Thanks for the info Theo,
It's interesting this remedy seems to be hit or miss. Somewhat Understandable in between ponds, with so many variations in pond DNA.
But the water trough, it's well water on a float valve right? Fairly constant between years, with different results. Perhaps variations in the Barley straw. Can you verify if the bales were from the same source? Was it entire years, or maybe just during a certain weather periods?