Jason Boonstra is the author of “The Ultimate Water Garden Manual” – compulsory reading for anyone considering an Indoor water garden. For a FREE 20 part mini-course on “The Secrets To Creating & Maintaining a Stunning Water Garden!” go to => http://www.watergardentips.com
Creating an indoor water garden is almost equivalent with taking the pond from outside and bringing it inside in smaller dimensions. Most of the people choose to have indoor water gardens because they are easier to maintain and they offer more possibilities of exposing the flora.
Most of the indoor water gardens only contain plants. This is because fish need special treatment when being held indoor and usually that special treatment can only be given through a professional aquarium. The plants for the indoor water gardens are numerous and easy to find. What is really impressive is the fact that the indoor water garden can be held in a barrel or a bucket nicely arranged. These gardens are not spectacular through their form but through the plants they expose. These ponds are actually a collection of pots with plants, all kept under the water. Their moving is easy because you only have to move the pots from one place to another.
The nicest aspect of the indoor water gardens is that it allows exposing plants with different colors, dimensions, forms and contrasts. The bigger the contrast, the more beautiful the garden is. An interesting composition would be combining Typha laxmannii, Colocasia rubra (a plant with wide leaves) and a water lily with bi-color leaves. Of course, the plants floating on the water are the ones which finish the arrangement. These are: the plant with laced leaves (Pistia stratiotes) and Juncus effusus.
You can also easily combine the tall, thin and spiky silhouette of an iris pseudacorus with a tropical plant such as Alocasia, which has wide big leaves and is easy to care for. The border plants are the ones that are arranged near the water garden in order to give it a specific form and color. They usually share the same color, even if not the same form and create a beautiful path towards the game of colors inside the water garden.
Moreover, if you want your indoor water garden to have an aristocratic dramatic accent, you can add a plant which is considered to be a precious stone through the water plants species: hymenocallis caribaea. Of course, you can also use other water plants, such as the ones eating insects and digesting bugs with their hopper leaves. At the end, you can choose some floating plants such as Pistia stratiotes or Eichhornia crassipes. The edge of the pot can be “broken” by the pouring foliage of Mentha aquatica, which has perfumed leaves and beautiful blue flowers.
No matter the plants you use, try to report them to the dimensions of the pot. The gigantic plants going over a small pot do not leave a very pleasant impression. It is very important to make the most harmonic and proportional plant-pot combination. Feel free the let your imagination soar. Creativity is the key to designing your perfectly accented indoor water garden.
The exterior of your solar panel system consists of the solar panels, mounting hardware and wire connections. Exterior maintenance is all about cleanliness and fighting back against the ravages of the elements. Here’s a simple 4-step process for getting it done:
1. Inspect your solar panels for cracks in the glass or Plexiglas panels. If cracks are detected, seal them with a high-temperature silicon product.
Cracks can let in moisture, and they can also grow deeper and wider if left unrepaired. Be sure to clean the area around the cracks with window cleaner and dry it thoroughly before applying the silicone. It’s best to work on the cracks when the sun is low and the glass is not superheated.
2. Clean dirt, debris, bird droppings and other foreign materials from the solar panels, and then wash it all down with a window cleaning solvent or vinegar and water solution.
3. Check all mounting hardware to make sure your solar panels are still tight. You can spray a light coating of WD-40 on the connections if they are showing signs of exposure to the elements. Replace any seriously corroded hardware. Also check the bolts going into your roof and apply some roofing sealant to the bolt heads and around the hole, if needed.
4. Inspect the wire connectors leading from your solar panels to your home for signs of corrosion or fraying. Replace any damaged wire or connectors.
Interior Maintenance
Interior maintenance is even easier. All you need to do is inspect the area where the outside wires enter your home and make sure the opening is weatherproof. Use an appropriate sealer to close up any openings. Look for telltale signs like water stains in the immediate area where the wires come inside.
Battery Maintenance
If you are using flooded batteries, carefully remove the caps and add ONLY distilled water up to the fill mark in each cell, if needed.
Remember that the fumes from flooded batteries are caustic and potentially explosive. Keep your face away from the opening and only open the batteries in a well-ventilated area.
Regardless of the battery type you use, check each battery terminal connection to make sure it is tight and free of corrosion. You can remove mild corrosion with a diluted mixture of baking soda and water. Be careful!
There are no other user-serviceable parts in your solar system, so if you have completed all of the steps above, you’re all set.
Maintenance frequency depends on your environmental conditions. If you’re in a dusty area, you’ll need to clean and inspect your panels more frequently.
Whenever possible, inspect your panels, especially the mounting brackets, if your area comes under a hurricane watch or warning.
Jakob Jelling runs www.solarpanelmanual.com which focuses on solar energy and especially solar panels.
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Before you start, it’s wise to check with your local government zoning or building permit agency to see if a permit is required before you begin work. You might also want to give your homeowner’s association a heads up to see if the association has any special requirements. Also, it’s wise to check with your homeowner’s insurance agent to see if your insurance policy addresses solar panels in any way. Most do not.
1. Contrary to popular belief, you do not want your solar panels facing south. You need to choose a spot on your roof that faces east or west and gets the most sun.
2. The required angle of your solar panels to the sun is determined by your home’s geographic latitude. If your home is at 25° latitude, for example, your solar panels should be tilted 25°.
For every 5 degrees above 25, add 5 degrees of tilt to your home’s latitude unless your home is located at 40 degrees or higher. In that case, you need to add 20 degrees of tilt to your home’s latitude. Confused? Here are some examples:
• 30° latitude = 35° tilt
• 40° latitude = 60° tilt
• 55° latitude = 75° tilt
3. Your solar panels should come with surface mounts. If you build your own panels, or yours did not come with mounts, you can buy them easily.
Place your mounts 4 feet apart on your roof and make sure each one is centered on a rafter.
4. Drill a hole for the mounting lag bolt used with each fastener. Make sure you drill directly into the center of each rafter to avoid splitting the wood and possibly damaging the structural integrity of your roof!
5. Screw the mounting bolts through the holes in the mounting brackets and into the holes you just drilled. Seal the head of the bolts with roofing compound to protect your attic from water damage or thermal loss.
6. Using the provided hardware, attach the solar panels to the mounting brackets you just installed. Adjust the panels so they are at least 12” from the roof surface. Solar panels need airflow for optimum operation.
There. That was easy! Solar contractors try to make everything seem so complicated so you’ll pay them to do something that you can easily do yourself. Don’t be fooled!
Jakob Jelling runs www.solarpanelmanual.com
which focuses on solar energy and especially solar panels.
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Wood storage buildings can be a versatile long lasting and affordable solution to your storage needs whether you need to store firewood, household items, yard accessories or whatever you need to store. The question is should you buy pre-built, a kit or build it yourself?
It’s easy to find pre-built storage buildings for sale although they can be expensive. The advantage of these are that you can buy it bring it home and you instantly have a building. The problem is they are heavy and awkward to move so they are difficult to transport and sometimes even more difficult to get into someone’s backyard.
Kits are easier to move but can still be expensive and you have no control over how well they are built or how functional they are. Also if you want to modify them it may not be that easy.
If you want to save money and have a building exactly the way you want it the best way is to build one yourself or have one built for you on the site.
There are thousands of plans for storage buildings on the internet. You can pick out the design that will best suit your needs and build it for less that it costs to buy one. If you know where to look you can even find a lot of materials free.
Some wood storage building plans come with step-by-step guides that will make construction a virtual no brainer. The design material and the steps are all layed out for you, sometimes with instructional videos.
Building your own storage building can be a fun and satisfying project to do yourself or with help from friends, family members or your kids. Plus you can end up with a better quality and more functional product than what they sell in the stores.
Download free wood storage building plans.
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