Thanks, everyone, for the great advice. I think I was in flat out panic mode when I posted yesterday! I'm a bit calmer now. Frankielynn - so sorry to hear about your fish. I lost several fish a few years ago when the temps were so cold. I hope the others are okay. I have a few white goldfish and I can attest that the orange ones can change to white at any time in their lives! I'm planning to set the stock tank up in the basement today but not obsess about getting the fish out (just yet). The long range forecast is mild (I'm on the coast) and the longer the fish can stay in the pond (assuming it has water!) the better for them. Of course I'm keeping a close watch on water level but all the rain and melting should help keep it up, at least for a week. My Dad is even considering some sort of short term patch. In the mean time, I'll get some filtration set up and maybe some plant lights. It's a matter of "when" I move them, not "if". If I get extremely lucky and keep the pond going until late February, I might even get a small, metal sided, pool and set that up outside. I found one but it can't be set up in the winter. That would be a lot better for the fish than a small stock tank. I'm a big proponent of Sanitred. It's designed for use in pools and fish ponds and is even used for animal enclosures in parks and zoos. I bet when we finally do drain the pond we'll discover the crack is *not* in the Sanitred coated area but the untreated rock. Here is a link that might be useful: Sanitred for ponds

Kinetico RO.....Highly recommend the K5W unit....the one with the "water-on-water" storage tank, which I believe is Kinetico exclusive. Much superior to their own or anyone else's air-bladder tanks. Uses line water-pressure for delivery so no drop-off in flow rate from full to empty. Also refills with zero back-pressure so replenishment is much faster and with much less wasted water. I've had two of them at different locations for more than a year. 2.7 gallons capacity. Flows about 1.2 gallons per minute at my 65psi line pressure. Refills from empty in under an hour. Far superior to previous (or current) air-bladder tank. Worth every penny of the extra in terms of convenience IMHO. (Had previous Kinetico RO units for 18 years with zero problems. Responded to their exchange-discount offer.) Kinetico is high-end supplier but they absolutely do hold up their end of the bargain in my experience. They did everything. I did nothing.

The polarizer is not really colored, the color you see is because of the effect of the polarizer on the light passing through it. Since a polarizer works by blocking light that is not in line with the polarity of the filter, the filter looks dark. This is normal and unavoidable. Unless you have a camera that meters through the lens you need to increase your exposure by the filter factor. You mention "linear" polarizer. If you have an autofocus SLR, you need a "circular" ploarizer. The effect on the film is exactly the same, but autofocus probably won't work through a linear polarizer.

We have a Dynamic electro-static filter like yours on our geothermal HP. I would not change ours. IMPO SR