Oh, boy. There's a lot to go into here.
First, those test strips won't do. They're seldom accurate, and you never know if yours are or aren't. Which is the first hard decision. Do you treat your pool as a temporary pool and just get yourself a simple 2-way drop test kit? Or spend almost as much as you spent on the pool on a first-class test kit? Hard choice, because if you go cheap, your next step is to empty the pool and scrub it good with bleach before refilling. If you go expensive, you might be able to salvage the water.... but maybe not, if it turns out you have super high CYA from too many chlorine tablets and powdered shock.
So what are you willing to spend and how expensive is water and how hard will it be for you to get rid of several thousand gallons of water? Can you drain into a storm drain, or out on a patch of empty land, or will it overwhelm a septic tank or flood out your neighbor's yard? How many kids will be using it? Because the copay on one trip to urgent care with a case of pinkeye or an ear infection will be as much as a primo test kit.
Whichever way you want to go, we can help. Check out
Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools - Trouble Free Pool and see if that appeals to you, or do you want to be in complete control with a
proper test kit? We'd find it easier to walk you through things with a full kit, but I completely understand if you decide to just drain and start fresh instead.
While you decide, the best thing is to add about 5 ppm FC per day. That translates into about a quart of 10% liquid pool chlorine per day. It won't clear it, but it should keep it where it is until you take whatever hard action.
