
Recently my brother-in-law had a reverse osmosis system installed for their drinking water. The installer left him a water quality meter which is a digital TDS meter that measures the Total Dissolved Solids in the water. What this means is that it measures the total amount of substances in the water other than the pure H2O. He joked that this was the first time ever that he had a gadget that I didn't... so to keep with my reputation, that night I ordered my very own TDS Meter. Today, the unit arrived and I checked our water quality... it's 34.0 -- which is good! My sisters water through reverse osmosis is 0.06 (really, really, good!) and their normal water was at 60. The ideal drinking water range is 0-50. I do have a simple water filter installed but when testing the water non-filtered I didn't notice much difference (maybe it's time to get a new one?). I highly recommend you check your water quality since the EPA Secondary Regulations advise a maximum contamination level (MCL) of 500mg/liter (500 parts per million (ppm)) for TDS... that's really high if recommended drinking water is 0-50.
"A high level of TDS is an indicator of potential concerns, and warrants further investigation... most often, high levels of TDS are caused by the presence of potassium, chlorides and sodium. These ions have little or no short-term effects, but toxic ions (lead arsenic, cadmium, nitrate and others) may also be dissolved in the water. "
So if there is a problem with your water supply you can get to it before it gets you... the unit I bought is the HM COM-100
Here is the video review of the Nobu N8WTS10 (I know it's a long name, try memorizing it!). Overall, this is a great product. I know a lot of people have suggested a Tablet PC or a UMPC over the Nobu, however, those units are not design to be used 24/7 and are not rated for in-wall use. The Nobu unit also has Windows XP embedded OS which makes it much more stable. Also, since this unit has all the I/O you'll need, it can act as your whole house control server, plus user interface controller making it worth the price alone. You will need to bring-your-own-software and the UI should be designed for touchscreen use since it's a bit hard to use otherwise.
For more information and pricing visit www.nobu-usa.com
If you are a musician you've probably heard of D'Addario & Company, Inc. They acquired the Planet Waves line in 1998 and I think it was a smart investment. Planet Waves really revolutionizes the way one terminates audio/video cables... I have a full video review, so check it out! For more information check out Planet Waves website.
Update: Here is a video of the fountain running!


In my previous post about the DIY: Patio Waterfall Feature I was waiting for the copper panels to arrive from Zappone. The panels and caps arrived on Monday and I installed them last night. The installation went very easy (I might post some of those photos) -- it's exactly like putting up wood shingles. I still need to apply some sealant around the J-molding but should be ready to open the dam up by the end of the week, at which point, I'll be posting a video of the running waterfall.
Oh, and yes... the copper will patina to a nice dark brown/bronze. Right now, it's a bit Trump-ish.
Part 1
Part 2 - The Panels Installed
The weather here in Seattle has been great this last week, in the mid 70's, even 80's -- great weather to work on landscaping. I have a back patio that I needed to finish, I installed "cobblestone" pavers a couple weeks ago and it was time now to finish the waterfall feature. When my house was built, we had to put in a concrete retaining wall to hold up the back slope. From the start, I saw this wall as a great opportunity to design and build a contemporary waterfall feature. To this point, I have installed 3/4" schedule 40 pipe as a water return to the top reservoir, a channel drain to catch the water flowing down, a 1200GPH magnetic pond pump and now, I am waiting for the copper wall panels -- more on that below.


The Pump
The hardest part about designing a waterfall feature is picking the right pump. In my case, I have to send water up 6' to the top reservoir. This requires a stronger pump and if you are going to build a waterfall feature, you will need to find a pump that works for you. Depending on the effect you want, you could go slower or faster (less/more Gallons Per Hour) -- I wanted a medium flow. So in order to achieve that, I went with a 1200GPH pump which is about half that when it pushes up 6'. I ended up using a Pondmaster Magnetic pump. The pump is installed in a remote/hidden location where I brought power and the plumbing to -- and yes, it will be tied into the home automation system!

The Reservoir
The top reservoir holds the water that will spill over the edge. I poured a concrete wall and base then lined it with a black pond liner (available from Home Depot). This will retain the water with minimal loss.
The Channel Drain
I chose a channel drain that holds about 4 gallons. The channel drain will be covered with 1/2" - 1 1/2" black polished river rocks once the back copper panels are installed. The rocks will also add to the nice trickle sound effect when the water pours over them.
The Wall
I wanted to use copper since it is very low maintenance and I have used copper on other parts of my house -- it would tie things together nicely. At first, I was thinking of using a couple sheets of copper and just attaching them to the wall. I did some research and found a company in Spokane, WA named Zappone and they have a copper paneling product that looked like it could work. I called up their sales department and Jerry, really helpful guy, told me all about their product. The price fit the bill and so I ordered a custom kit on Tuesday. I should have the panels here next week and once I get them installed photos will be posted. In the meantime, check out Zappones photo gallery -- pretty cool stuff!
- Zappone
- PondMaster Pumps
Part 2 - The Panels Installed
The weather here in Seattle has been great this last week, in the mid 70's, even 80's -- great weather to work on landscaping. I have a back patio that I needed to finish, I installed "cobblestone" pavers a couple weeks ago and it was time now to finish the waterfall feature. When my house was built, we had to put in a concrete retaining wall to hold up the back slope. From the start, I saw this wall as a great opportunity to design and build a contemporary waterfall feature. To this point, I have installed 3/4" schedule 40 pipe as a water return to the top reservoir, a channel drain to catch the water flowing down, a 1200GPH magnetic pond pump and now, I am waiting for the copper wall panels -- more on that below.



The Pump
The hardest part about designing a waterfall feature is picking the right pump. In my case, I have to send water up 6' to the top reservoir. This requires a stronger pump and if you are going to build a waterfall feature, you will need to find a pump that works for you. Depending on the effect you want, you could go slower or faster (less/more Gallons Per Hour) -- I wanted a medium flow. So in order to achieve that, I went with a 1200GPH pump which is about half that when it pushes up 6'. I ended up using a Pondmaster Magnetic pump. The pump is installed in a remote/hidden location where I brought power and the plumbing to -- and yes, it will be tied into the home automation system!

The Reservoir
The top reservoir holds the water that will spill over the edge. I poured a concrete wall and base then lined it with a black pond liner (available from Home Depot). This will retain the water with minimal loss.
The Channel Drain
I chose a channel drain that holds about 4 gallons. The channel drain will be covered with 1/2" - 1 1/2" black polished river rocks once the back copper panels are installed. The rocks will also add to the nice trickle sound effect when the water pours over them.
The Wall
I wanted to use copper since it is very low maintenance and I have used copper on other parts of my house -- it would tie things together nicely. At first, I was thinking of using a couple sheets of copper and just attaching them to the wall. I did some research and found a company in Spokane, WA named Zappone and they have a copper paneling product that looked like it could work. I called up their sales department and Jerry, really helpful guy, told me all about their product. The price fit the bill and so I ordered a custom kit on Tuesday. I should have the panels here next week and once I get them installed photos will be posted. In the meantime, check out Zappones photo gallery -- pretty cool stuff!
- Zappone
- PondMaster Pumps