Dear Bill:
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed response. I will incorporate all of your suggestions into my plans. Bass it is. Do you have an inclination one way or the other regarding small mouth or large mouth?
By designing the main inflow carefully (rock as well as grass barriers),I hope to keep the influx of organic matter to a minimum. I
will keep mowing to a mimimum, both above the pond and along the sides. I will not fertilize uphill of the pond, nor along the sides. And we have already and will continue to remove trees as the pond grows. The trees that are left will certainly release leaves that will end up in the pond. I have not researched skimmers, but if you felt skimming to be beneficial, I would certainly look into it.
I will introduce plants for the reasons you stated. In an earlier post, you mentioned lake quilwort, dwarf sagitaria, and hardy dwarf water lilies. Will these three be up to the task, or are there other varieties you suggest that I introduce?
And thank you for verifying that I was on the right track regarding aeration. I posted my situation and got great feedback in the aeration systems section regarding how best to do it and what equipment to choose.
Thank you again for the time and effort you have put into analyzing my situation. Your recommendations will be followed and I will keep posting with my progress.
Backstroken
