When to admit defeat and start over?

Purely for clarification [pun intended], we have well water and a pressure pump that automatically kicks out if you try to fill a pool as it thinks there's a waterline break.
Our neighbors have city water @ much higher pressure and kindly allowed us to use their water and pay the $47 increase.
1. I don't want to bother the neighbors again unless absolutely necessary. [We just filled it last June]
2. I wanted to become educated in not only the proper way to start, but in what to do when things go awry.
So far, I believe I'm achieving the objectives, even though one wasn't intentional. :p

I would like to add, we're leaving on vacation for a few days, in a few days. Given the other numbers above and figuring I'll have the FC ~ 15 tonight [I added 1g bleach last night and will test when I get home], what can we do to best protect our efforts while we're gone?

3 things:

1. Get some polyquat, and add a double dose just before you go. (You can add some now, if you think you have any traces of algae left). Here's the info page: http://pool9.net/polyquat/

2. Read up on borax and muriatic acid. http://pool9.net/borax/ http://pool9.net/ma/ Add 7 boxes of borax and 1.5 gallons of 31% muriatic acid to your pool. That will give you a borate level > 60 ppm. You can add all the borax and a gallon of the muriatic acid at once. Make sure the pump is on and that you can brush / swirl / otherwise dissolve the borax. (Walking around and brushing it, is good). Then add the remaining acid in decreasing doses till your pH is between 7.2 and 7.8.

Borax inhibits algae and remains permanently, unless drained.

3. Put in a clean cartridge before you leave.


Removing phosphates inhibits algae even more strongly, but you don't have time.