Hi,
There is a way to approximate how much chlorine you have. Mix equal parts pool water with steam distilled water, mix well, then test from that sample. read your results, and multiply by 2. If it's still too yellow to read, then try 1 part pool water to 2 parts distilled water, test, read, then multiply by 3. You will lose a little accuracy with each dilution, but it'll get you in the ballpark.

That being said, with a CYA level of 110, you need to get your chlorine up to 25 ppm and keep it there until the algae is dead. Brush your pool daily and keep your filter running 24/7 while this is going on. Once the water goes to cloudy blue, then you can let your Cl drift back down, but with a CYA that high, it never needs to go below 8 ppm, or your inviting algae back.

And just to clarify a point in your post, alk IS an issue, even in a vinyl pool--it's calcium that you don't need to worry about, unless it gets over 400 or so.

Welcome to the forum!

Janet