Thank you so very much for the help! I will most certainly be donating to this site.

Can the CYA and borax be added at the same time (seems as tho they can be).

I have another dilemma which I need help with. So within the past week Ive had a ton of stuff going on. Closed on a new home. Been doing some renovation to it. Reading, learning, and applying new info to maintain a pool for the first time On top of all this, Im going on vacation on friday and will be unable to provide the pool with my undivided attention as I am now. At this point, I'm not sure the pool will be out of the shocking stage by early friday morning. That being said, how can I get through the next week without coming back to a swamp. I will not be home but I have family who will be watching the house and pool. They have never had a pool and have no knowledge about pool maintenance.

What would be the best course of action? put several (if so, how many) 3" trichlor pucks in a floater and leave the pump on all week?

Its been a whirlwind of excitement and activity with all this going on and im trying to keep my head from spinning off, lol