I lurk on your message board all the time, but do not post. For what it's worth, I just wanted to let you know that I think what's going on right now is absurd, and you have my full and complete support. FYI, the guy who put in my pond was AS trained, and I had to convince him to do it my way. As you know, I have rocks on the side of the pond for stability, but no rocks on the bottom, as well as bottom drains, a UV and, of course, the BIG MAMA Aquadyne filter! In other words, I guess I have a modified AS pond, and I am delighted. My water is clear, and I do not believe for one minute that the design of the pond contributed in any way to the troubles I had in the spring. If you can convince AS to design a system that is koi friendly, more power to you. I don't know how you could do that effectively without trying it out for a year or so. That only gives you credibility with the AS folks, and can give a lot of hope to the thousands of people who want to modify their AS systems to accomodate their growing interest in quality koi. I know you already know this, but just keep doing what you're doing and ignore the critics. I spent my entire life in politics, and this is no different. I continue to have absolute confidence in you. No one could have helped me more than you did, or understood more clearly what I was going through. You (and of course your wonderful dad) were real anchors to me, and I will always appreciate it! Don't let it get you down!

Lynda P.