Pool newbie-- possible baquasil

[medvampire]

Looked at your pics. Untill you get a better tester the chem problems are gonna be hard for the pros here to help you. Didnt see a pic of the hole. I would be more concerned about it. You might use some jb weld and thread releaser in the skimmer to reform the threads. I would lower the ph after you get the pump going. Need to mix the acid and chlorine. The red color may be a iron problem but I am not a chem pro. You might want to get a metals test at the pool store.
Later
Steve