Yes, it could take that long to have the chlorine stabalize. Pools are very strang They all act a little differently I had a very hard time balancing my water the first time I did the stain treatment - but I had the whole pool stained yellow, plus some really big stains on top of that. My ph was something that I had a really hard time keeping up too. As for how to lower ph without lowering the alkalinity - use muriatic acid, or ph down. THis may lower the alk slightly - but very slightly, because the only way to get rid of alkalinity is to gas it off by aerating the water, which will then raise your ph It is a really good plan if you have high alk with low ph Just use some muriatic acid (be careful with it) You can go to the bleach calc and do more calcs, and it will help you with lowering the ph. I suggest you invest in a good test kit - it will save you tons of money in the long run, and lots of trips to the pool store Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.