Current levels: 7.5 ph and total Alkalinity ~100ppm. Chlorine ... well thats the problem, it stays at 2ppm overnight and then by noon its all gone. I just dumped 8 gallons of bleach in it and plan on keeping the chlorine levels really high all day tomorrow... the dollar store is running out....

Watermom: why is borax better than A&H Baking Soda?

PoolDoc:
#1: I did use pool sand...925 lbs of it... fun day!
#2: I have 2 Bioguard 1200V Multi Test Kits, can I just get something to test Cyn, or shoudl I just buy the k-2006? can I use the reagents from the biogard kit with the taylor kits?
#3: the pool is clean and free of debris. I have a creepy crawly vacuuming it. Should I keep using that while shocking, or remove it for better circulation?
#4: not wanting to refill, I already used up my one freebe from the utility company when I re-fiberglassed and gelcoated the stairs.
#5: No Sams, but Ill see if I can get the other stuff... Is that just a fancy name for Chlorine?
#6: not a problem, that stuff is expensive anyway.
#7: What is a little vs a lot in a 50k gallon pool? Im trying to keep it registering with ~6 gallons per day. The sun burns it off so quickly. 2ppm per 4 hour sun burn off.