My pool looks like a pond !

I've been reading and reading ......This is my 3rd year(yuckiest by far) My pool started off dark hunter green, so far i have vacuumed to waste, (i can hardly move now, who needs a gym membership?), jacked up the cl, now i am adding water. it seems to be a lighter shade of green now. I can almost see the bottom of the shallow end:p
My ph, alk, cya are pretty good #'s. Although I'm using strips, I know, I know...they are a no, no. I am getting a new kit soon. Ok, should I run my Polaris while I'm resting ? Or would it be useless right now?

Please start reading here:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3833

In short your FC has to be much, MUCH higher than "pretty good". It needs to be maintained at the shock level determined by your CYA (stabilizer) level. Strips don't measure higher than 10ppm and you'll probably need to be at the 15-20ppm level.

I see no reason you can't use your Polaris to save your back and muscles. I've run my Blue Diamond 4 times already to save my back.

One other comment in addition to what Carl said above. Test your water 3 times a day if you can and each time add enough bleach to bring it back up to shock level. Sustaining the high cl level is what will kill algae. Letting your chlorine level yo-yo up and down will make it take a long time to clear the pool. Good luck and keep us posted on how it is going for you.

To add one more thing. Ditch the strips and get a test kit. The Taylor K-2006 is the one you want but even the $15 6 way kit from Walmart is better than the strips!