Hi Debbie
Ok, first step is to take a deep breath and know that you've come to a place where folks want to help you. You've already taken the first step which is to ask questions. We'll help you to help yourself.
Second thing is this - you've got to forget about pool store advice, they are trying to sell you expensive chemicals you do not need. As an example, they've told you to use non-chlorine shock only. That is dead wrong. You can convert your pool with plain old chlorine bleach which is two to three times cheaper than MPS shock. SO right there they have demonstrated that they either don't know what they are talking about or that they only care to sell you expensive chemicals you don't need.
You're first step in taking control of your pool is to purchase for yourself the appropriate test kit. You need either a Taylor K-2006 that is available on Amazon from various vendors or you need the TF-100 with XL option from TFTestKits.net. Both use Taylor reagents to do water tests and they are the top of the line test kits. I use the the Taylor K-2006C (C stands for "Commercial" grade) as it has larger, 2oz reagent bottles. You can see a comparison of test kits in this link -
Test Kits Compared
Your next step while you wait for your test kit to arrive, is to read as many threads on Baqluacil conversion as you can so you can see in real life terms how TFP helps lots of people convert and to read as much of PoolSchool as you can. Specifically read the follow article -
Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine.
Finally, you are going to need a source of chlorine bleach. Big Box stores like Walmart or Costco or Sam's Club typically carry bleach in large quantities. Standard plain unscented bleach is what you are looking for. The active ingredient is sodium hypochlorite and the standard concentration is typically 8.25%. You can get higher strength bleach from pool stores and/or hardware stores, but it may not be as cheap. Also, be prepared that at the end of the conversion process you are going to need to change the sand media in the sand filter. So have that in your head as an additional cost (although sand is cheap).
Don't worry about going salt water just yet. The first step is converting from Baquacil to chlorine. We'll get to salt water later.
Keep reading and any questions you have keep posting to this thread. We're standing by to help you!!
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And another thing - try to update your signature with as much info about your pool as you can find.
Do you know the volume of your pool? You say it's 22x44. Is that rectangular? What's the average depth? Or, what is the depth of the shallow end and the deep end?
If we want to get your pool chemistry right, pool volume is a critical parameter.
