I have a watermeal problem on my 1.1 acre pond. I'm not certain the age of the pond but I know it's at least 15 years old. I started (slowly) to aerate it 10 days ago. I'm up to 2 hours a night. I'm planning on going to 4 hours in the next couple days. When calm the watermeal covers the entire pond. My order of alligare (whitecap replacement) is due to arrive any day now.

Here are my questions:
1) Would it be best to go ahead and treat the pond now or wait until the weather cools off a bit (seems like I saw something about avoid treating when the watermeal is thick)?

2) I have a layer of Chara around the perimeter of the pond (out from the shore 10 - 15 ft), can I add the alligare to the water just on the outside of that or should I navigate through that mess and apply it?

3) I assume running an aerator at night is ok after applying this stuff to the pond? Is that a correct statement?

4) I also seem to remember someone saying that applying a dye after treatment is a good idea. Is this true or did I just dream that?

This is year 2 of having a watermeal issue. I didn't know what to do last year and research has led me here. Any additional suggestions are certainly welcome. Thanks.