Dr. Willis, my pond is dug in a low lying area where the natural water level in adjacent bog keep it full. Just a wet bog where I dug a pond at the edge. Because of that I do have to lime pretty regular to control PH. The pond has a grey sand bottom in areas deeper than 3 feet with a muck bottom where it is shallower. The water stays dark like weak coffee from the bog stain. I suspect that because of this dark color I only get plant life in the first 2 feet of depth around edges. I do also put bacteria into the pond every couple of years. I knew from my aquarium experience that you don't want to over feed fish in a small body of water or you're asking for trouble. I use floating pellets that I noticed seem to float for a day or two. So on occasions where I accidentally over feed I think eventually it all gets eaten before it sinks or spoils. I'm very careful not to over feed in late fall. I do it all by hand and only put in small amounts at a time until I figure out how much the fish will take. Of course I also have an aerator, bottom diffuser in two places.
