Dan, my pond is about 1/2 acre and I put 12 packets in it. That's not as much as they recommend but I used the method subsribed to by many on this forum and recommended by the manufacturer. I mixed each packet with a couple of gallons of warm water and let it sit for 3 to 4 hours. They say the bacteria multiply fast this way and you end up putting much more into the pond than you actually bought. We'll see if it does anything.