Hi drdjsmm and welcome to the Pool Forum!
Yes, to lowering pH and alk. You can read more about this at the following link:
Lowering Alkalinity Step-by-Step (Most of us use muriatic acid to lower pH but since you already have some of the dry acid on hand, just use it.)
Can you tell us the ingredients in the granular shock you used? How about the ingredients in the chlorine sticks? Most of us here on the Pool Forum use bleach for our souce of chlorine. it is readily available, cheap and doesn't add unwanted stuff like some pool store products do. You need to get some chlorine in that pool ASAP or it is gonna turn green! For now, either use some of your granular shock or just add 1.5 gallons (6 quarts) of plain 6% household bleach. That should take your cl level up to about 5ppm. For the first week or so, you'll have to test and add some chlorine a couple times per day. Once we find out the ingredients of what you've been using, we'll talk to you more about something called stabilizer (CYA - cyanuric acid) that is kind of like sunscreen for your chlorine. Without it, chlorine is quickly lost to the sun, leaving your pool unchlorinated and vulnerable to algae. (It is amazing how quickly a pool can turn green without chlorine in it.)
What is the volume of the pool? What type of filter do you have and what size pump?
You'll need a good test kit if you don't already have one. The one we recommend is the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C (same kit, larger bottle of some reagents). If you buy it through the Amazon link in my signature, the Pool Forum makes a little money on the sale which helps us keep this form online. Only buy if the seller is Amato Industries, however. Some other sellers are substituting the K-2005 which you do NOT want. If Amato isn't listed, wait a day or two and try again. They seem to restock pretty quickly when they sell out.
Come back with the requested info and we'll go from there. Hope this helps.
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