Thanks for all the feedback, I think my OP may have not accurately stated what I am doing.
During the week I read articles in the pool school, not all but several, the list of abbreviations, over night FC test, How to deal w/ Algae, the calculator, and the how to change your swamp back to a beautiful oasis.
Yesterday (Saturday) morning I only had test strips and a 3 way Wal-Mart test kit.
I wanted to open my pool and didn't want to lose a full Saturday waiting for my test kit (k-2006) to come in the mail. So I started following the swamp to oasis post.
So the first thing I did was test w/ test strips (it's all I had on hand) - FC 0 , CC 0, CYA 20-30, Ph was a little high.
I added some PH down and ran the pump for an hr.
Then I added enough chlorine to bring FC up to 15 as per pool calculator.
I ran the pump all day, scrubbed down the side every few hrs, rechecked the chlorine mid day (again test strips) , added more chlorine to maintain FC 15. FC 15 was best guess as the strips only had to 10.
By the end of the day 8pm the pool was looking good, not great but much better. Also around 8pm my k-2006 test kit arrived.
It was a long day and I wasn't in the mood to rush thru the test kit.
The next morning (Today) I woke up and the pool was much better, water clear, can easily see the bottom, a fair amount of dirt laying on the bottom.
I then used the test kit (k-2006) for the 1st time.
So I am thinking, ok I am using this test kit during an active algae fight where I know the FC is going to be very high.
And that prompted the post, because I wasn't sure what test to trust.
After reading the responses I understand a little more, but have a few questions.
FC 14.0 // Added some more chlorine to get back to 15
CC 1.0 // Looking for this to be .5, should be there tomorrow, if not already (it's now 3pm Sunday)
PH 7.2 // As per post ignore
Alk 150
Calcium 280
CYA - 0 // Could this be a true reading and the strips were bad, or ignore this test until FC gets to 7 and retest?
I predict by tomorrow (Monday) that my FC will be high and I'll have passed the over night FC loss test. This is based on it's been cloudy the last few days (little rain) and cool (65F).
My plan is let my FC drop to 7(if it remains cool it may take a few days), then retest everything and use the pool calculator to adjust to correct levels. Sound about right?
Also, a tip of the hat to any / all that posted the pool school articles. They have been incredibly helpful and are well written and easy to follow. Thanks so much.
Phil