I can't help you with the Lamotte CYA test and can't comment on how well it works.
I guess I shouldn't have cheaped out. My LaMotte works similar to this one:
The problem is my liquid doesn't turn murky and I can always see a black dot. I'll have to pick up a secondary kit to test my CYA.
I placed your pool info in your signature. Please update it as you get better information - signature
Thank you, turns out I was wrong on a couple of things. Snapped a bunch of pictures this morning and updated it. I didn't have time to test the water again this AM, but woke up pleasantly surprised. Granted I haven't SLAMed it, and my balance still needs work. But it's amazing how little the pool actually needed to get to this point.
Day 4:

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:
