I have finished major part of the project, still need to fix small things like paint work on the wooden boarder, arbor over waterfall, rails, aquatic plants and fish. here are some pics; Mia, thanks again for the pump and filters, it is working great, lift lot of water. Thank you all for all those tips to make it happen. Here is a link that might be useful: Hot Bath Tub Water Garden

On the backside of that overflow cover there is a little steel spring that holds the lever in the open position. Quite often as they age the springs will rust away. The good news is, it is a very simple and inexpensive repair. Remove the two screws that hold the overflow trim cover in place, then pull upward & outward on the trim cover at the same time. You will see a wire rod linkage that is connected on the inner end of the lever and it goes down to the stopper. Continue pulling upwards and the stopper will come out, or at least get the stopper high enough so that when you remvove the trim cover you can let the linkage hand down inside the tub, otherwise the linkage might fall back down the overflow pipe. There is a little brass cotter pin that passes through the linkage and lever. Remove the cotter pin. The trim cover will now be disconnected. You might be able to bend the spring a bit to restore the proper action but generally it is much easier to just go to your local hardware and get a new trim cover for a couple bucks.

Pushing the diverter down after the water is turned off will still allow the water to drain from the shower arm to the fill spout. There is probably some roughness in the brass castings that is causing increased resistance, but that shouldn't be a problem when you turn the water off first. It may work easier after repeated use.

My Ultra Bain air tub looks similar. Has raised area at the, er, rear. Has arm rests and handles and a head rest. It's acrylic and heated. I chose mine to fit *me*, since DH prefers a shower. I was able to 'try one on' in a plumbing company's showroom. I wanted to be able to brace my feet so I wouldn't just slip right down underwater. I also wanted something that would fill in a short time. (We have a whirlpool tub that I never use because it takes ages to fill.) My tub is 14 years old. Zero problems. Easy to clean. Air tubs 'blow out' remaining water a few minutes after you exit them so there is no mold forming in the tubing. I have a regular fill faucet and a spray rinse on a diverter.