Hello. I'm a fellow pond owner up here in Northern Michigan (Traverse City area) 3 years ago we moved into a house with a natural pond. The first Summer the pond stunk (literally) and had huge algae growth. I was too busy that first Summer to do much about it though.

Two Summers ago I tried to do some manual removal of muck in my 20x40 foot spring fed pond. I would estimate that the pond should be 8-10' deep but was only 4 or so feet deep. I used a diaphragm pump and it worked well (unlike the trash pump I tried before it) but I underestimated the amount of time it took and amount of muck in the pond. (Being spring fed my pond is very cold and even in waders it was hard to stay in there for too long.) At the end of a few days with the rented pump I ended with perhaps 5 cubic yards of good dirt for the garden but this was only a small dent in the pond's accumulation. I introduced rainbow trout at the end of that Summer (2011) and they've done very well since (although the frog population hasn't fared as well!)

In 2012 (last year) I added a diy aerator system (single disk, weighted tubing, and an air pump on shore)that has run 24/7 ever since. Being spring fed and having constant year round in flow and out flow I don't know if I need the aerator but I really want to tackle the muck and deepen the pond. I also used the muck away pellets last year and did notice a difference. For starters there was much less algae bloom growth (perhaps due to the aerator?) The area around the shore went from black to tan and I could see the bottom around the shore for the first time. I also noticed less smell from the pond than in previous years. I continued the aerating and muck away treatments through the winter. I have yet to do a stick test in the middle to see if the 4' depth has improved any.

This Summer I'm contemplating switching to the CFlo and enzyme treatment to see if I think it is better, worse, or any different than the muck away pellets that I'm almost out of. I'd be interested in seeing this post continuing and seeing what results (or lack of) that you've been seeing and what changes (if any) you are trying this year.