Just found this news group today and have read through all posts. Seems like
a lot of great ideas and help abound in this space. Hope I am not butting
into private conversations. Let me know if "butt out" is appropriate.

I'm Ray and with my wife Kath and children built a pond last year. My guess
is that it is about 2500 gals. It has a large rock border that rests on a
shelf about 2 inches under water and a plant shelf about 12 inches under
water. We wanted the bottom to be a haven for insect life and fish eggs and
whatever else could bring ecolological balance to the pond so I've lined the
bottom with river rock taken out of the ground when digging the hole. I have
a two foot high waterfall that splashes down two levels (my attempt at
aeration) and contains a biological filter that I have been carfeul to
"feed" (with MicrobeLift products) and not disturb. I have started some
lilies but have a fairly good growth of water hyacinth and I think something
called parrot fern.

I don't have a personal album online but could post a pic or two if someone
would like to suggest the easiest place to access.

I feel like I'm in an AA meeting when I confess that I couldn't wait to get
fish into the pond and had purchased several very small (1") goldfish and
some small (3") goldfish the second or third week after we'd filled it. They
survived the winter easily (we're located in Rancho Cordova,California) and
are still doing fine though now they're more like 5"- 7". Didn't know much
(still don't really) about the care and feeding of ponds and fish so fed
them all winter. Sometime in spring a friend of my son moved and gave us 6
10"-12" koi to care for, so I likely have too many fish for the pond size I
have water striders, dragonflies and damsel flies in both final and larvae
forms. The birds seem to like the free bathing as I have put in some small
beach access spots. Apart from bouts with string algae and green water, the
pond seems to be doing ok.

My biggest bother is that with our 100+ temperatures, the water goes "green"
and the bottom disappears. I see the fish at feeding time and an occasional
orange shadow beneath the surface at other times but I'd like to see more of
them. I have taken to treating the water with MicrobeLift/SA but it's rather
expensive and while it seems to block enough light to inhibit string algae,
it doesn't seem to have any effect on the green water syndrone. I can tell
from my skimmer filters that I am getting a lot of the floating algae
filtered out but obviously not enough to clear the water. All submerged
rocks are covered with this algae.A local pond store suggests a UV light
system. Has anyone experience with these kinds of systems? They're a little
dear but if they work against the green water I would consider it.

I was also wondering if anyone knew the range of temperaturees that I should
try to keep the pond within. The water feels warm to my hand and I just feel
that can't be beneficial to the fish. We've been shading the water with
umbrellas because we're a new housing development and trees are not big
enough to do so yet. Would it be OK to cool the water down somehow?

Thanks in advance for any replies and advice.