costco UK, but it has 4 filters with it. A pack of 6 filters is about $25.

Hi PondNovice The 4500 for me has been ok so far. This is my 3rd summer and it has seen 2 winters. I hope I will not bombard you with info, but here goes.... Definely use pond water to clean the sponges as it reduces any determintal affect on the good bacteria within the filter. The fresh tap water you have been using will contain chlorine which can kill the friendly bacteria. The bacteria forms a 'biofilm' or slimely coating on the plastic shapes right at the bottom of the filter below the sponges. Don't clean these bits of plastic, I think mine are blue. This will ensure the levels of toxic nitrites (given off as waste from fish) are converted to nitrates which the plants use as fertilizer. I might have got the -ites and -ates round the wrong way! long time since A-level biology! For maintence basicly buy a new full set of sponges every year ~£13-15, they clog up quicker the older they get. BE CAREFUL: There are 2 versions of bioforce 4500, they revised the model design slightly around 2001-2. The versions have different sponges with respect to the hole in the middle of them. I think the later version has a bigger hole to accomodate the UV section. Also, replce the UV light bulb every year. They only have a 12 month useful output. Keep the quartz housing clean hrough the summer as only 60% of the UV gets through a clean quartz so a coating of algea makes it almost not worth having it on. BE CAREFUL when changing the UV light bulb. My unit developed a leak in March when I changed mine. See my last post on this thread. The only reason I noticed I had a leak into the electrical wiring of the UV unit was the RCD device light. Which was off. I tried powering up but it kept flicking off. DEFINELY have a RCD for both the UV light and the pump or anything electrical that is in contact with the pond water. I could go on for ages. Please ask if anything is not clear. May the force be with you. Groan Mark

@opaone, In an earlier post, you quoted your "buddy" at ASHRAE who provided this position on behalf of ASHRAE: "Negative health effects arise from exposure to ozone and its reaction products. Consequently, devices that use the reactivity of ozone for cleaning the air (emphasis added) should not be used in occupied spaces." I don't know if ASHRAE states that as their position, but I would fully support it. There are cleaning and disinfecting devices which intentionally produce ozone as a disinfecting agent. These devices are advertised to remove chemical contaminants, odors, kill mold spores, etc. which, if they do it at all, is by chemical reaction with ozone. They aren't advertised as particulate filters. By contrast, electronic air cleaners, such as Honeywell's F300, are electrostatic precipitators. They remove particles from air by electrically charging the particles which are then collected on a collector plate which has the opposite electrical charge. Although not intentional, electrical arcing can sometimes occur in electrostatic precipitators and ozone can be produced as a consequence. To be abundantly clear, electrostatic precipitators don't use the reactivity of ozone for cleaning the air . Ozone is naturally occurring in outdoor air. Indoors it can be produced at trace levels by motors, hair dryers, laser printers, and photocopiers to name a few sources. If you want to eliminate ozone from your home, you'll need to start by getting rid of all of those. Then you'll need to add a device to filter out naturally occurring ozone that enters via infiltration. I realize that houzz.com threads are dominated by homeowners and DIYers. If you want to argue a technical point with an experienced and credentialed professional, please bring some data, a link to a research report or something other than your opinion, a quote from an unnamed source or a general reference to your "extensive research." If you'd like to invite Allison Bailes to weigh in on this, please invite him. I'm getting tired.