Forgot to mention. I was digging around in the garage last night and uncovered a few pool chemicals that the previous owner left behind including a 14lb bucket of stabilizer that's close to full. Does that stuff get old and lose it's potency?

I guess I should still wait to get water tested before making any adjustments correct?

Maybe I can work on alkalinity first since I can measue that. If you are using baking soda is there a chart available on how much to use?

Thanks for all the input. I am soaking it up!

-Stephen