Those stringy things are more beige colored, and they are gluey textured. They stick to the skimmer and I can't throw them out. The only chlorine is from the frog. It is almost all the way flipped so I need to replace it. I did shock it a few days ago. On the test kit the ph level is less than 6.8. My test kit only shows a range of 6.8 to 8.2, and the color showing up is a little lighter than the 6.8. Th chlorine level must be too low, because the range is 0.3 to 3.0, and my color is showing up lighter than the 0.3 range.