DayBird said:
What part of which post am I supposed to be laughing at?
Wellllll - I don't laugh at people, but - there is a difference between a highly chemicalled & maintained concrete lined pool in town, and a 'farm pond'. Can't easily turn the one into the other......
If your soil has any clay content, you just never will get clear water.
As to stagnent, does water run _through_ this pond, or is it just a muddy hole where water ends up? With flowing water, the pond can be kept pretty fresh, but if the flow dries up for a month or 2 in dry weather, just not so much you can do about it - practically.
Barley straw can really help keep a pond clearer, not just any straw bale.
If the fish are thriving, the pond is probably in pretty good shape.
My town has a sand bottom (with clay liner) wading pool in a state park. Even with constant filtering & all the pool chemicals a state-run pool requires, after years of operation you can't see 3' through the water due to the suspended clay particles.
On a farm pond, don't know that it is practical to try to better the situation. Cystal clear water requires decades of flowing water in a river to clear out the tiny dirt particles. A pond is where the particles go _to_, so very hard to clear up...
--->Paul