Bad pool Mommy!

Hello everyone - I've been neglecting my "baby" the last few months and am paying the price now. I had the following:
-- high CH (525) and some mysterious floating particles in my CH test results vial;
--low alkalinity (60-70) / Ph bouncing too high before I added acid
--new iron stains (determined with Vitamin C spot test and cleared up w/ same)

I got lazy on pool maintenance :( the last few months, I've gotten a scare and now I'm buckling down again. I consulted the Alkalinity Thread (thanks Waterbear!) and I hope I'm on the road to fixing things.

So far, I drained some water in the last few days to bring down the CH, not alot because we're under water restrictions in S Florida, but the rain helped me out thank goodness and it has come down.
I added CYA on Thursday and am adding more tomorrow to slowly bring CYA to about 50 in a few weeks.
Added 4 pounds baking soda working to bring ALK # up to 90-100.
I still need to add a few inches of fill water and we're expecting a bit of rain today. So here are my numbers today as of 11:00 am:

FC/TC 4.8 PH 7.4 Alk 70 CH 370 CYA >20

Went to LPS(national chain) to buy some CYA and ask about metal testing. They do not test for metals. Then I went to another LPS (mom/pop operation), again no test for metals. BTW - fill water is city water w/ no metals/CH of 90. As a lark, I had both places test my pool water and their numbers were in line with mine (SHOCKER!) except they read lower CH and higher CYA numbers. I declined the offer of chemicals to increase my ALK and went home. Now, my questions....

Any suggestions/comments on do it yourself metals testing and what I'm doing so far? I'd appreciate advice on type of test or manufacturers you've used before? Also, any advice on the process? Personal anecdotes from your experiences or similar situations would be appreciated.

I still have the mystery of the iron stains to figure out and why my CH spiked up like it did, but I'll be posting on another thread for that (unless there are any suggestions?) Thank you all again - and did I mention how much I love this forum:D ?

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