Joann, Another beautiful pic of your pond and babies. I never tire of seeing your pics. I would love to be able to rock the bottom of my stream, but I can't afford to buy more rocks this year. But I do think I like the idea of using fist sized rocks instead of smaller ones when I can rock it. I don't know if they will look too big though since the stream is only 2' wide. I have the liner laid in place and am just waiting for the seam tape to come in to attach the stream to the pond. I was just hoping someone had some pics of their stream without rocks that I could see. Thanks everyone. Sandi

I can give you a partial explanation. I have seen the same kind of deposits in plastic lined tanks, unlined tanks, slow moving natural streams and a large pond and waterfall built during the depression as well as most watergardens and ponds. It is a stew of dirt deposits from the air and rain, mulm, live algae and lots of dead algae, and a few minerals from all the rocks in the stream. You could get rid of it temporarally by sterilizing the pond and seriously scrubbing the rocks but that would mean getting rid of the fish and it will be back in 2 weeks anyway. It usually grows in sun more than shade but will occur there as well. It is more likely to form in still water or in spots that slow the water flow slightly which allows heavier debris to drop out of the flow. The stones you have in the waterfall that get such a pounding are actually acting as a sedimentation tank. Not a very efficient one since the rock layer is shallow but it will trap debris that will feed the algae and other biological stuff that lives in the pond water. You may be over feeding the biofilter. I have never added any bio active material to my five year old pond and rarely have a problem with the Skippy filter. I did buy some today that is designed to work below 50 degrees as an experiment but I expect I could do fine without it. I have no stones in my pond other than the ones that were knocked in by accident and the sides and bottom on the liner are virtually free of any algae growth or mulm but I know it is there. If you lift a planter that sits on one of the shelves or under a plastic crate the fishies use as a panic room you will find the deposits. The deposits occur anywhere the water flow is slowed. Excess food helps it along too. I expect to find similar deposits on the sides of pots as I pull them out for the winter. It will make them very slick or slimey to the touch. Make sure you are not overfeeding the fish, cut down on the microbes and remove some of the rocks at the lowest point. Mulm will collect there for you to vaccuum up and it will make you happy. Increase your filtration material. I use quilt batting on my skippy and a large prefilter on the pump for the UV light box. It won't get rid of all of it but it will reduce it. Sandy

Hi oldalgebra! I haven't put my kitchen on FKB - should I? I'm a newbie so wasn't sure if I was "worthy", LOL. Some details: - Cabinets: Merit cabinets in Whistler style, cherry wood with Truffle stain - Hardware: Ebay (gasp!) These are very heavy, great quality and a fraction of the cost of similar pulls I've seen in stores - Tile: Lunada Bay recycled glass tiles (Sumi-e style in Ohara Natural, 1x2 brick) Don't laugh, but I have more pictures/details on a Rate My Space page. I have a pretty low rating, but that's okay, I still like my kitchen :)

Thanks, Ladies, and we may never know how it was used, I guess. I hope to one day find a pic with something similar, but all of my Googling has come up with nothing. I sanded a bit of the mirror frame, and examined the bottom of it last night, and it IS pine, and was originally attached to a dresser from what I see there. It's certainly not fine furniture, more cottage - but I really like it, and hope he'll let me remove the paint layers. The mirror glass is not 'clean cut' in its shape, but carefully chipped away all the way around to make the curves. I just measured it and over all, including the wooden framing, it is 33" high, 36" across, and the 'receptacle' is 11" across, 3" from back to front, and 2" deep. These are pics I just took of the bottom, showing the pine, and the receptacle close up - just the way I found it in the garage; dirty! Bottom, laying on a granite bench - Standing up, so receptacle is reflected in the mirror.