What do I balance first - pool start up

So I opened my pool from last season (swamp) and while the water is still cold I have only dumped excessive amounts of liquid 8.25% bleach into my pool while keeping the filter and pump running non-stop. I normally add about 4-5 gallons of bleach at night and in the AM my FC is around 15. Once I test in the evening, its down to 1 or 2.
My PH is on the high side, 8+
CYA <40
ALK - 140
Calc Hard is 130

I have not yet even started my SWCG nor have I added any salt to the pool. I have also yet to clean out a bunch of leaves, but the water is really starting to clear up from all the shock. Don't want to lose momentum.

Based on what I've read, I'm thinking the high PH is causing my chlorine to break down during the day quicker. So I need to balance the PH first and for that I am going to buy a 1 gallon jug of Muriatic Acid from HD. Is this the right move? Or should I be raising the CYA first to help the chlorine last longer? I have some packets from Sam's club that I bought last year to raise the CYA, but I guess I did not put enough in because even last year I don't think I was able to ever get it higher then 50. Maybe I just did not add enough to my pool. I was trying to underestimate.

If lowering the PH is my first step, how do I know how much acid to put in? The PH test shows its right around the 8+ higher towards 9 range.

Or maybe I need to add salt to the pool and get my SWCG working? Of course the water is still probably very cold, which I've heard is not good for the SWCG.

I've understood so much more about pools since i've been using this forum, but sometimes its hard make up your own mind as to what do first on your own pool. Would appreciate some advice.

Thanks
Greg

I'd say stick with bleach to get it cleaned up until and the chlorine demand settles down - no sense burning out your SWCG cell trying to clean the swamp. The remaining debris in the pool is adding to the chlorine consumption - you'll save money by removing it.

Do move the pH into range - test in the evening before adding bleach when the FC is below 15. Don't pour the whole gallon of MA in at once, add some, let it mix and see where it gets you. BTW the TA will come down some as you bring pH down.

What kind of pool surface do you have? Vinyl liner, plaster?
You do have a K-2006?

Thanks BigDave!
Planning to clean the leaves tomorrow. I have a concrete pool and yes, K-2006. Its amazing what 3 days and a whole lot of bleach will do to a pool. It was a horrible green swamp and now is just a cloudy blue pool. Should I mess with the CYA right now or leave it till I have the PH balanced?

I'd wait on the CYA until it's all cleaned up. You'll know the clean up is complete when you lose less than 1 ppm FC overnight ( no FC loss to sunlight ) and there's 0.5 ppm or less CC.
I'd also bring the Calcium Hardness up to protect your pool surface.

We had some rain in baltimore the other night along w a bit of sleet and snow and now my PH is reading much lower. It's showing almost perfect now 7.5ish. Is that likely or should I keep retesting?

pH should be tested every day especially when cleaning up or when it varies.

How's the spring clean going? Did you get the debris out? Have you tried the overnight chlorine test?

Finally cleaned all the junk out of the pool. It got way cold here over the week, had to take a break. I kept dumping bleach in the pool though to keep the FC up. Poured in a gallon of acid yesterday so will test again today. I will search here for the overnight chlorine test , but it seems to hold pretty well overnight when I test in the AM. If that's what it is. I would like to get my SWCG to start making the chlorine for me, is it too early for that?

The overnight chlorine test gives a good indication of the cause of chlorine demand. Sunlight always consumes chlorine during the day. Over night, chlorine is only consumed cleaning up the water.

The process:
Test for FC and CC in the evening after the sun is off the pool. Be sure that and chlorine you've added has had a chance to disperse throughout the pool.
Test for FC and CC again in the morning before the sun is on the pool.
The clean up is done when you lose less than 1 ppm FC overnight and there's 0.5 ppm or less CC.

When the chlorine holds overnight, I'd start to bring up the CYA to the target level. Adjust pH and CH as needed.

As I understand, SWCG's don't work when the water's cold. Do you have a owner's manual for it?

What are your FC, CC, TA, and pH readings now

So I finally did the overnight thing and I'm not losing any chlorine. Ph is around 7.6-7.8. TA is 120. I've turned off the SWCG due to cold water at the moment. I'm thinking to bring up cya a bit and maybe a bit of baking soda?

I think your TA is ok where it is. Follow your SWCG manual for recommended CYA level. Glad you passed the overnight test! :)

Yay!

Thanks for all the help. I do have one more question, what i the best way to increase calcium hardness? Mine reads around 140 and from reading this forum I see that for concrete pools (which mine is) its recommended to be above 200, but I have not been able to find the best product to use.

You can chlorinate with cal-hypo for awhile and that will increase your calcium at the same time as adding chlorine. When you get your calcium hardness level where you want it, switch back to bleach.