leslies is full of crap IMO. there is a direct relationship between CYA and FC.

the best guess chlorine guide should be kept top secret and charged for! that best guess chlorine chart is one of the best bits of info on the web for a pool owner.

my first year of pool ownership was great, second year was full of problems, mainly algae and leslies had me convinced I needed one of everything they had on their shelves to get rid of it. I wish I had the money back that I spent on phosphate remover alone at almost 30.00 a bottle! I got tired of spending 60.00 or more every other week at the pool store, that's when I found this site and spent the money on a taylor kit.

once I got my taylor kit these folks helped me get my pool clean and I have been algae free for over a year and I run my pool for about 30.00 a month all summer long and about 15.00 to 20.00 during winter here in central FL. it was almost a full year before I stepped back into a pool store, and only recently went back in for two bags of chlor brite so I could shock and add some CYA to my water. I only shock my pool about once a month ( with bleach ) just to polish up the water and get back that extra sparkle.

your numbers look good and that CYA of 70-80 is good for central FL, I run around 80-90 and only add bleach to my pool every few days. I lose any where from 1-2 PPM FC a day, tops 3PPM FC with a heavy bather load ( kids )

I cant help with your test strip questions but just wanted to chime in since I read central FL/leslies/CYA 70-80 in your thread....