First - when using a colormetric test kit, hold a WHITE background behind the tubes when trying to determine color (in a Taylor test kit, it I remember correctly, there's a piece of plastic that's white on one side).

Next - you've got combined chlorine and that needs to be gotten rid of - you ONLY want free chlorine. So what you're going to need to do is hit what is known as "breakpoint" chlorination.

You're going to have to determine, using the formula (most likely in the instructions in the test kit) how much more to shock the pool in order to "snap apart" the chlorine that's combined with organics (ammonia, nitrogen...).

Once you have ONLY free chlorine in the pool (and this is why shocking weekly is important - to continue to eradicate chloramines) you won't have much problem with keeping the pool correctly sanitized.

Also, and assuming those are new reagents, are you sure you used the correct reagents for the chlorine test? Just saying. And if you HAVE just replaced all the reagents, let's hope they sold you new ones (it's hard to tell - no one, it seems, puts "made on" dates on the bottles which really sucks).

I don't recall R-0002 being brown, either... I have an OLD Taylor 2006 - I'll look...

H'mmmmm...

My R-0002 came out brown too, but keep in mind that my test kit hasn't been opened since about 2010-2011. I don't recall R-0002 being brown, way back when I was using that thing on a regular basis.

I think you're going to want to replace that reagent - it seems to me I remember it being red or purple - never brown. i can't find it being used - but here's Taylor's page along with their warning on old chemicals.