"John Bachman" wrote in message
...
My new and first pond is 1300 gallons 40 inches deep. I followed all
of the directions of the gurus here. I have a skimmer that feeds a
bio-filter/waterfall an 8 foot stream with another waterfall and back
into the pond. First I introduced water hyacinth, water sprite,
hornwort and a plant whose name escapes me. We also tossed in a dozen
snails. After a couple of weeks two small fish (a koi and a comet).
Then two more small comets a couple of weeks later.

I have done no cleaning except for an occasional rinse of the filter
mats just because I think I should be doing something. For the past
week the water is crystal clear all the way to the bottom. I am
amazed.

As another newbie with opaque orange water I must say, and I mean this
sincerely, I hate yer guts. *laugh* Seriously, grats on the success. Sounds
like you have a nice balance going.

BV.