Jawman,

Are you adding your chlorine in accurate measurements? Your post doesn't say that but I assume you are...that's important.

1. The more consistently you keep your Cl at shock value (10-12ppm), the faster your clearing process will proceed. In theory, if you added enough Cl to get back to 10-12ppm every 30 minutes, 24/7 that would be best. I use that just to illustrate a point.....Test and add back as often as you can.....the process goes faster.

2. Well, it's tied in to #1 above. My experience is that I lose more than half of my Cl to the Sun by adding in the daytime with no CYA. I personally choose to take a somewhat slower route and add my Cl at dusk and again before I go to bed. It took me about 8 days the first time I did this and 6 days the second time I cleared my pool. Perhaps I could've done it in much less time adding 4-5 times daily but I would've consumed a lot more bleach.

3. No. You're gonna' need to backwash frequently and you'll backwash your CYA right out into the yard.....wait 'til your pool is clear and your done backwashing.

The Cal Hypo (if your dosing accurately) is fine to use as a Cl source. The tri-chlor tabs are OK, but are pretty slow-dissolving and will not have a huge affect on your clearing process. That said, I'd still use them in your situation (or give them to someone you;d like to get even with! )

Additionally, vacuuming frequently will speed up the process quite a bit.