jpsdad wrote: "Not sure what Theo is trying to say but it seems to be this. Do not trust facts but rather rely on impressions that people have from their personal experience of pond ownership. Don't trust the facts if sourced to a scientific paper. To be sure, I rarely start a thread that doesn't challenge conventional thoughts. Theo is always there to shoot the messenger. Sometimes people I guess don't want factual information when they disagree with it."
Unfortunately, this is not accurate. Those with long years of active pond ownership don't have 'impressions.' They have actual experience. The only thing that is certain in ponds is that no two bodies of water are the same. As such, it's laughable to state anything as 'facts' when it comes to pond management, especially when dispensing advice. Scientific studies are valuable as reference points, or loose guidelines, but are based on sets of assumptions that simply do not fully convey to any other bodies of water (location, climate, vegetation, depth, water source & chemistry, aeration or lack thereof, benign and non-benign tampering by other humans as well as wildlife, etc.)
Personally, after close to (3) decades of pond ownership and management over several bodies of water, I am constantly and consistently surprised, and guided, by hands-on observations of my own pond(s) as well as observations and experiences of other pond owners and professionals.
