Hi- I am new to this website....believe me I have read for hours already! I have been a pool owner for 2 1/2 seasons so far..and things have gone wrong this year! I have the aquasmarte mineral/ chlorine system that puts a little bit of chlorine (and other things I am finding out) into my pool for about 12 hours a day. The problem I have is this- I have been running my dial at 6 all season (last 2 years at 2-3) and I can't keep chlorine in my pool. Every test strip I have comes up with nothing, so I went to Wal mart and got the upgrade test (working on getting the one you guys recommend)..and it still reads as 0. Here are my resluts: FC:0, Ph: 6.8, CYA:90, Alk:90. I know the ph is low, but what could be causing the low chlorine? I have been fighting algae (not bad, just around the steps) for about a week- shock and the chlorine goes right away! The pool looks crystal clear, so I am not sure if I need to shock more or not. The more I read on this site, the more I am thinking of getting rid of the aquasmarte...but I only have 1 good month left (michigan) and I hate to ruin the pool with a change over. Please help! I am thinking I need to get the ph up first...but then what? Keep shocking until the FC gets higher and stays there? How long might that be?