Welcome Tyler! Lots of great folks on this forum, including more than a few experts in things pond related. I'll start you off with this thread: http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=470492#Post470492

A jar test may be very instructive. And 24 inches of visibility may be very good, actually. You should subscribe to the magazine too, which had an article about this just recently... You can also get back issues.

"Politics": derived from 'poly' meaning many, and 'tics' meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.