Thanks for the response.
Today the chlorine is 5
PH is 7.5
I used Blue Shield liquid shock a few days ago: sodium hypochlorite 12.5%, inert ingredients 87.5%
The water is SLOWLY getting clearer. I can see the bottom and there is very little debris.
I've been running it non-stop and actually took some advice yesterday and put a knee-high around the crappy typeA cartridge filter. That seems to have sped things up a little.
Do I need to do anything about the hardness of the water? Does that effect anything?

Thanks