Yes, your chlorine level is what it reads, regardless of the CYA level. However, with all the trichlor you're adding, you are also greatly increasing your CYA. You would really be doing yourself a favor to switch to bleach or liquid chlorine. Remember that you're going to have to keep a higher level of chlorine in the pool the higher your CYA is. Eventually you're going to have to switch chlorine sources so your CYA doesnt get so high you can't compensate for it--now would be a good time to do that so there's one less problem to deal with

Janet