I'll second the Parrot Feather statement. Look online for anyone nearby on Craigslist that might be giving some away or just place an ad and ask if anyone has some. Parrot feather lives directly off the nutrients that are available in your water, and if you have that much algae, you have a lot of nutrients available for algae to grow. Parrot feather is partially submerged but grows fern above the water, much nicer to look at than algae! (google it and you will find pics of it). Also, on getting rid of the algae, if it's the stringy type of stuff and can be wrapped around a stick or something, I would suggest you get a cordless drill, put a long stick in it (or whatever you have that you can put into the chuck on the drill) - at least 2 feet long, get some of that algae started around it and turn the thing on. It will wind that junk up in a hurry.

min3: I have a little pre-formed pond, it is perhaps 180-200 gallons. I'm not exactly sure which pump/filter I have, it is something like this: http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=pondmaster+pond+filters&aq=3&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=pondmaster Initially there was a problem with it but my dealer replaced the impeller then gave me a whole replacement pump, and I remember him saying something to the effect that it is now a stronger pump then I started with. I modified it somewhat by adding a plate on the bottom so the pump stays attached to the filter. Otherwise the pump tends to fall over and looks ugly. I also striped the screws that hold the filter together so I added some longer screws and big washers to hold it together. Inside I stuck some rocks and some bio balls from another filter I had, this helps it hold the bottom when I change the filter. For the filter I keep year round a thick carbon filter from PM, change it once a year otherwise do not touch it. On top of that I have two pre-filters to grab the pond muck. These filters I made out of craft store 1 inch pads. I've used batting in the past but these get me thru the whole season without falling apart. When the fountain slows (once or twice a week) I pull the whole pump/filter out, replace the pre-filter with the other, put it back together and drop it back into the pond. Then I hose off the dirty filter and let it sit out till next change. This way I never put chlorine into the filter. That's a quick job, 10 minutes tops. This filter does a great job of keeping the muck out of my pond. Additionally, I grow a 50% cover of water lettuce. Mid summer the WL keeps the floating algae away, though I do sometimes run a UV filter when I'm in a hurry for crystal clear water.

I love the pictures of Emma! How did you get them inserted with a reasonable size rather than gargantuan like mine? Unfortunately, we've been dogless for two years. Because of the amount that I currently travel, it is probably going to be a couple more years before I can defend getting a pair of goldens again. BTW - I subscribe to the theory that goldens are much happier in pairs. Ours used to sit patiently under a big pine tree (where the large pond is now located) for hours after they chased a squirrel into it. What type of snail would work? I am not aware of any places locally where I can capture wild ones. Will the pet store variety work? Are frogs likely to stick around or will they go "on a walkabout"? Do I need to introduce plants before fish? Right now, the pond is pretty sterile. In a week or two, when the flowering trees drop their blossoms, some organic matter will inevitably end up on the bottom of the pond. BTW - we are at 1/4 mile from the nearest natural body of water. So, no need to be concerned about prison breaks by the pond critters.

Just thought of something- what about the ducks and geese we have each year? I guess they mostly fly in and out. But they do hang on the edges and walk up to the banks at times. They never bring their babies back here though- the bass will take them. Would an electric fence kill anything? Or hurt a great blue or other water fowl? I know the GB gets fish- along the edge. Sunnies mostly. But the blue eats what he gets and moves on. This should be another post maybe- our pond is very established- but we have some large mouth bass in there that are BIG 18"? I think some should be fished out and relocated. They eat everything. A tennis ball fell in the water once and a bass took it- let it back up in a few seconds. We once found a bass at the edge of the pond with a big sunny lodged in it's mouth. The bass was dead- the suuny lived after we freed it. Our kids scared a frog to jump into the pond one eve. Bass took it. What's anyone's opinion about getting some of those great big bass out? We never fish and eat. If anyone ever fishes here, everything gets thrown back. We would relocate them to a big lake nearby.