Hi I got all the parts, need to build the assembly before installing the bypass on the water main entering the house. Couple more questions: - because of space constraints I need to remove the ball valve on the house side, so my only option is to shut off the water before the water meter near the sidewalk. Any risk doing so? It looks like a 1/4 turn ball valve. - is this the correct procedure for shutting off water? 1) turn water heater thermostat to off 2) close ball valve on cold water supply to water heater 3) close ball valve before meter near sidewalk 4) open lowest faucet and drain 5) perform repairs 6) turn water back on at sidewalk 7) reopen ball valve on water heater 8) set thermostat on heater to where it was Cheers, CG

Thanks for the follow-up! Freckled cellophane, that's a great description. I was kinda wondering cos I know he is part cellophane, but with 'spots'. Freckled sounds infinitely cuter, and also less doggish, not that it's a bad thing ;P hummm, the water is still the main issue. I thought I cleared the cloudy issue by removing the leaching pebbles but the water is cloudy again, and I did a full change yesterday! Well it's more hazy than cloudy, I can really see the difference from today's versus yesterday's water. I should really get the test kit and find out what the problem is. Do uncycled and unfiltered tanks get bacterial bloom? The tank is a 1.5 gallon. In it is just the betta and some hornwart, plus 2 silk plants. And a little aquarium figurine from walmart. I would really like to find the cause of this. When I had him in the 0.5 gallon betta kit there wasn't this problem. The hazy issue has only cropped up with the Faunarium, and has does so overnight immediately after water change. I use Aquaplus, and aquarium salt. Plus the water was left overnight to help adjust the temperature. The water looked sparkly clear after the change. Suddenly overnight it turns hazy. I have a feeling that it is contributing to the splitting fins. Gaaah, this is when inexperience really kicks in....my poor fish. I cleaned the tank with warm water, then rinse it off with cold, if that makes a difference. I didn't use soaps of any kind...Another factor could be the difference in water I'm getting - I was on residence before, but has since moved. I found that the water gets hazy in the new place. Other thing is, the water I have standing by in jars are still clear, so I wonder if its the tank. Sunshine is still acting fine, he's a bit toned down today, not as much zipping around. Hope he's just having a lazier day. He's eating, flaring and curious as ever. Hope I can find a conclusion to this, and many thanks to all who've replied!

I live in Peoria, IL. Back in the olden days, there was a Hiram Walker's Distillery in the area. So the old oak empty barrels can usually be found at a local antique dealer and second hand stores. They usually sell for around $40-$50. I'd ship you one but shipping would probably cost $200+, they are very heavy... I know one place that has a stack of probably 50 of these barrels. It takes quite a bit of rinsing to get the smell of the old whiskey out... it doesn't smell bad. The bands are rusty and don't last very long. My barrel lasted about 5 years, then I had to get another one. But I really like the rustic appearance. Its not real convenient because its very heavy if you need to move it around... The wooden barrels have two or three slats in the top and you have to be careful not to cut too much of the slats. I cut a large enough hole in the top that I can coil a hose inside and stick my arm down there. I secured a screen cover over the top to keep out skeeters and keep out debris from the roof. I screwed the screen down on one side. Attached a small lathe to the other side of the screen. I could lift the lathe to open the screen to access the hole and the hose. The downspout was cut off to dump on to the top of the barrel. I cut an overflow hole on the side of the barrel just below the top ring. The hole was just large enough (2"x3") to fit an elbow downspout piece. And then I ran the remnant downspout that was cut off for the barrel, on the side of the barrel from the overflow to the ground. I get water out of the barrel by using the hose as a siphon. I would either place potted plants next to the barrel and siphon water directly on to the plants. Or I would siphon water into a watering can or bucket to move around to the patio or wherever the plant were... One end of the hose (in the barrel) was tied to string and the string was tied to a nail the top of the barrel. I could lift the hose with the string an not have to fish around in the barrel looking for the submerged hose. I tip the barrel upside down for the winter and re-attach the normal downspout. Not sure if I explained that very well. But picture is worth a thousand words.

It depends. By chopped what do you mean exactly ? Did you add any liquid to the jars ? If you just packed them in raw, no added liquid, then they are not processed long enough. You must be sure you are using the right time for the type of pack. The 40 min. pints/45 min. is for those packed with WATER added to each jar . Plain tomatoes in a jar, packed without the water takes 85 min. If you did not add the water, then you need to either reprocess within 24 hours of the initial canning or put in the fridge and eat within a couple days or pop the seals and freeze the jars. They are not safe to reprocess after the 24 hours. So, your have been canned too long, and sorry, but you should throw them away if you did not add the water to the jars. If you did and the headspace is down, you can use them. The bottled lemon juice or citric acid crystals must be added, too, as was said. Even in pressure canned tomatoes the added acid is necessary. You probably did a raw pack, right ? They will mush down and that is what you will get,a lot of shrinkage. It isn't necessarily siphoning if you used a raw pack. A hot pack will really help with tomatoes. Also, if you did not leave the jars in the canner for an additional 5 min. after processing and removing the lid, that can also cause siphoning. It is very important for the water to be over the jars, too, as Ken said.