Cecil, I'm a believer in beneficial bacteria. Before I had aeration and before I had my pond re-dug, my shoreline bottom was black. If you stepped in the pond your foot would sink very deep in muck. After a season of using bacteria (only) the shoreline bottom changed color and eventually looked like the original clay color again. I was sold. I was still getting FA though and I had my first winter fish kill. That's when I bought my aerator. After 20 years without aeration the initial startup was really stinky! I saw some improvement but I was still experiencing heavy FA that I was removing manually. I was impatient and didn't know if I could reverse 20 years of nutrient buildup and muck in the depths so I decided to re-dig.

My pond renovation was done in the Fall of 2010 and it filled up quickly. I regularly add bacteria and aerate during the night, I don't aerate in the winter. My pond bottom looks like it did when it was first dug and as of last spring there isn't a smell at start up. I had some chara the first summer, treated it with cutrine plus and aquashade but I couldn't get rid of it until my first algae bloom a year later, it just disappeared. I haven't had any FA at all, knock on wood but I also don't have any volunteer plant life either which isn't good. I don't know how long I will be enjoying a FA free pond but so far I can't complain.

[Linked Image from i108.photobucket.com]