Argggghhhh!!!

[no1ford]

any suggestions would be appreciated

[CarlD]

If you didn't use the flocculent, don't. He's not addressing your problem. Floc is for particles too small for the filter to catch.

Your pH is too high. Maybe. Add acid (dry or muriatic) to get it down to 7.3-7.5 but no higher than 7.6. Chlorine loses effectiveness at higher pH levels. Unfortunately, at high chlorine levels, most pH tests are inaccurate. Usually, to run the test properly, a chlorine neutralizer must be added first.

You need FC to be at 15ppm. If you are using test strips, you need to get a drop-based kit. Unfortunately, kits that go to 50ppm use the FAS-DPD test and these are tougher to come by. The best is the PoolSolutions.com kit, followed by both the Taylor 2006 kit and the Leslie's Chlorine FAS-DPD Service Test Kit. These should all have the chlorine neutralizer already in the pH test.

In the meantime, the Walmart 5-way HTH drop kit, if available, is the next best alternative, but only measures to 5ppm of total chlorine. But if you dilute the pool water with distilled water you can measure to higher levels.
The CarlD Shot Glass Method: Take an ordinary shot glass and use it to measure one shot of pool water. Now measure out two shots of steam distilled water and mix. Use this mix in your test cell and triple the measurements. So if your Walmart kit measures to 5ppm of chlorine, you have 15ppm.

I think you need to keep hammering your pool with bleach for a while longer. You probably need to replace your Intex cartridge, too. Patience and persistence.