Thanks to all for the replies. My attempt to control FA with pond dye was a shoot from the hip response. It certainly made for some eye catching blue water but nothing else. In my case, and as Walt mentioned, I see FA blanketing the pond bottom even before ice out. Fertilization is certainly an option but my little puddle receives a good supply of inflow/outflow most of the year. Holding to that fact, this was gleaned from one of the articles linked above.
"Ponds with excessive water flow should not be fertilized. In ponds such as these, you are probably wasting time and contributing to nutrient overload, or enrichment, in waters downstream from your pond. As a general rule, if the total volume of water flowing out of a pond in 30 days exceeds the total pond volume, you should not fertilize. The added nutrients will probably not be in the pond long enough to develop adequate blooms."
Given the size of this puddle, removal of FA through manual means is not that bad. I don't mind dancing with the rake on occasion but this year, someone has put way too many quarters in the jukebox.
Russ
