Worried about PH and Hardness...Can I bring it down safely?

[RachelG]

My water out of the tap reads 8.2 PH. In the tanks(a five and a ten gallon), it always reads either 7.8 or 8.0 according to the API drop tests, depending on how soon it is after a 20% water change. I suppose the driftwood brings it down. It is also "moderately hard" according to the fish store tests, but I have no tests to check hardness myself. The PH seems to be really stable, but it is too high. The fish I want to keep in the ten gallon (sparkling gouramis) need a PH of no higher than seven to really thrive, I've read. I suppose I could get other fish, but I really, really, really, really, really want sparkling gouramis. I'm setting up this ten gallon with them in mind.

I've been looking for ways to soften and lower the PH, but everything either seems to have risks with fluctuation and/or be expensive. I don't think I can afford an RO unit. Using peat in the filter seems to be very complicated and risky, so I'm scared to try that.

What about using a distilled water mixed into my tap water when I do water changes? Would that bring the PH and hardness down for good, for a little while, or not at all?

I've looked into the powder buffers, but they say that those will bring tons of algea growth. Could I add nerite snails to combat that? I already have a zebra snail in my five gallon. I don't want to use anything that will kill my plants, either. Those plants are there for the gouramis to hide in.

I just want to have stable water for my fishies to live long...What should I do?

 

[Mebbid]

It's normal for the tap water to have a slightly higher ph reading and adding it to your tank won't necessarily have much of an effect on your tank's pH.

In the long run your fish will adjust just fine to your water supply without fiddling with the pH or hardness. Almost all aquarium fish have been bred in water conditions that are far removed from their natural habitat and have adjusted to the average high pH of most people's water supply.

If you really are dead set on changing the pH and hardness of your water then you can use a mix of distilled water to your tap water. However I would do this in tiny amounts at first and then over a long period of time increase the amount of distilled water you are using until you reach your desired pH level.

It also might be worth it to test your pH, do a 50% water change wwith fresh tap water, and then test your pH again to see how much it changes.

Finally, I am not all convinced that fish care about water that hasn't had a chance to degas yet (the change in ph from tap water). I fill my tank directly from my faucet to the tank with a water changer and despite there being a .3 difference in pH my fish regularly swim an play in the flow from my tap water.