Hi Gigi,
your pool is cloudy because the shocking you did has not killed all of the algae, and the FC level has not been kept at a sufficient level for a long enough time to finish the job. Algaecide doesnt do a very good job of killing algae, and its hit and miss on preventing it from appearing in the first place, which is it's intended purpose. That's the main reason we here at TFP do not recommend using it. For the most part, its a waste of money.
The CYA buffers the effect of Chlorine. You have to keep the FC at a certain level relative to how much CYA (a.k.a. stabilizer), that you have in the pool. Without having a reliable test result for the CYA, its rather impossible to know what your FC level needs to be.
The strips are very inaccurate and pool store testing as well as their advice is biased in their favor. After all, their business is to sell you stuff. Whether you need it or not is mostly irrelevent to the pool store.
For these reasons alone is why we all here recommend you get your very own recommended test kit. No one here benefits from that test kit except you. We dont have skin in the game. We all just want you to have a crystal clear pool, but its difficult to do without reliable water test results.
My reocmmendation today, is threefold.
1. Get yourself a test kit asap.
2. Add 1 gallon of regular household bleach to the pool each day until your test kit arrives.
3. When you recieve your test kit, test the water per the instructions included with it, and post your test results. Once we have that, we will have a clear overall picture of the health of your pool, and can make further recommendations based upon accurate testing.
Not exactly what you were looking for I know, and I wish I could offer more help right now for you, but it's the best I can do.
PS
If you would, please add your pool specifics to your signature. Knowing a bit more about it will make it easier for us to help you.
There is a link at the bottom of Edit Signature. It will take you right where you need to be.
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