I don't know how I missed this thread...but I had a dozen 8 year olds for a slumber party last Friday through Saturday, and then my weekend really got busy....

I'm glad that you got the pH question straightened out and you're right that if you're going to err with pH, then do it on the high side.

Keep in mind also that you don't necessarily have CC when you have algae, especially if it's algae that's not yet visible to the eye. When you added the older bleach, did you test to see that it went up to 3 ppm, or did you just add enough that you knew it would be at 3?

One thing you might want to consider, especially since you're in a part of the country where you don't drain your equipment, is uncovering your pool and shocking it, if you still think possible algae is the problem. The other thing you might consider, if you don't want to shock the pool with the cover on, is to use polyquat, followed by a lower chlorine level when you get ready to close it up. Just a couple of suggestions..........

Janet