First off, I wish I looked at this forum before I filled my pool. But, I hope I've gotten through the crisis. I filled the pool with well water, which promptly turned brown with tints of green. I used the milk jug/fiberfill method to filter out the rust. I started off with the intex salt water generator, which seemed to never generate enough CL to get the levels above .5ppm, so I switched to bleach (I ordered the di-chlor from amazon, and am starting with that today.) I have been using the advice in this thread because it seemed to match our water problems:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...me-says-it-all!

Then, I found the 'Super simple pool chemistry for intex thread.' I have been keeping the cl between 3-5 for several days. I have successfully filtered out the green/brown color from the well water. In the first thread, swampmistress is advised to bring the CL up the 12ppm at some point. However, simple pool chem just says to add extra dichlor if CL drops below 2. So, is it ok to just follow the simple instructions?

I have a 15' by 48" metal frame intex. We have the filter that came with it with type A cartridge. This morning's numbers (using an HTH 6 way kit) are:
Cl 3ppm
pH 7.2
alk 70 ppm
hardness 40 ppm

I didn't test CYA because I only have 1 test left, but I can if you need it. I did add CYA twice in the beginning (first dose didn't raise it enough to make the black dot disappear).

Another question: What is the best way to vacuum the bottom?

I really appreciate the forums- I learned so much even before posting this. You guys are great!