I've been poking around the forum for a while. Thanks to all for what I've learned already. On to my specific situation...

I purchased a house a year ago and it included a 1/4 acre pond. The pond is oblong and about 6' deep at the deepest point. It was dug 15-20 years ago and I don't know the history of how it has been maintained.

My problem is that the pond bottom is very mucky and the water is dirty. It has at least 6" of muck, probably more in some areas. Also, there's about 1' visibility in the water.

I'd like my kids to be able to swim in it without disappearing in the muck below. We tried swimming a few times last summer, but it's fairly disgusting (and we have high tolerance for disgusting). We've also fished it a bit, and there are tons of small sunnies, probably too many, and the occasional cat fish close to 1' long.

Since a picture is worth 1000 words, 2 are linked. One is a rough sketch of the pond. The other is a photo of the pond taken from the dock end.

sketch: http://tinyurl.com/ddrjnv
photo: http://tinyurl.com/d4g2xr

Before finding this forum I was planning to put in an aerator or two and hope for the best. Now I wonder if there may be other/additional options.

Any advice on the most cost-effective steps to take would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to work within a $1500-2000 budget. I'm relatively handy and tolerant of dirty work.

Thanks in advance!

Buz


Last edited by BuzCranne; 03/30/09 12:16 PM. Reason: fixed a photo link