I think Theo provides very good advice regarding Aquashade and its potential impact of the pond's food chain. There are some rare instances, however, where a dye can be quite useful.

I have to use it in my 1/4 acre pond to slow the growth of chara, a type of algae that looks almost like a regular vascular plant. My pond is fed by a spring, with its water high in nitrogen and calcium carbonates but low in dissolved oxygen -- perfect conditions for chara. This type of algae could take over my entire pond -- which it almost did in 2002, my first summer of pond ownership.

If I didn't use Aquashade, I'd have to resort to using copper compounds to reduce the chara. Since I manage my little pond primarily for rainbow trout (which I feed and hence they are not dependent on a vigorous food chain in the pond), copper represents a real problem.

I would also second Theo's counsel about checking out nearby ponds to see what kind of conditions might prevail.

I have an aerator on my pond and run it 24/7 because of the trout. If my pond were strictly warm-water (I have a few stunted bass and oversize hybrid sunfish leftover from a former owner/manager of the pond), I might still aerate -- but would probably use a different aeration schedule. Seldom do I have filamentous algae problems (had some in 2005); but I really can't attribute that to aeration. It may be because chara is capable of binding up so many nutrients in a pond.

Enjoy your new pond and keep on visiting these pages -- I've learned so much here over the past few years and am immensely grateful for the experience and good advice people like Theo so generously offer.