John,
I can see most of my BG when they come up to feed. I have had that problem of excessive visibility for almost the life of the pond. I don't have any that I know of over about 9", and only a very very few of those. Most of the originals are 7-8 inches. I think they ate more pellets last year than my now defunct CC did. I fed a mix of CC pellets, Optimal, and Aquamax MVP. I like the MVP, just can't get it. If I get up your way this spring / summer, I will try to purchase a couple of bags of MVP where you buy it.