I appreciate all the replies and suggestions. I have a strip tester that indicates the following.. Total hardness is at about 100, CL is at about 1, free chlorine is at 0 or 1, ph is 8.4, alkalinity is about 100, cyanuric acid is 40 or so.

About the hole.. I ended up pushing a piece of vinyl inbetween the hole and the pool, and also put a piece on the outside for good measure. I'm guessing the previous owners noticed it too because they poured some concrete right around it, which you can kinda see from the first poolpic. Upon closer inspection, I noticed several other small holes(think about eraserhead size) along the bottom of the pool, but I'm not too worried about em.

I had to work all day today, and had no time to devote to the pool so my cl level is all the way down to 1, and I noticed that my ph is 8.4 or so. I bought some muratic acid, and Im going to add that first thing tomorrow. I'm starting a week long vacation tomorrow, so I'll really have time to get crackin on this thing.

I have a few questions..
Muratic acid, how do I know how much to add? I noticed the bleach calc program mentioned before, anyone know where to get it? How do I know how many gallons my pool holds? It is about 17 feet across.

Your replies will be greatly appreciated.