Thanks for all the advice so far - oh, apart from the one about the bleach and not quitting my day job - very helpful. I can't help being an amateur at something - after all, isn't that where we all start out and learn by experience??

To try and answer some of your questions - I can't remember exactly what I put in last year but they were all oxygenating plants from a reputable garden centre (World of Water) - I definately put in about 6 bunches of Elodia Crispa (Goldfish Weed) and a water lilly.

Am not 100% sure at the moment how many litres per hour my filter will process. I assume this is determined by how powerful the pump is? At the moment I am running it from a small fountain pump but I have recently purchased a separate pump which delivers 1200 litres per hour and will dedicate that to the job of keepeing the filter running.

The pond is basically a quarter circle shape which I have lined with pond liner. The pump is seated on a household brick in the middle. The edging for the pond is also brick which I have sealed with masonary paint. I have netting over the top to stop leaves falling in.

It's in a semi-shaded area of the garden - ie. It probably gets about three hours of sunshine a day.

I live in the north-west of England (between Liverpool & Manchester) and at the moment the weather is mixed - yesterday was hot & sunny, today dull with rain. Temperature wise - yesterday was in the mid 70's - today is a bit colder.

Not sure whether this is a good or bad sign - when I cleaned the pump the other day I noticed some water snails attached to it (which I put back in with the pump of course!) Is this a good sign? Also, a big blood worm came out. Blood worms are one thing I did have a lot of last year!

If I empty the pond (as suggested) will this not kill the good bacteria in my filter since I'll have to switch it off for a few hours while I clean the pond? What about the bit of life I have in the pond?

By the way... I seem to have a mini-cycle going on in the washing up bowl. Yesterday the water was thick and green - this morning it's a lot clearer!!

Can someone tell me what a google converter is??

Will do some more tests on the water and post my readings. Are there any better kits than the test strips?? Also, what are the best plants to add to a small pond?