I just had a version of this happen . . . my son put muratic acid in instead of bleach!

I'm sure the gurus will help you shortly, but from the thread detailing my problem ChemGeek noted "About a pound of Borax is equivalent to a cup of Muriatic Acid". You put in two gallons which is 32 cups, soooo you might try 32 pounds of 20 Mule Team Borax to put yourself back where you started from (it's cheap - about 75 cents a pound).

BTW, acid isn't the way to deal with high total alkalinity . . . you lower the Ph and bubble air into the water and through the magic of chemistry your TA will fall and your Ph will rise. I believe there's a sticky note around here somewhere detailing the whole process.

I've used a spare pump to make a fountain to put air in the water, it worked but was slow. Using a borrowed air compressor and an injection quil I made out of pvc I once lowered the TA in record time, so if you have an air compressor I'd recommend that route.

While you're waiting for the gurus to chime in you should post some more specifics . . . what type of pool? How big of a pool? Are you using chlorine? Also, run a full gamut of tests and post the results (you do have a test kit . . . a drop based one, NOT test strips!).

Good luck!

Steve