One thing you will need to purchase and learn to use is a pond test kit. Doing a test every week or so allows you to keep your water healthy and clear. Things that can mess up water chemistry are overfeeding, fish poop and other organics like the muck at the bottom of the pond, heat, insufficient oxygen, rainwater and a bunch of other things. Most of the bad things can be caught early with the test kit. Don't waste money on test strips. They are often inaccurate. Not all shop vacs are designed to pump out the water continuously. It will say on the box that it has a pump feature. I found mine for $85. There are other devices that work with water running from a water hose. The one I use most often for a quick fix is this type. It's found at WalMart and is for childrens pools. It costs $20. I am looking for one of a similar design with better construction. It is just plain flimsy and repairs don't last. Python also puts out a similar device. It is hard to hold, the capture jar is too large around for me to open and it is overpriced at $89.It is complicated. The shop vac removes water. You can run the hose that you attach to it to your garden. The dirty water is good fertilizer. The other two add water to the pond so I pump some water out with a sump pump or I drain the filtration tank. Either way is simple to do, even for someone with my current physical problems. LOL, sometimes I must be a sight to see. The fishies sometimes get curious but if you keep the nozzle moving slowly, they will lose interest without getting scared. Are you saying the pump and tubing are not submerged? If so, it is a different type of pump than I use. That isn't a problem but we need to get another forum member to discuss them. Mine are submerged and I hesitate to give advice on a type I have no real experience with. The other things function enough alike that I don't have a problem talking about them. If I do, someone else will be along. While the pond is dirty, that foam filter in front of the pump will need to be cleaned fairly often, just like Sheepco says. Most pumps can handle dirty water with some small abount of debris but larger debris needs to be stopped from going into the impeller as it can cause damage. I hate that tiny little filter. It is just too inefficient for words. I found a prefilter for a well pump at Menards. I used some stepdown PVC connectors, also at Menards to make it fit the tubing. It keeps anything above the size of a small pea from entering the pump and a decent pump can handle that with no problem. I threw away the tiny foam filter that came with the pump. The water exits the pump and tubing runs to a 100 gallon Stock tank which is my mechanical filtration It also serves as a home for the bacteria that cleans up organic matter in the water. That black bucket thing behind your waterfall is likely to be a mechanical and bio filter. The details are just a little different. My filter is called a Skippy Filter. It is not the only design out there. I just happen to like playing with this kind of stuff. Another small pond I have the care of changes drastically every year. No matter what kind of system you are using you should look at how effecient it is, whether it works for you and if it does what it is supposed to. There are many sites that explain how filter systems work. To see how my skippy works, google Skippy stuff. My pond is 1000 gallons so my system is probably oversized, but I want to enlarge it this year or next. I have to get my body working first then I can use it as physical therapy! You have either EPDM or plastic(PVC)as a liner. If it feels like rubber it is EPDM. EPDM is rubber, just like they use in innertubes or on roofs. 45 mil is best but it comes in a thinner version as well. The plastic liner isn't as durable but some people do like it. To figure out how many gallons your pond holds(useful for medications, additives, pump size, etc.)go to the link named pond volume calculator at the end of this post. Then you can figure out how much water you have, how much your pump should be moving, how many fish inches you can support and all sorts of other things. If you don't like this one, there are others. That is likely to be enough for now. As you think of questions just add on. Enjoy, Sandy Here is a link that might be useful: pond volume calculator

"Do you think I have stayed just because I am afraid to go out "on my own"?" Makes absolutely no difference in the world what I think -- Makes ALL the difference what YOU think -- And from what you've written, it sure sounds like YOU think that's why you've stayed. That you got married on the rebound (oops!), have now realized it was a mistake (OK - smart even), but have stayed out of habit and probably just because it was easier than leaving (understandable - for a while). You now have an opportunity to make a change that is unusually easy. Really, exceptionally easy. Handed to you on a silver platter easy. My advice? Pretend in your own mind for a week or so that you've left him. He's gone, you're staying, and now you're free. Live like you want to live! Go out for walks. Eat healthy. Pack up HIS stuff and take the whole closet for yourself. If you find you like it (I'm betting you will) just keep on going and don't look back.

yeah.. some level of panic ... chill on that ... the tree looks very happy ... solve the deck issue.. and see how the tree reacts over the next 5 or 10 years ... not much else you can do ... its not hungry.. so dont go thinking food will help ... if you can get a full ID ... perhaps with a better pic of the leaves/needles ... then you can take the latin name to google ... and see what potential this particular tree has ... i often add the word FOREST to the search.. to see what can really happen ... by doing this ... you can predict future size..in determining how to rebuild the deck ... if no one here can ID it.. try the name that plant forum ... think of it this way ... that tree out near the street.. could probably have been hit by a car.. and survived.. this little deck issue should not be all that big a deal ... at least you found the problem.. and are solving it ... now dont go all killing it with too much love on us ... just fix the deck ... dont know the whole situation.. but i would rebuild with at least one foot.. and maybe two feet ... to be sure this didnt happen again.. in my lifetime ... perhaps a better pic of the whole deck and the tree... will get opinion as to whether i am off base ... as well as the ID ken

I agree with tropic, way to much water, mine likes to be on the drier side to be happy. I would remove it from the pot asap and get all that wet soil out of the pot and add dry soil..