My Pool Looks Like An EASTER EGG!!! -- NOT a good thing!

[PopcornGirl]

Thanks, Dave!
And thanks to you, too, Marie!
I really appreciate your help AND your patience.

Whew! Waterbear, I'm in awe.
Ok, Chemistry 101 -- I definitely need to sit down and reread this AFTER I put my kiddos to bed!
I will try to address/answer your questions/concerns, Waterbear...

First though, let me tell you what I've done today so far...
1)Added 1 quart of METAL OUT to the water.
2)Added ~1.5 quarts of MURIATIC ACID.
3)Waited 3 hours, retested the pH. It is now 7.4
4)Added 4 gallons of liquid bleach.
My pool is now very cloudy which I'm sure is algae die-off.

--->>>QUESTION: Can I, or rather SHOULD I, add SuperBlue (water clarifier) tomorrow or is that now a No-No? I only ask because that is what I have been told to do for the past 4 years and I now suspect that I probably shouldn't.

As for the copper:
1) I converted from copper to chlorine 1.5 years ago (early fall of 2004).
2)Before converting, I personally tested the copper level and it was at ZERO; the pool store also tested and it was ZERO. We removed the copper bars and added METAL OUT before adding chlorine (just to be SURE). I had NO staining after switching to chlorine, and in fact, we swam without ANY staining issues last summer.
3)The black algae preceeded the switch to chlorine, so I really DO NOT think it is copper staining. Also, it was diagnosed by several different people who are familiar with black algae. And it ACTED like black algae: For example, I had to scrub it with a metal brush before it would respond to the algaecide.
4) Finally, I suspect it is black algae because, as they say, once you have it, you never truly get rid of it. And I will be the first to admit that I completely neglected my pool for a couple of months over the winter, so I was not surprised to see it back! Furthermore, at the start of LAST summer, I had a little bit of black algae and I used black algaetrine & scrubbed it like crazy and shocked at high chlorine levels and it went away; it didn't get worse.
This is why I'm convinced that it is not copper staining.

As for the pool store testing for copper, I have been told (by various people, both here on this board and elsewhere) that the copper builds up in the pool and is re-released over time. Also, the pool store's test was about a week after I had added the black algaetrine, so couldn't that have contributed to the positive copper reading? In any event, I have now (in the past 3 weeks) added 3 QUARTS (total) of METAL OUT.

At this point I sort of lost track of what is going on and am confused.

Me, too!

I have to admit that at this point I am lost but definately do NOT put a puck in your skimmer with a cartridge filter!

Don't worry; you've made a believer out of me!!! I will NEVER do that again!

Could be mustard algae (more tan than brown)

I have wondered about that...
Did you see the pics of the stain (it no longer looks like this)? Click here:
MY POOL 3 WEEKS AGO

ou said that you are using HTH super shock (which is cal hypo). I noticed you wondered or were suprised as to why you CH was 360ppm, this could be a reason) and pucks

I thought CH was calcium hardness (that's what I was referring to); how does the super shock affect that? I was surprised because the pool store had told me that it was 270 just 2 days before. What is the chemical relationship between the two? And what SHOULD my CH level be?
And finally,

Are the pucks HTH and are they by any chance the 'dual action' ones? If they are they contain --guess what--COPPER!

They're not. They are hth 3" stabilized chlorine (they don't say dual action and they don't mention copper -- just say they won't cause "over-stabilization").
WHEW!
I hope that helps clear things up a bit.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure the green is green algae; my pool water is SO warm already (it was 90 degrees here today) and the green stuff felt a tad slimy and it brushed off the walls VERY easily.
Ok, I think that's about it. Whaddaya think???
I'm open to any and all suggestions.
I'm so excited to FINALLY be on the right track!