Hello, I am new to pond maintenance/care and was looking for some help/advice with my pond. I have a roughly 60’x100’ (9-10 ft deep in center) pond that’s in rough shape right now. The pond is completely covered in floating algae. The water is a bluish green tint with some visibility. The pond has not been aerated in about 5 or 6 years and when it was, it was with a surface fountain the previous homeowner left us. The fountain gave out and the pond has just been sitting ever since with little to no care. I was doing some research into pond aeration and decided to purchase a hiblow hp60 pond aerator. I have it set up and am ready to go but my main concern is causing a fish kill. The pond contains bluegill and largemouth bass. I’ve read it is best to start at 15 minutes a day and double the time each day. I’ve read posts by other users that have done this method and still had a large number of fish die. I’ll link a picture of the pond below and maybe someone could recommend what’s best. I planned on pulling out the floating algae by hand once I had the system running. There is visible algae/plant growth from the bottom of the pond as well. Beyond aeration and removal of the floating algae, I’m not sure what else I should do to take care of this pond. My main concern is keeping the fish I have alive and well. Thank you for any and all help
