Thanks again guys. This is the basic info I was searching for, especially in relation to a pond scenario. Basic enough for a beginner like myself to understand and yet complete enough to get a good feel for the situation as a whole.

I have a PH tester that does soil. It's reads 7PH and a few spots are 8. Interestingly those 8's are in the areas I placed concrete slabs up the edge for habitat. I have not had the water tested itself. Anyone know of a place to test pond water in the Ohio area?

Bill said -"Phytoplankton is responsible for creating most of the DO in the oxygen budget for the pond ecosystem. Obvious lack of a plankton bloom then transfers the majority of the DO production to the FA or submerged plants." ---- To add a trivia tidbit to this, one source I was reading said that phytoplankton was responsible for half of the O2 produced in the world. wow...

I imagine that tilapia would not be a feasible solution to the control of FA in regards to a phytoplankton bloom. My reasoning is that the FA comes on earlier than that what the water temps would allow tilapia to be stocked. Sound right?


thank you, Jim