Thanks for the clarification on the bleach thing just always been told bleach is bad don't let it touch your skin! Then using it in your pool seems kind of strange. I got the 6 way test kit today and here's the results:

Chlorine - 5
PH - 7.5
Alk - 120
Hard - nil
CYA - >30

The hardness and CYA tests didn't seem like they worked or I don't have any in my pool because the kit says when adding the 5 hardness drops the water should turn red if present and it turns a very light yellow color so I'm guessing thats a good thing? The CYA test your supposed to mix 7 ml of pool water and 7 ml of the CYA acid reagent for 30 seconds then transfer to a tube with a black dot on the bottom. It says the solution is supposed to get cloudy, but mine stayed clear so I could see the dot even after I filled the tube to the top. I got a 6 pack of the shock and swim and from the readings it looks like it's doing the trick. Should I dilute it in a bucket of water before I add it? I'm seeing some sandy looking stuff on the bottom of the pool and I'm not sure if it's extra added stuff in the shock collecting on the bottom (not really a lot just that I saw it and thought I'd mention it) We did have a full day of rain so maybe it's just pollen from the trees. Another question the cover is a real PIA to get off without dumping everything on top into the pool any tricks to doing this? Thanks again for all the help. I couldn't find the stabilizer at Walmart, but I'm guessing thats something to use if my chlorine keeps jumping down and up right? I'm going to run the filter for a minimum of 6 hours everyday probably more once we start swimming in it (maybe this weekend?)