I have a small private pond, about 150-200 feet by 75-100 feet. Roughly 8-10 feet deep in the middle. When I bought the home, it had a small handmade fountain that didn't move any water.

The pond has several pine trees and other plant life around it, but we recently had it renovated, cutting back on the plants hanging over the water and adding natural man-made bogs with appropriate water plants.

We also added underwater aeration and a better fountain (about 82gal per minute). The aeration units are the Easy Pro single membrane air diffusers. I have two of those spaced out in the pond, which I was told was good aeration for the pond.

As I mentioned in another post on Tilapia, the water was tested and all aspects were near or at perfect. I had the aerators running a few hours a day and visibility was about 3-4 feet with some patches of white sandy bottom where the fish forage.

I've noticed the water turning more cloudy, silt, etc. The lily pads just under the surface are all dark with silt on top and I figured this is from the aeration stirring up the pond and dispersing silt, etc.

I do realize, I probably have 15 years or so of decayed plant life, pine needles, etc. on the bottom. Along with probably 20 or so walking catfish that have been in the pond for years I was told.

I asked the person renovating our pond and they agree it's probably so much decay/silt on the bottom that is being drawn up by the aeration. He cited that it would take some time, but running the aerators constantly would eventually draw up the decay, disperse the proteins through the bubbles on top of the water that pop and the pond will eventually start to really clear up.

However, there is a part of me that is concerned about the aeration on 24/7 now. I've had it run for 36 hours straight and all the areas that were sandy white are now covered in the dark silt. The protein bubbles are starting to remain in the shallow flats of the two man made bogs on the surface, looking muddy.

He did say, even running the aerators a couple hours a day, with the size of my pond, that would be plenty of oxygen and circulation. But he still recommended I leave it running constantly.

Should I? Will the silt being stirred up, eventually settle again with the water always moving? Should I go back to leaving the aerators on for a couple hours (the water was much clearer then) or leave them off for x number of days, then on?

Is this cloudy, silt in the water a harm to the fish and what about the protein bubbles on top of the water along some of the shoreline?

Thanks in advance for responses and suggestions!