Couple of questions (burning eyes and Borax allergy)

[PoolDoc]

1. Just hold your pH in the 7.2 - 7.4 range. Your TA will drop over time. Don't worry about trying to drop it.
2. If you have trichlor tabs, continue to use them. If you run your pump 24/7, you can put them in the skimmer. They will keep your pH down, and slowly add CYA.
3. Low CH is not an issue.
4. Low CYA + low-ish pH + sunlight is a more active combination -- in terms of breaking down any irritating pool contaminants -- than otherwise. Till you are not experiencing more eye irritation than you would in a tub of fresh water, it might be better to run that way.
5. In the "it might help, but it WILL cost money" category are Natural Chemistry's enzyme products. The two you might want to consider are "Pool Perfect" and "Pool First Aid" -- both are available at Amazon:

Natural Chemistry Pool Perfect Concentrate Pool Water Cleaner --- Natural Chemistry 03122 Pool First Aid, 2-Liter

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These MIGHT help . . . or they might have no effect, other than costing you money. Waterbear and Chem_Geek have seen some positive results in mystery situations, using these products; I've never tried them. There are some limitations on their use: the water temp has to be over 70 degrees, and the chlorine level needs to be below 5 ppm. If you want to try them, feel free to do so . . . and if you do, please tell me if you see any positive effect. If you get them, wait till all your chemical levels have stabilized BEFORE adding the enzymes. Try the pool 'on' for eye irritation, THEN add enzymes, THEN wait 2 - 3 days, and try again. Otherwise, it will be hard to distinguish any effect those products have, from other things that may be going on.

But BE CAREFUL! There are some Natural Chemistry blends, particularly with phosphorous removers that you should avoid -- they will tend to cloud your pool. Feel free to buy them locally, but use the Amazon links and descriptions to make SURE you are getting the right products. (Amazon also sells a bunch of the 'wrong' products, so use those links, if you buy from Amazon.)

[TarheelFan]

Thanks once again.

I do not want to add anything unnecessary, so I am just going to stay the course for a week or two, keep an eye on my levels and see where I stand. My pool installer gave me a bucket of trichlor pucks and a bucket of cal hypo shock, so I will probably mix those in from time to time.

[PoolDoc]

My pool installer gave me a bucket of trichlor pucks and a bucket of cal hypo shock, so I will probably mix those in from time to time.

Don't mix them together, PLEASE! Those two don't react well together, at ALL! When you get ready to use those, ask me how. You'll end up clouding your pool and raising your calcium levels too high, if you follow the instructions on the label.

[TarheelFan]

Ahh...I can see how that might read that way.... Oops!!! Yeah, I saw that video while lurking over the past week. I have no intention of mixing them.

When I have used them in the past, I don't add them at the same time (add trichlor via puck in floater, add cal-hypo via pre-dissolve and broadcast) and really hope to not even use the cal hypo anytime soon (since from what I have read from the BBB method, shocking is not really necessary). I just meant I will use them from time to time in addition to my regular regiment of Bleach since the negatives to them (increase CYA and CH) are not as dangerous for me given my current low levels of both.